Media Release
Wednesday August 25, 2021
For immediate release
Thank you for your Local Plan consultation responses
Charnwood Borough Council is compiling hundreds of responses from residents, businesses and organisations as it prepares to send its Local Plan 2021-37 to Government.
A six-week public consultation relating to the contents of the Charnwood Local Plan concluded on 23 August.
It was the fourth consultation in relation to the Local Plan. More than 700 representations were received before the deadline, while 106 people attended the two webinars to discuss the document with planning officers.
The Local Plan sets out the Council’s vision for growth, healthy communities and environmental safeguards up to 2037.
It supports the Council’s vision of making the borough one of the most desirable places to live, work and visit in the East Midlands.
The Council does not itself respond to the online and offline representations received during the public consultation. Instead, it submits the comments to Government alongside the Local Plan.
The Secretary of State then refers the documentation to the Planning Inspectorate for review and consideration. It is the Planning Inspector which considers feedback and representations.
The Council expects to submit its Local Plan in October 2021. Examination hearings with the Planning Inspector will likely take place in Spring 2022. It is hoped that the Charnwood Local Plan will be adopted in October 2022.
Councillor Richard Bailey, the lead member for planning, said: “Thank you to everyone who has taken the time to contribute, both online and offline, to this fourth consultation process.
“We were keen from the outset to provide guidance to interested parties who wished to make effective representations to the Planning Inspector. The consultation enabled us to do that and peoples’ views will now be provided to the Inspector.
“In addition, I would like to thank our planning team. The submission of the Local Plan is the culmination of several years of hard work in a fast-changing environment.
“It is a complex but critical strategic document and officers’ work supports our vision of growth, healthy communities and environmental protections for many years to come.”
The Charnwood Local Plan 2021-37 can be viewed at https://www.charnwood.gov.uk/pages/charnwood_local_plan_2021_37 The page also contains maps, FAQs and an executive summary of the document as well as detailed technical information relating to the document.
The Charnwood Local Plan 2021-37:
1) Identifies 154 hectares of employment land to support the creation of 8,900 jobs in the borough and lead its pandemic recovery
2) Allocates land for new sustainable and well-designed homes. The Government has set a target of 1,111 new homes a year to meet the borough’s needs up to 2037.
3) Focuses development towards intensifying and extending existing urban and suburban areas and larger villages, thereby protecting nearly 279 square kilometres of open countryside
4) Plans for the critical mass of development needed to secure infrastructure – including five new schools at Loughborough, Shepshed, Barrow, Anstey and Syston – as well as health services, roads and public transport networks
5) Will bring in an estimated £200 million in Section 106 money to pay for other improvements to facilities and amenities
6) Reflects the importance of the environment and conserving biodiversity, protecting heritage sites, creating open leisure spaces and supporting healthier communities
7) Carefully considers the effects of climate change and how to reduce its impacts, including flooding
8) Makes effective use of the borough’s strategic infrastructure, including Loughborough University, the urban edge of Leicester and the International Gateway connection to the M1 motorway and East Midlands Airport
ENDS