Local plan consultation extended
The consultation into a plan which will dictate where thousands of homes are built in the county is being extended.
The public consultation into the latest – pre-submission – version of Shropshire Council’s Local Plan will now close at 5pm on Friday, February 26.
The extension to the consultation has been agreed in response to the ongoing ‘lockdown’ restrictions which came into force on January 4 and limited access to Shropshire’s libraries – where paper copies of the plan had been made available to view
As a result the council has agreed that – on request and where residents do not have access to the internet – paper copies of the local plan can be provided.
The local plan sets out where thousands of homes and businesses can be built up until 2038. It was agreed by Shropshire Council’s Cabinet on Monday, December 7.
All comments made to the consultation will be sent to the planning inspectorate when the plan is submitted for independent examination later this year.
Robert Macey, Shropshire Council’s Cabinet member for housing and strategic planning, said: “It’s important to stress that the original decision to consult for seven weeks took into account the Christmas period and offered a period longer than the statutory minimum.
“Similarly, offering the chance to view the draft plan in libraries wasn’t something we had to do, but an option that we felt was important to enable people without internet access to see paper copies. Unfortunately, due to the lockdown, this was only possible for the first three weeks of the consultation.
“As a result, we have agreed to extend the consultation by three weeks, and ensure that paper copies are provided to people who don’t have internet access.
“Given the importance of the Plan and the consultation, this is the right and fairest thing to give people every chance to engage with this important statutory stage of consultation.”
The main focus of the consultation is and continues to be online and all relevant material is available at http://shropshire.gov.uk/get-involved/reg-19-pre-submission-draft-local-plan/
The consultation is at www.shropshire.gov.uk/get-involved and residents who wish to request a copy of all or part of the draft plan should call 0345 678 9004.
