The Shropshire Local Plan currently comprises the Core Strategy (adopted 2011) and the Site Allocations and Management of Development (SAMDev) Plan (adopted 2015), together with the adopted Neighbourhood Plans for Much Wenlock and Shifnal. These documents set out proposals for the use of land and policies to guide future development in order to help to deliver the sustainable growth in Shropshire for the period up to 2026.

Local Planning Authorities are required to keep under review any matters that may affect the development of its area or the planning of its development. There is a requirement to objectively assess the development needs of the County and this also permits a longer term view to be taken for the period to 2036.  In addition, there continue to be significant national policy and procedural changes along with opportunities and challenges at the national and regional level which will impact, to varying degrees, on Shropshire. 

These matters should be addressed through a partial review of the Local Plan to help to ensure the continuing conformity of the Local Plan with national policy. Core tasks for this review of the Local Plan are set out in the SAMDev Inspector’s Examination Report (2015) as follows: “The review will include housing requirements (including objectively assessed need), employment land requirements, the distribution of development and a review of Green Belt boundaries, as part of the consideration of strategic options to deliver new development in the review plan period which is likely to be 2016-2036.” (SAMDev IR, Para 23).

To meet the requirements of national policy, the Local Plan needs to identify enough land to provide for future housing and employment to reflect Shropshire’s future needs. These needs are calculated from national data sources and local evidence which track changes in the size of Shropshire’s population and labour supply which derive from both local growth and migration to and away from the county. The partial review needs to establish future growth requirements for Shropshire in a way which is consistent with national policy.

The Council is keen to maintain a robust and defensible Local Plan for Shropshire and the partial review will help to ensure that there is an up to date and deliverable Plan which will help to ensure that local, rather than national policies act as the principal benchmark for planning decisions. Maintaining an up to date Local Plan will support local growth by generating certainty for investment in local development and infrastructure through a policy framework that establishes an up to date and objective assessment of our development needs and supports sustainable development in Shropshire during the period to 2036.

The overall strategic approach of focusing growth in Shropshire’s county town, market towns and key centres whilst enabling some controlled development in rural areas to maintain local sustainability will remain as the preferred development strategy. Many of the existing policies in the Core Strategy & SAMDev do not need to be amended and will be carried forward as part of the new Plan. The review will therefore focus on key areas of change, including options for the level and distribution of new housing and strategies for employment growth during the period to 2036, together with any amended policies and new site allocations which are needed to demonstrate that these requirements can be delivered. The existing Core Strategy & SAMDev Plan will remain in force until any new Plan is adopted which is anticipated around 2019.

Given time and resource limitations, the new plan will be less geographically specific in its approach than the SAMDev Plan, with specific sites identified only in Shrewsbury, the market towns and key centres, and at major redevelopment locations which could include Clive Barracks, Tern Hill near Market Drayton and the former Ironbridge Power Station. In smaller rural settlements (including existing Community Hubs and Clusters), development is proposed to be managed in future through criteria-based policies using a consistent set of guidelines to help deliver sustainable development in these settlements.

This consultation therefore invites feedback on choices for each of the following strategic options:

1. Housing requirement
2. Strategic distribution of future growth
3. Strategies for employment growth
4. Delivering development in rural settlements

In addition to the these strategic options and the matters identified in the SAMDev Examination Report (see paragraph 1.3 above), at a later stage the partial review process will also consider a range of issues including: the role of Shrewsbury and its University Centre; new retail and leisure needs; town centre designations; the need for affordable housing; provision for gypsies and travellers; the redevelopment of strategic sites; and provision to maintain sand and gravel production.

The product of the review will be a new Local Plan document which merges the Core Strategy and SAMDev Plans and contains both strategic policies and more applied policies which primarily inform planning decisions, together with existing (unimplemented) sites and new site allocations.

The strategic objectives, policies and proposals in the current Local Plan have only been in place for a relatively short period of time since the adoption of the Core Strategy in 2011 and the adoption of the SAMDev Plan in 2015. It is considered that the many of these objectives remain relevant to the sustainable development of Shropshire during the period to 2036.

The following strategic objectives are proposed for the Local Plan review

1. Provide an appropriate development strategy for Shropshire for the period 2016-2036 through an up to date Development Plan for Shropshire which is fully compliant with the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF)
2. Ensure a deliverable Development Plan for Shropshire which secures a five year land supply for both housing and employment development and maintains local planning control over decision making, in accordance with the policies in the Local Plan
3. Support the development of sustainable communities which are thriving, inclusive and safe, ensuring that people in all areas of Shropshire have access to decent affordable homes, jobs, education and training (Core Strategy Objective 1)
4. Develop the roles of Shrewsbury as a sub-regional centre, and Shropshire’s Market Towns and Key Centres as more sustainable and self-sufficient settlements, providing the main focus for new housing, employment and infrastructure development (Core Strategy Objective 2)
5. Support rural communities through the delivery of local housing and employment opportunities appropriate to the role, size and function of each settlement (Core Strategy Objective 3)
6. Promote sustainable economic development and growth by providing a flexible and responsive supply of employment land and premises, and the development of further/higher education and training opportunities, to support business development, satisfy the changing needs and demands of the Shropshire economy, promote inward investment, and help generate skilled, well paid employment opportunities (Core Strategy Objective 6)
7. Support the development of sustainable tourism, rural enterprise, broadband connectivity, diversification of the rural economy, and the continued importance of farming and agriculture (Core Strategy Objective 7)

