Neighbourhood Plan Review 2024
View the current plan here
Much Wenlock Neighbourhood Plan 2013:26 – Adopted Version
mwnplan@muchwenlock-tc.gov.uk
Following the launch of the Review in March, those Town Councillors and local volunteers comprising the Steering Group have been busy! Consideration of the objectives covered in the Neighbourhood Plan has been divided amongst members of that group. Those objectives – some of which may require less work than others – have been divided as follows:
Housing
Community facilities
Economy
Flooding
Design and heritage
Climate change
Environment Transport and getting around
The launch event at Priory Hall attracted several volunteers, and still more are now needed. If you have an interest in making a contribution, maybe from your personal experience or professional expertise, please make contact as soon as possible. It’s Your Plan, and Your Future, and we can all play a part in shaping the future of our town and parish through to 2038.
If you have not already commented on the issues raised in March at Priory Hall, the survey is still open online for your comments. Simply go to https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/MuchWenlock1
We will continue to engage with the community and hope to arrange another consultation event soon. Watch out for further news here, in the Wenlock Herald, or our Facebook page
Boundary Maps
Glossary of planning terms
Neighbourhood Plan: A Neighbourhood Plan is a plan for a local area which sets out, after community consultation, exactly what the community wishes to see for the future of its own town, village or city. They have to pass ‘basic tests’ and once approved by a local referendum are legally binding documents which planning authorities must take into account, when making decisions.
Affordable Housing: rented or bought with a shared equity plan from a registered housing provider. All applicants must be registered with Shropshire Council Homepoint. Affordable housing rents are set at a percentage below the market rent for the area.
Shared Equity means that the buyer is buying a percentage of the home which he/she can increase over time. The cost of the home must be a percentage below the market value in the area. These homes are useful in areas where house prices are particularly high
Market Housing: New build homes built by development companies or single home builders for sale on the open market.
Development Boundary: This is the boundary line around Much Wenlock which is set by Shropshire Council and adopted by the Neighbourhood Plan beyond which developers cannot build.
Exception site: this describes any piece of land beyond the development boundary which can be developed only if the homes are designated ‘affordable’ in the strict sense of planning terms.
Call for land: every so often Shropshire Council issues a ‘Call for Land’ this allows potential developers or housing associations to make Shropshire Council aware of potential development land
Site Assessment: Following a call for land Shropshire Council will assess the benefit or otherwise of each parcel of land for development
Preferred Site: These are the sites which Shropshire Council would prefer to have developed after their assessments
Windfall Site: these are small parcels of land within the development boundary which can be developed in accordance with the policies of the Neighbourhood Plan but are not part of the Shropshire Council site assessment process
Place plan: Shropshire Council has divided the county into ‘Places’ or areas for the purpose of assessing the needs of those communities and who will deliver those needs. Much Wenlock shares a Place Plan with Cressage and other nearby communities which can be found on the Shropshire Council web site
Place plan area: These usually contain designated Community hubs, Community clusters, and Key Centres. Each designated area is slightly different.
Planning application; It is the law that most development must go through the planning process before any building works can begin. Anyone can object or support a planning application
JULY 2024 UPDATE
The town’s Priory Hall hosted a lively meeting on 12th July when local residents gathered to hear about progress of the review of the Much Wenlock Neighbourhood Plan. Members of the Steering Group outlined progress on the draft objectives based on previous feedback, and afterwards welcomed comments and questions on a range of topics.
Housing policies remain much the same because the original plan was sound. Small scale rural ‘exception’ sites for affordable homes will be limited to 20 dwellings, and market housing developments will include 20% affordable homes, both figures in line with Shropshire Council’s policy. Changes include no development on known flood zones, recognition of congested traffic corridors, and alignment of infrastructure growth.
There are changes to Sustainability which include all new developments being suitable for all ages and abilities and allowing safe and easy access to town facilities.
Draft Local Economy policies seek to support existing businesses and help to attract new ones. These include those wishing to work from home, commercial sites in the parish, farming and agriculture, and our town centre businesses. There has also been community feedback about the quarries and support for them as nature, wildlife and recreation sites, which we will pursue.
The Neighbourhood Plan will propose policies to limit serious local Flooding. These will encourage development located away from the worst affected areas. Nature-based steps to reduce flooding will also be supported. Ensuring that water quality is not compromised by undesirable development will require cooperation with landowners and the Environment Agency.
