Decision awaited in new year as borough council submits its Local Plan to government for approval

CHARNWOOD Borough Council has submitted its Local Plan and to the government.

Aiming to support growth while safeguarding the environment between now and 2037, the document identifies housing and employment sites.

It aims to consider the impact of climate change while meeting infrastructure needs and protecting green spaces.

The Local Plan has been drawn up after four rounds of public consultation, the latest of which was in the summer, which attracted more than 700 representations.

The submission to the Department of Levelling Up, Housing and Communities marks the start of the formal examination of the plan by an independent inspector.

Nominated by the Planning Inspectorate, the inspector will examine whether the plan has been prepared in accordance with legal and procedural requirements.

Cllr Richard Bailey, the council’s lead member for planning, said: “A Local Plan is critical to making sure areas can grow in a sustainable way, creating homes and jobs that people need, ensuring we have the right infrastructure to support our communities and making sure we are looking after the environment.

“Local plans also come under intense scrutiny from the planning inspector, developers and other interested parties, so we have to make sure we get this right.

“We have now submitted to government our Local Plan and all the comments from the latest consultation which included representations from residents, developers and other organisations.

“I would like to thank everyone took part in the consultation exercises and helped shape this plan.

“The aim is to adopt the plan towards the end of next year. We are awaiting details of when the examination hearings will be.”

The Charnwood Local Plan 2021-37 seeks to achieve the following aims:

Identify 154 hectares of employment land to support the creation of 8,900 jobs in the borough and lead its pandemic recovery;

Allocate land for new sustainable and well-designed homes. The government has set a target of 1,111 new homes a year to meet the borough’s needs up to 2037.

Focus on extending urban and suburban areas and larger villages, protecting nearly 279 sq km of open countryside; Determine the scale of development needed to secure infrastructure - including five new schools in Loughborough, Shepshed, Barrow, Anstey and Syston, as well as health services, roads and public transport networks;

Generate about £200 million in Section 106 money to pay for other improvements to facilities and amenities;

Reflect the importance of the environment and conserving biodiversity, protecting heritage sites, creating open leisure spaces and supporting healthier communities;

Consider the effects of climate change and how to reduce its impact, including flooding; Make effective use of the borough’s strategic infrastructure, including Loughborough University, the urban edge of Leicester and the International Gateway connection to the M1 motorway and East Midlands Airport.

More details about the format and timings of the examination, including any public hearing sessions, shouldbe made available by the Planning Inspectorate in the new year.

There is a website set up for the Local Plan examination which provides access to all the documents the council has submitted. Visit www.charnwood.gov.uk/ examination.

The Inspector will consider the evidence provided by the borough council to support the plan and any representations which have been put forward by local people and other interested parties.

In most cases the examination will include hearing sessions which are held in public. For the current Local Plan, the hearings were held at Loughborough Town Hall.

At the end of the examination the Inspector will send a report to the council recommending whether or not they can adopt the plan. In most cases the report will recommend some changes that are necessary to allow the plan to be adopted. These are known as main modifications’.

In carrying out the examination, the Inspector will be conscious of the benefits of having a robust and up to date plan adopted as quickly as possible and will apply the principles of openness, fairness and impartiality

More information is available on government website www.gov.uk/ guidance/local-plans

Local plans come under intense scrutiny, so we have to make sure we get this right.

Cllr Richard Bailey, Charnwood Borough Council lead member for planning