Local plan consultation

WHERE WILL 13,200 NEW HOUSES BE BUILT IN THIS DISTRICT UP TO 2043? PUBLIC CONSULTATION OPEN UNTIL SEPTEMBER 11TH.
 

This consultation document is not for the faint-hearted. However, the issue of where new housing developments take place and which sites are earmarked for employment in the years to 2043 should be of concern to all who live and work in the area covered by the Forest of Dean as the local planning authority.
 

Then there is the matter of the vital infrastructure needed to support development and to meet community need - things such as health centres, community facilities, improved capacity at sewerage treatment plants, schools, better public transport, improved roads etc etc.
 

If all you do is to visit one of the August drop-in events and talk to the planners, or write an email expressing your general views on the options, it will all help to inform the decisions made as the plan progresses and eventually gets approved by government and has weight in the planning system. If you can respond to the challenge of the online or paper questionnaire then you probably deserve a medal.
 

The options are outlined in the link but here they are in brief below for convenience:
 

• Either: Extend the existing towns and villages OR
• Create one or two new towns/villages OR
• A combination of both of the above. (Recommended)
   

Getting the plan finished IS important. If there is no approved plan, developers will take the opportunity to do it their way with more likelihood of executive -tyle houses, poorer quality design, fewer affordable homes and less of the vital infrastructure.
 

If you are experiencing a degree of deja-vue, this is because the new(ish) Labour government has asked our district to build 82% more houses than were required in 2024 when the last attempt was made to create the new Local Plan. Questions are being raised by our district and others that have constraints like National Landscape and Statutory Forest about whether we should be expected to accept this enlarged housing target, But in the ,meantime, we cannot afford to waste time in getting a plan together, especially as the FoDDC will no longer exist after 2028 and having a  plan it makes it likely to be the basis for any larger plans which will be the responsibility of the combined authority of which we will be part in the next few years.
 

Wouldn’t we rather do something ourselves than have it done to us further down the line?
 

Drop-in events are at the following venues:

See more…