Staffordshire council set to start work on new Local Plan

Cannock Chase District Council is set to start work on a new Local Plan for the area – just months after the latest document was officially adopted.

The Cannock Chase Local Plan, which provides a blueprint for future development in the district in the years up to 2040, was hailed by district councillors as a measure to reduce the risk of speculative housing developments.

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It reduced the annual housing requirement in the district to 264 in the years up to 2030 and 314 in the years after – and councillors were told that it would have been more than 500 a year otherwise, under revised national targets introduced in 2024. The plan was formally adopted by at a special full council meeting on March 23.

But just three months later, cabinet members were asked on Thursday (June 12) to approve the commencement of a new Local Plan, submission of a Notice to Commence Plan-making and publication to the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government and a Local Plan Timetable. Under the new timetable, public consultation is expected to begin later this year, with the 30-month Local Plan period starting in October.

Following the preparation process the new Local Plan would be submitted to the Secretary of State in summer 2028, with the aim of formal adoption in April 2029. This would be following local government reorganisation in Staffordshire, which is set to take place in 2028 and will see the abolition of Cannock Chase District Council to make way for a unitary authority system.

A report to Thursday’s cabinet meeting said: “The Cannock Chase Local Plan 2018-2040 was adopted by the council 23rd March 2026 and was examined under the September 2023 National Planning Policy Framework under transitional arrangements in advance of the 2024 NPPF (National Planning Policy Framework). Where a Local Plan has recently been adopted that does not meet 80% of the local housing need under the 2024 NPPF standard method – as in Cannock Chase’s case – a notice to Commence Plan Making must be published by 30th June 2026 and plan-making must commence by 31st October 2026.

“The housing requirement within the (Local Plan adopted in March) amounts to 264 dwellings per annum to 2031 and 314 for the rest of the plan period. The 2024 NPPF and standard method for calculating local housing need revised the housing need for the district to 519 dwellings per annum.

“An alternative to progressing a plan under the 2026 Regulations would be to not undertake a new Local Plan as the council has an up-to-date Local Plan. This action would not be in accordance with the Town and Country Planning (Local Planning) (England) Regulations 2026 that requires the authority to formally commence plan-making by 30th June 2026.

“Furthermore, this would leave the council open to intervention by the Secretary of State.

“The main costs incurred in preparing and finalising the New Local Plan includes the evidence base, community engagement and consultation; followed by the independent examination process at the end. The council agreed in February 2026, as part of the budget process, an amount of £810,000 to deliver the New Local Plan over the budget period 26/27 to 29/30.

“The council also submitted an expression of interest to MHCLG towards the Local Plan Implementation Funding programme and was awarded a grant of £108,474.57 to support plan-making.”