Work is set to begin on another new Wirral Local Plan. Just over a year after the publication of the Wirral Council's 15-year plan, work on its replacement is to begin.
Despite having only recently published a Local Plan, a report to the council's Economy Regeneration & Housing Committee explained that a new plan is needed due to a change in national government policy. The current plan, adopted just last year, is based upon now-outdated housing guidelines.
The current Local Plan is based on guidelines which tasked the council to build 800 homes a year. New guidelines have seen that target more than double to 1,622.
New national policies mean that if the housing target in a council's Local Plan is less than 80% of the new target, the local council must begin work on a new plan. As a result, Wirral's Economy Regeneration & Housing Committee has now given the green light for work to begin in preparation of a new Local Plan. The council is set to formally publish a 'Notice of Intention to Commence' of the plan by the end of June.
With the council having only recently adopted a new plan, committee members were far from elated to have the words 'Local Plan' back on the meeting agenda. Cllr Gail Jenkinson, for example, described the item as "one none of us wanted to see. We had all hoped it had gone away for quite a long time."
During the meeting, Cllr Andrew Gardner sought clarification on the preservation and protection of the green belt. He asked the council officers present: "With the doubling of numbers, there is going to be speculation about the green belt. Could you just confirm, for the record, that green belt policy and green belt reviews will remain within the remit of the decisions of Wirral Borough Council, and we won't have anything forced upon us?"
An officer confirmed that such decisions will remain up to the council. The timetable for the new Local Plan was also within the report to the committee. It suggests an indicative date of June 2029 for when the new plan may be adopted.