Draft policies for Transport & Getting Around include ensuring that any new residential development is within a sustainable distance of the main town facilities – this chimes with the national work being done to support ‘walkable towns and villages’, where shorter journeys should be feasible for those willing and able. We are mapping where improvements could be made to our walking (and cycling/equestrian) route network. We will lobby for increased public transport provision and for highways improvements where affected by development proposals.
A strong response to our survey about Community Wellbeing revealed a call for additional community meeting space to host a range of activities and informal meeting places, and more for teenagers to do locally and for somewhere safe, covered and accessible to ‘hang out’. Maintaining the leisure centre, improving the under-5s play area, and more green areas – community orchards and gardens – were also listed as important.
Good Quality Design is already supported by the Much Wenlock Design Statement, but the draft review takes this further by providing guidance to be used both by prospective developers and by homeowners considering work on their own properties. It will also provide key criteria for decision makers on planning applications. We also intend to identify ‘non-designated heritage assets’ – buildings that are historically or architecturally important at a local level but are not classed as officially listed.
Much Wenlock’s landscape setting is one of our most prominent assets and proposals in the draft plan acknowledge and safeguard this in the draft Green/Open Spaces and Landscape & Wildlife policies. Additional policies are intended to reduce the impact of light pollution, support for a minimum 20% tree canopy cover across the town and identify and protect those landscape views that are most valued. In addition, we want to protect those features of our natural environment that are intrinsic to our area, linking to the other policy areas.
While Climate Change is an international issue, we have a part to play at the local level. We want to replace the current policy on efficiency standards with a stronger one about encouraging development (new and existing) to improve their energy efficiency, insulation, reduce water consumption and so forth – this will also inform the Design section of the plan. We also intend to strengthen this policy by providing additional criteria whilst ensuring they are sympathetic to the landscape and bring community benefit.
This is necessarily a condensed and incomplete summary of the topics covered and the conversations between local residents at the 12th July meeting. Hopefully it provides a flavour of the progress of the Neighbourhood Plan Review. There will be a further opportunity to influence the final draft in the early autumn. In the meantime further detail of Your Plan – Your Future can be found on the Town Council’s website: www.bit.ly/4e7NKYu
SEPTEMBER 2024 UPDATE
Much Wenlock Town Council is reviewing the Neighbourhood Plan
Come along to our next event on Saturday 9th November at the Priory Hall to learn more about the first formal consultation on the draft Neighbourhood Plan
What is the Neighbourhood Plan? Our Neighbourhood Plan is a document that contains planning policies to guide land-use and development in the parish. It sits alongside the Shropshire Local Plan, providing additional local detail so that decisions in Much Wenlock can be made in a more considered way.
Why are we reviewing it? The current Neighbourhood Plan was adopted in 2014 and has been successfully used by decision makers. But since 2014, there have been changes to national policy and Shropshire Council policy. It’s important that our Neighbourhood Plan remains up-to-date and responds to new issues. That is why we’ve been updating it.
Who’s doing this? The work has been led by a team of volunteers comprising Town Councillors and other members of the community. We’ve sought to retain the overarching objectives of the plan, and update these – and the associated policies – where necessary.
What’s new in the Review? To inform our work, we’ve held community events, meetings and a community survey. We’ve gathered together the evidence needed to support the aspirations expressed by residents. Some new areas that we are including in the Review are:
- Identifying locally important heritage assets to ensure that we don’t lose them
- Preparing Design Guidance to influence the look and feel of development locally
- Designating additional local green spaces, to prevent inappropriate development on them
- Supporting the town centre so that it remains a vibrant focal point for the community
- Considering where improvements can be made to make it easier for people to get around on foot locally
What can I do? We are reaching a very important point in the project. We will shortly be sharing our Draft Neighbourhood Plan document with everyone. We will be launching a formal six week consultation on the document and will be asking for comments and feedback. We are hosting an event on Saturday 9th November at the Priory Hall to talk about the Plan and to let you know how you can comment.
What happens next? After the consultation, our team will carefully consider all of the comments and amend the Plan into its final version. This will be submitted to Shropshire Council, who will run another six-week consultation. You’ll be able to see how your comments were integrated into the plan.
After this, the Plan will be screened by an Independent Examiner, who will be checking that it is legally sound and compliant with national and strategic policy. They will issue a report setting out if any amendments need to be made. The document can then be finalised so that it can proceed to a public referendum.
