Express & Star

Bid to break Shropshire local plan logjam without adding more homes for the Black Country

Leading Shropshire councillors will submit their cross-party bid to persuade Whitehall that they can move ahead with approving the county's "incredibly important" local plan.

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The Planning Inspectorate has put a block on approving the Shropshire Local Plan until it can prove how it is helping councils in the Black Country satisfy their 'unmet need' for housing.

Shropshire Council's cabinet was told on Wednesday that its officers believe they have put together a case that can move the local planning process on. The plan is meant to cover the period from 2016 to 2038 and sets the policies for delivering housebuilding in the county.

Cabinet members were told that the council has met its duty to co-operate but further work needed to be done and this is not unusual.

The council believes its allocation of land for 30,800 new homes "remains appropriate" and they do not have to allocate any more sites for housing or employment land.

If the local planning process so far is approved at Whitehall the examination of it will move on to more detailed discussion of individual sites that have been identified for development.