South Worcestershire Development Plan Consultation

The three councils forming South Worcestershire – Malvern Hills, Wychavon and Worcester City - have announced the latest stage in the South Worcestershire Development Plan (SWDP) Review.

Consultation on the initial Issues and Options Stage is now open for public comment and will run until 17th December. Further public consultations will be carried out in the coming months/years, but as planning policy is a ‘front-loaded’ process it is important that any comments are submitted in the timescale of this current consultation to most effectively influence matters such as how much development to direct where.

Once adopted the SWDP will cover the period 2016 – 2041 and will show where new housing, employment and infrastructure will be directed in South Worcestershire. The SWDP Review will allocate the sites required, or identify the broad locations (such as Neighbourhood Plan areas), to deliver the identified level of development.

Running alongside the Issues and Options consultation is a further opportunity to promote potential development sites through an additional ‘Call for Sites’ process. This means any sites not previously forwarded in the last consultation (which ended in July) can now be submitted for future consideration in a review of the Strategic Housing and Employment Land Availability Assessment (SHELAA). This is an evidence document which assesses the deliverability and suitability of sites for development and it is used to help decide where to allocate land for housing or other forms of development.

If you have a site that you wish to promote through this process, it is important that you submit it now for consideration.

Now is the time to seek to influence the emerging policies and promote sites in the South Worcestershire area. Tyler Parkes would be happy to discuss how to help you.