District council seeks to withdraw new Local Plan from examination
Lichfield District Council is poised to recommend that the proposed new Local Plan 2040 be withdrawn from examination. The newly elected cabinet agrees that the Local Plan, which sets out the district’s housing requirements until 2040, is not fit for purpose.
Lichfield District Council is poised to recommend that the proposed new Local Plan 2040 be withdrawn from examination.
The newly elected cabinet agrees that the proposed new Local Plan, which sets out the district’s housing requirements until 2040 is not fit for purpose.
The withdrawal of the Local Plan 2040 does not affect the adopted Local Plan for the district which will remain in place.
Councillor Alex Farrell, Portfolio Holder for Housing and the Local Plan, says: “It is clear to me that our proposed new Local Plan is not suitable, and I’d like to see a new approach to housing that suits our local communities. We want to explore the idea of a new settlement in the district, as opposed to the current approach that is suffocating local communities with a disproportionate amount of housebuilding without sufficient infrastructure.”
He continues: “It’s clear that the proposed new Local Plan 2040, which was submitted for examination last year, was not appropriate given both the changes that we have seen (and continue to see take place) in government national policy in the four years since it was initiated, plus the level of dissatisfaction we heard from residents about it in its current form. It became evident that the proposed Local Plan no longer resonates with the evolving needs of our district, and we needed to change.
“We only have two options. One; progress with the currently submitted plan or two, regroup and build a strong, strategic vision for the district that people can support and adopt. We recommend that we take the second option to deliver a strategy that is appropriate for the district today, and in the future, and therefore our recommendation is to withdraw the current plan and work in consultation with our residents and stakeholders to develop a new approach.”
The recommendation for withdrawal of the proposed new Local Plan has been discussed by the Cabinet and is set to be discussed by Full Council on Tuesday 17 October 2023.