South Staffordshire District Council has started to change the way that their planning policies have been previously marshalled.
The South Staffordshire Local Plan is now being altered and whilst there is also very great implications for South Staffordshire. There will be likely changes in South Staffordshire, which will have impact and knock on implications for Wolverhampton., and other Authorities that surround that District. Dudley, Walsall and Wolverhampton have Borough boundaries with South Staffordshire.
I have been warning on my own social media sites for some years now how the Government was going to amend Green Belt legislation, so that they may radically alter planning based around housing and employment need.
Back in 2015 I wrote that “It looks like Government plans to alter the green belt radically, this will not be seen as being a good and radical plan by Councils surrounding this particular conurbation. Areas like South Staffs District Council would be under severe pressure from developers.”
Now it appears that this move is well underway and at the end of November – South Staffordshire closed a consultation that had been running which dealt with “The call for sites” for their Local Plan. This was the ‘call’ that allowed developers to earmark land in South Staffordshire that they would like to see offered for developments. The call identified land in the Parish of Essington, as well as elsewhere for this development.
Now the local Black Country Authorities will be preparing their responses, and in which they will be expected to work together with South Staffordshire to develop new homes, for the need that has been identified. These new plans have identified that the South Staffordshire District Councils own Housing requirement up to 2037 is 5100 homes.
My information suggests that around 4,000 of this demand can be delivered on land committed allocated or safeguarded through the South Staffordshire Site Allocation document (SAD) .
We need to be very aware of what is now taking place, and a close eye needs to be set to watch on what implications these arrangements will have here in Wednesfield North. Now whilst there is sites that have been identified in South Staffordshire and close to our borders for development. It isn’t a time for panic! Its the earliest of days and the arrangements that are now starting to shuffle onto the Councils Agenda is about principles and process.
But things are starting to change, and we all need to be aware of the implications. I will continue to use my social media sites to make people aware of what is taking place.
Wolverhampton Cabinet on the 12th December will be discussing the issues and will move to ensure that Wolverhampton takes part in the processes to protect their own interests.