Stafford Borough Local Plan preparation finally underway after over a year

Preparation is now underway to create a new Local Plan for future development in Stafford Borough – more than a year after senior councillors decided to restart the process.

Stafford Borough Council’s cabinet has agreed a new timetable for the Local Plan 2025-2045, as well as giving the go-ahead for three public consultations to be launched on June 8.

The latest version of Stafford Borough’s Local Plan, a legal document which sets out a blueprint for future development of new homes and workspace across the borough, was expected to be formally adopted in 2024 under a previous timetable set by the authority’s former Conservative administration. But last year it was announced that a fresh process would begin to prepare a new Local Plan, following major changes including a massive increase in new housing targets from the Government.

The borough council’s current administration – a mix of Labour, Green Party and Stafford Borough Independents – has come under fire from the Conservative group for delays in bringing forward the latest Local Plan. Questions about the Local Plan process have been asked at a number of council meetings.

Within the past year the authority has received around £110,000 from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government to support technical studies, additional resources and engagement work for the new Local Plan. On Thursday (May 21) cabinet members agreed to start the ball rolling for communities to have a say in the future vision of the borough for decades to come.

Councillor Ant Reid, cabinet member for economic development and planning, said: “Tonight I’m asking you to approve the consultations for our Local Plan, and the timetable that follows. Early consultation is absolutely key to the new approach to this, and I propose we agree to launch this within the next few weeks, as well as the approve other recommendations around activities and delegation.

“A Local Plan sets the vision for our communities for the next 20 years. But more than that, our decisions will impact the landscape for much longer, and we must consult with our residents and key stakeholders early enough to allow for real decisions to be meaningful.

“The new process is a very big change from what went on before. The previous Preferred Options, published in 2022, resulted in an extremely large amount of contributions during consultation, and was unable to proceed as it was.

“This new process pushes the need for proper, deep, and quality evidence much earlier and this is what the team have been doing since I announced the decision to restart the process in March 2025. Last autumn I worked with the MP for Stafford, Leigh Ingham, to seek ministerial support to make all this faster; we secured extra government funding to get this evidence more quickly and reports produced in time to enable us, today, to approve this report and revised timeline.

“As part of today’s decision making, we are also formally agreeing to publish our notice of intent and proceed to the so-called ‘gateway 1’ in the autumn. We then have 30 months to complete the process.

“The Local Plan is the key way we give our residents choice about development and preservation; getting this done faster is vital and very welcome. The whole borough benefits from this.”

The consultations set to begin next month will run until 12pm on Tuesday, July 28.

Documents will be available to view at libraries or the Civic Centre at Stafford’s Riverside, and further information will also be available on the council website.