POTENTIAL development sites are now being considered among plans to merge Stratford and Warwick district councils.
A ‘Scoping and Call for Sites’ consultation ran over summer – to help identify sites to meet future needs to support housing, jobs, infrastructure and open space – and the information has been published on the South Warwickshire Local Plan website.
Some 550 sites have been submitted and have been listed and mapped to view on an interactive map.
The councils stress that publication of the list is not an endorsement by either council the site is either suitable for development or will be included within the Local Plan itself.
A further public consultation will allow residents and stakeholders to have their say on the sites and the council’s assessment of their suitability for development and infrastructure.
The authorities say further sites for employment and housing are required and the ‘call for sites’ was the starting point for the plan-making process. A further ‘call’ may be required if the councils conclude the sites submitted are unsuitable or in the wrong locations.
Stratford District Council deputy leader Daren Pemberton said: “I am grateful to everyone who took the time to respond to the scoping first stage of the preparation of the new South Warwickshire Local Plan. Publishing all of the comments and an analysis of the key themes arising from the consultation is important in keeping everyone engaged in the process and it illustrates how the Councils will use the feedback to help inform the next stage of the plan’s preparation – the Issues and Options consultation.
“A large number of sites have been submitted through the call for sites exercise and officers will now be assessing each of the sites submitted to consider their potential as a future development or other land use site within the Local Plan. It is important to stress that at this point in time these assessments have not yet been undertaken, once completed this analysis of the call for site submissions will be published.”
John Cooke, spokesman on place for Warwick District Council, added: “The South Warwickshire Local Plan will be critically important in the shaping of future development of the area over the next 30 years. We are therefore grateful to all those who have contributed to this vital first stage. Now this preparatory work has been done we can start the process of identifying and considering options of how and where we can meet the combined housing, employment, educational, leisure and other infrastructure needs for the future.”
Visit www.southwarwickshire.org.uk/swlp for the list and other information.