Shropshire is a large, diverse but predominantly rural, inland county. There are a range of interactions taking place affecting Shropshire which cross its boundary with adjacent areas in Herefordshire, Worcestershire, the Borough of Telford and Wrekin, Staffordshire, the West Midlands conurbation, Cheshire and across the English-Welsh border. These include: cross border service provision such as shopping, health, education and leisure; transport links and commuting patterns, any potential inter-dependencies between housing markets and economic areas and protection of the Green Belt. These interactions are the subject of on-going discussion with neighbouring planning authorities under the ‘Duty to Co-operate’. The spatial context for the Local Plan Review is described in detail in the Authority Monitoring Report (AMR) which is available on the Council’s web pages. More detailed facts, figures and trends concerning the Shropshire context are also available on the Council’s webpages here: https://shropshire.gov.uk/facts-and-figures

The existing Local Plan and particularly the Core Strategy was prepared against the backdrop of the global economic recession which significantly affected the economies of both the UK and Shropshire. The current Local Plan has continued to plan for an economic upturn to assist the recovery which has now started to take effect across Shropshire under the positive influence of its objectives, policies and development strategies. 

The influence of the Local Plan and the resurgence of demand and investment in Shropshire have coincided with proposed national infrastructure and investment programmes within the UK economy. The national agenda for political and administrative devolution has brought forward the Combined Authority for the West Midlands conurbation and the drive towards establishing the Midlands Engine to channel investment into the region.  This agenda has also created further opportunities through the earlier devolution of authority to Greater Manchester as part of the drive to create the Northern Powerhouse providing a second route to channel investment into the west and north of England.

These emerging channels for investment are expected to be helpfully drawn together by the national infrastructure investment in the High Speed 2 (HS2) link providing a rapid transit route between the south-east region and the regions of the north to encourage investors to look beyond the London conurbation and the Home Counties. HS2 will deliver a close link to Shropshire through the proposed interchange at Crewe which will provide a further channel for investment through a proposed investment zone located around the Northern Gateway centred on Crewe.

The emergence of these exciting investment opportunities in the sub-regions around Shropshire is timely in relation to meeting the challenge established in the SAMDev Plan the Inspector’s Examination Report (2015) to undertake an early Partial Review of the now adopted Local Plan. In setting out the core tasks for the Partial Review it is necessary to review our future housing and employment land requirements and to refresh our land supply and policies to help meet our future needs and to capture the opportunities in and around the County.

The past few years have seen a change in Shropshire’s fortunes with the scale of investment evident in the widespread resurgence of residential development and key investments by existing business across the County. This resurgence in the County was set against the backdrop of the healthy projections for the UK economy for over 2% growth through 2017.  The national economy and the fortunes of the County may be further challenged by the decision to leave the European Community as a result of the Brexit referendum in the summer of 2016 and the negotiations on the UK exit strategy which have now commenced. 

In light of this context, the following strategic opportunities and challenges have been identified:

Opportunities

1. The Combined Authority for the West Midlands brings together the metropolitan authorities with adjoining areas to drive forward the Midlands Engine. Shropshire has the potential to benefit from this enterprise via the M54 corridor and key investment locations at Wolverhampton, Telford, Shifnal, Albrighton, Bridgnorth; at major redevelopment locations which could include Clive Barracks, Tern Hill near Market Drayton and the former Ironbridge Power Station; and at those created around RAF Cosford in Shropshire
2. The Northern Powerhouse and Northern Gateway together aim to re-invigorate the North West region. The Northern Gateway will drive the creation of an investment zone around the HS2 interchange at Crewe with the effects extending through physical proximity and journey time/distance into the Shropshire economy.  This is expected to create direct opportunities for the northern Market Towns of Oswestry, Whitchurch and Market Drayton and also Ellesmere and Wem. 
3. The positive effects of the Northern investment potential will also be experienced through the rail network with the potential to influence other areas of the County.
4. The opportunities created through these external influences are expected to enhance the investments being delivered within Shropshire and in the adjoining areas of the Local Enterprise Partnership in Telford & Wrekin and Hereford.  The joint working within this partnership will be led and influenced through the Strategic Economic Plan being refreshed along with the Partial Review of the Shropshire Local Plan.

Challenges

1. The focus of the HS2 investment will be located to the north of Shropshire and will attract significant interest from other sub-regions similarly affected by this nationally significant infrastructure investment. Shropshire needs to be able to understand the nature of demands to be created by HS2 and ensure that some of these investment needs are met within the County.
2. Shropshire recognises the opportunities to be derived from other national and sub-regional investments and from the investment and potential of its own vibrant local economy. The County places a premium on the promotion of economic growth but will need to understand and address the barriers to investment and growth to translate this demand into employment and prosperity.
3. Shrewsbury and Oswestry as the main centres for economic investment expect to see their current principal employment sites come to completion during the plan period to 2036. Whilst new land is available in these locations and within the market towns and other key centres there is a need to further replenish the supply and bring forward a readily available supply of accessed and serviced land for investment.