Update January 2025
Solid progress on the review of the Neighbourhood Plan continues. The first round of statutory consultation on the draft Neighbourhood Plan Review document has now come to an end. In the eight-week period, we held a community event at Priory Hall, we hosted the documents on the Town Council website and also made them available at locations around the parish. We also wrote to organisations and local groups to seek their views on the draft planning policies.
Thank you to those of you who took the time to read the documents and provide your feedback. This is really helpful.
The Neighbourhood Plan Steering Group will now carefully read all of the comments received and discuss how the Plan should be amended into the ‘Submission Version’ to send to Shropshire Council.
If you were unable to provide feedback this time around, don’t worry as Shropshire Council will be running a second consultation on the Submission Version. This will last for six weeks and you can make further comments at that stage.
Following that, the Plan will be independently reviewed by a Planning Examiner, who may make further recommendations to ensure that the Plan is legally sound.
Finally, there will be a local referendum to ask parishioners to vote on whether the Plan should be formally adopted by Shropshire Council so that the policies it contains can be used to determine planning applications here.
Much Wenlock Neighbourhood Plan
 Pre-Submission Consultation (Regulation 14)
Monday 11 November 2024 to Monday 6 January 2025
Please note that this consultation is now closed
The Much Wenlock Neighbourhood Plan sets out the community’s aspirations for the town and parish. It is a statutory document, which is used to guide and shape development and help determine planning applications.
In March 2023 the Town Council resolved to review the existing Much Wenlock Neighbourhood Plan (2013 – 2026) to bring it up to date. Â The new Plan, currently in draft form, will cover the period 2024 – 2038. Â The views of the community are extremely important in helping to shape the Plan and there are several opportunities for engagement. Â Please see below for details.
The consultation will run from Monday 11 November 2024 to Monday 6 January 2025. Â
This is a statutory Pre-Submission Consultation in accordance with the requirements of the Localism Act 2011 and Regulation 14 of the Neighbourhood Planning (General) Regulations 2012 (as amended).
Download the documents:
- Much Wenlock Pre-Submission Version Neighbourhood Plan: PART 1 (pages 1 – 50), PART 2 (pages 51 – 156), Appendices
- Much Wenlock Design Guidelines and Codes: PART 1 (pages 1 – 25), PART 2 (pages 26 – 73)
- Much Wenlock Housing Needs Assessment
- Strategic Environmental Assessment Screening Statement
- Habitats Regulations Assessment Screening Statement
 You can read an overview of the policies HERE
Presentation on Objective 7, Green and Open Spaces, Local Landscape and Wildlife, by Tim Coleslaw, Local Ecologist: Presentation on Objective 7 – Green and Open Spaces, Local Landscape and Wildlife
If you require assistance in viewing the Neighbourhood Plan documents, please contact the Town Council on: 01952 727509
What is the Neighbourhood Plan?
The Neighbourhood Plan is a document that sets out planning and land-use policies relating to the Much Wenlock parish. It is a formal document that sets out, in development terms, how land should be used within the parish, as well as planning policies to influence development proposals. The Plan we are consulting on is an update to our existing Neighbourhood Plan.
A steering group comprising local councillors and volunteers from the community was set up to lead the project to develop the Neighbourhood Plan. A great deal of work has been undertaken to reach the point of having a draft Plan, which we are now consulting on.
The Neighbourhood Plan must undergo a rigorous process, including a series of consultations, an independent examination and finally a local referendum, as ultimately it will form part of the development plan for Shropshire Council, sitting alongside the Local Plan. If successful, it will be used alongside the Local Plan policies to determine the outcome of planning applications within our parish.
A summary of all comments will be made publicly available following the consultation, and each will be carefully reviewed by the Steering Group. The Neighbourhood Plan will be amended accordingly into its Submission Version, which will be formally submitted to Shropshire Council, who will undertake a further round of consultation. After this, the Plan will be independently examined and, if successful, will proceed to a local referendum.
Please note that personal information provided in your responses will be confidential and processed in line with the Data Protection Act 1998 and the General Data Protection Regulations. The Town Council will process your details in relation to the preparation of this Neighbourhood Plan document only. As part of the Consultation and in line with the new General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR), when responding to the consultation, please confirm that you are happy for the Town Council to pass on your contact details (name, address/email address) to Shropshire Council so that they can contact you at the next Submission Version (Regulation 16) stage of consultation.
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
