Local people are being invited by Herefordshire Council to take part in a public consultation that will help to shape the updated Local Plan 2021-2041.
Consultation on the options for the location and scale of new development throughout the county is now live and will run until 28 February 2022.
The new document, which will replace the current Core Strategy, will determine growth and development across the county over the next 20 years. It will ensure that Herefordshire Council delivers the required housing, alongside the jobs, and supporting community infrastructure and services in a way that is appropriate for the rural nature and historic character of the County.
Cllr Liz Harvey, Cabinet member for finance, corporate services and planning, said: “The Government targets for housing growth here in Herefordshire mean that on average we are required to plan for 850 new homes per year over the next 20 years – around 17,000 dwellings. Fortunately, Herefordshire already has 5,000 existing planning permissions for housing, which will count towards achieving that target. So this update will aim to strategise the location of around 12,000 homes – a much more realistic figure for Herefordshire than the growth ambitions of the current plan.
“The new plan will also need to ensure that development is located and designed in a way which both requires less energy, and produces more of that energy from renewable sources. All new developments will need to be net zero carbon by 2030, so these factors are vital.
“Everyone in Herefordshire has now had 6 years of experience of the present planning policy framework. This update must learn important lessons about what works well and what needs to be changed to better meet the evolving needs of our communities and businesses. To do that successfully we need ideas and feedback from as many people as possible.
“This first consultation is about exploring how development ought to be distributed across the county. A number of exciting and quite different options are being considered at this stage and we are keen to get wide feedback on these, as well as the high level vision and overall objectives. So I encourage everybody with an interest in the future of the county to take part and have their say.”
To take part in the consultation and for more information, please visit the web page.
