'We have serious concerns' - Inspectors deliver major blow to Shropshire Council over 'unsound' local plan

The comments come from inspectors Louise Crosby and Elaine Worthington, who are carrying out the examination of Shropshire's proposed local plan.

The Local Plan is one of the council's most important policies and sets out locations across the authority's area where housing and commercial developments are recommended to take place up until 2038.

The proposed plan is made up of a combined 31,300 homes to be built over that timeframe, along with 320 hectares of employment land.

In their latest letter the inspectors have given the council until the end of this month to set out how it can fix the issues they have highlighted within six months - or they will ask the authority to withdraw the proposal.

Such an outcome would have major implications for the council and planned development within the county.

In their letter the inspectors highlight what they see as a number of failings of the plan - including the longstanding problems over how the council provides 1,500 homes for the Black Country.

The have also pointed to the council's reliance on 'windfall sites' to meet the overall allocation.

Windfall sites are those not contained in the plan which then materialise and are counted towards targets.