RESIDENTS and businesses are invited to have their say on the next stage of the new South Warwickshire Local Plan.
The local plan covers the combined geographic areas of both Warwick District Council and Stratford District Council for the next 25 years.
And once adopted, the plan will set out how both councils will ensure infrastructure, open spaces, employment sites and homes meet local needs up to 2050.
The plan will be the basis upon which all planning applications will be determined in a way that supports those needs and how we address the pressing issues around climate change, biodiversity, connectivity, and resident wellbeing.
The ‘Issues and Options’ Consultation runs until March 6 and focuses specifically on the options for how and where development should take place. This is a critical phase of the plan making process.
The work done to date draws on responses to the previous ‘Scoping and Call for Sites’ consultation undertaken in 2021 and will give residents, businesses, and other stakeholders the opportunity to comment on the suitability, sustainability and desirability of each of the potential options identified by both councils at the first stage. It will also include a second call for sites.
WDC place and economy spokesman Coun John Cooke said: “This is another crucial step in the development of our combined Local Plan, which will determine where we should locate the homes and employment land that we need in the coming decades and ensure that this development happens in the most sustainable locations – places that work best for people, for businesses and for the environment.
“The ‘Issues and Options’ consultation will give local people the opportunity to look in more detail at the topic areas identified and responses received to date, get an overview of the key development issues faced in South Warwickshire and examine the evidence received during the process from experts and specialists and through in-house research.”
SDC place and economy spokesman Coun Daren Pemberton added: “Great strides have been made since the first consultation exercise to get the South Warwickshire Local Plan to the point where we can now put forward real potential options for what, how and where we build across our two districts.
“The plan is ambitious and has addressed the impacts of climate change at its heart by seeking to ensure development is sustainable. I am proud that we are the first two authorities to actively engage with the Met. Office to inform our approach to plan making.
Now is the first, but not last opportunity for residents, businesses and other stakeholders to take a closer look at the emerging plan and make their views known on the proposals so that we can shape the next stage of the plan which will then be subject to a further consultation.
“This is important stuff for us all so I hope as many residents, business and stakeholders take time to comment on the areas that matter most to them.”
To make a comment on the latest consultation and to find out more information about the South Warwickshire Local Plan visit www.southwarwickshire.org.uk/swlp.
Hard copies of the documents are available to view at libraries, Riverside House, Leamington and Elizabeth House, Stratford.
