Get involved with future development decisions in the District

Cannock Chase Council is asking local people to get involved with future development decisions and have their say in a consultation on a new Local Plan.

The Local Plan covers at least a fifteen year period and determines what sort of development is needed for the future, for example; homes, businesses and shops, how much development is needed and where it should go.  It also sets a clear policy for protecting and improving the local environment and delivering local infrastructure.

The Council is keen to hear views on the big issues which a new local plan should be dealing with and how we should be dealing with these issues.  Views are being sought on a range of issues and on the options for dealing with those issues, including the levels of development needed in the District and where that development should go. 

A number of other documents are being consulted on at the same time: a Sustainability Appraisal and evidence related to infrastructure requirements, housing and economic development needs.  This is all needed to inform the emerging local plan.

Councillor Tony Johnson, Economic Development and Planning Portfolio Leader said “We are now halfway through the consultation and there has been a lot of interest at our drop in sessions, where residents can speak directly to officers.

“There has been a major shake-up of the planning system on a national level, so we have had to start work on a new local plan to reflect this and to deal with the future needs of the District. We need local people to tell us what the big planning issues are in their community so we can look at ways of addressing these as we move forward. The policies in our new Local Plan will eventually help us to determine individual planning applications so it is important we get this right.”

The consultation runs until Monday 8 July.  You can view all documents and find further information on how to respond to the consultation on the Council’s website at: www.cannockchasedc.gov.uk/planningpolicy where comments forms can be downloaded.

There are also a number of drop in events planned, as detailed below where you can speak with Council officers.  They will be the same so it doesn’t matter which one you attend.