Local Plan

The development strategy identifies the roles that different areas of the borough, including Telford, Newport and the rural area will play in responding to the vision and priorities of the review of the Local Plan. The strategy will also set out the preferred distribution of growth across these areas which is based on the current distribution of population. 

Telford & Wrekin Council use this strategy to direct development to sites and locations that make best use of existing infrastructure without harming the borough’s substantial environmental and heritage assets. 

The development strategy endorses: 

• the importance of the borough continuing to grow and to meet the needs of local communities; 
• the importance of safeguarding the borough's green infrastructure and identity; 
• that development should principally be focused within, or adjacent to, the urban areas of the borough; and 
• the need to support the needs of rural communities. 

Protecting and improving Telford and Wrekin’s green and natural environment is an important part of the Local Plan. It's a big part of the Telford and Wrekin Local Plan vision and goals, as well as the development strategy and planning policies. 

The draft Local Plan identifies a requirement for 20,200 new homes and 167ha of new employment land. To date the Council has already identified over 50% of the required new homes through sites that: 

• already have planning permission; 
• have been completed since 2020 or are under construction; or 
• are site allocations that will be carried forward from the current adopted Telford & Wrekin Local Plan. 

That means the Council only needs to deliver around 8, 800 (on average 441 homes per year) homes through new site allocations to meet its housing requirement over the twenty year plan period of 2020 – 2040. 

The Local Plan has seven strategic policies. These are overarching policies that address key priorities for the borough and include policies to:  

• protect and enhance the boroughs designated green spaces;  
• protect and improve the ecology and biodiversity of the borough;    
• set out the amount of new employment land the Council will be planning for and where it will be directed to in the borough including existing and new business parks;  
• identify the amount of housing the Council will be planning for up to 2040 (over half of which already has planning permission or is under construction) and where this will be directed to including site allocations;   
• set out how the new development will mitigate and adapt to the impacts of climate change; 
• help create healthy and strong communities for generations to come; and  
• decure financial contributions from new development to fund infrastructure such as schools, transport improvements community facilities and investment in green spaces.   

The boroughs green and natural environment is one of its greatest assets. The Council continue to champion the natural environment and protect green spaces. Through the Local Plan the Council will protect and enhance green space and ensure development prioritises nature recovery and securing biodiversity net gains.  

All development should include measures to adapt to and to mitigate climate change. Development should positively contribute to meeting our local and national goals of achieving net zero and carbon neutrality. 

As part of the Local Plan, Telford & Wrekin Council are going to build new homes and places for employment that will try to use brownfield sites first and put new buildings where they'll benefit the public the most. 

The council will also make sure that when new development happens, public the public benefit from new and improved infrastructure which helps reduce the impact on the environment and our local services. 

Development management policies in the Local Plan build on, and provide additional detail, to the strategic policies to guide well-designed, appropriately located development. These policies are used to help assess the detail of planning applications that will come forward once the plan has been adopted.