£110,000 grant will reduce the risk of houses being built in the wrong areas, says Stafford MP

A West Midland council has secured £110,000 to help increase its control over where housing is built and the infrastructure that accompanies new development.

Stafford MP Leigh Ingham, who had lobbied for the funding for the borough council, said the money would support technical studies and work to engage with communities as it draws up its development plan.

The Government is making funds available to help local authorities which do not already have a development plan in place to determine what can be built where.

The Government had told local authorities to prepare and adopt such plans within 30 months.

Miss Ingham said more homes were needed across the borough.

“I speak to families weekly who are struggling to find somewhere to live, and it’s the job of government to address this,” she said.

“But we must build the right homes, in the right places, with the right infrastructure. That means schools, GP surgeries, roads, and flood protection to serve the new estates.”

Councillor Ant Reid, cabinet member for economic development and planning at

Stafford Borough Council, said: a robust local plan would regulate where development could take place, prevent inappropriate building, and protect the environment, countryside, and habitats.

He said the funding would support the process, but the authority also needed to hear from residents, businesses, and organisations, and encouraged people to take part in a consultation that would be opening shortly.