Solihull’s Local Plan will guide development in the borough for the next decade, and beyond. It is the basis for future planning decisions as it creates a ‘blueprint’ for when and where major developments can take place, and where they shouldn’t take place.
Residents and businesses are being asked to make final representations about Solihull’s Draft Submission Plan during a formal six-week period, beginning on Friday 30 October, before it is submitted for independent examination.
The grounds for making a representation relate to the soundness and legal compliance of the Solihull Local Plan Draft Submission.
Interested parties should make their representations via the Local Plan Review page of the SMBC website. For this stage there is a formal way of sending in a representation, which is explained in a short video available on the same page, alongside guidance notes.
The representations received as part of this consultation will be included in the final Plan submitted for the ‘Examination in Public’ (EiP), which is the final scrutiny before a plan can be adopted. The EiP will be overseen by a nominated Inspector appointed on behalf of the Secretary of State.
Once the examination concludes, the Inspector will issue a report which will summarise the findings of their examination. If the Plan is found to be sound and legally compliant, the Council will then be allowed to adopt the Plan, or the Inspector may suggest that the Plan is modified.
The representation period will close on Monday 14 December.
A representative of SMBC stated that:
“The Plan has been five years in the making. We have had three consultations, listened to people, engaged with local communities and businesses and received over 3,000 representations, and because of that we have amended it. It is now vital that we move forward to get a Plan in place that will allow us to have control of deciding how development takes place in the future. If we don’t, we leave ourselves at risk of planning by appeal, where developers go over our heads to government or planning inspectors. We need to control our destiny.”
The six-week representation period opens on Friday 30 October 2020
The Solihull Local Plan – Draft Submission Plan and relevant guidance can be viewed at www.solihull.gov.uk/lpr from Friday 30 October.
Please forward your views to the Parish Council on dickensheathpc@hotmail.com, or via the Library letterbox.