Shropshire Council is now caught between a rock and a hard place.
The past few weeks have marked a significant turning point in Shropshire’s planning journey. I want to share some reflections on two important developments: the formal withdrawal of the draft Local Plan from examination and the launch of a new Call for Sites process. In doing so, it is essential first to acknowledge the background and the political landscape in which we live. The new plan must work for Shropshire people, delivering more affordable homes, creating quality local jobs, providing the vital infrastructure we need, while protecting the natural landscape and the rich heritage that makes Shropshire such a great place to live and work.
A Legacy of Underinvestment and a New Political Landscape
It’s important to acknowledge that the challenges we face today are not new. Successive governments have under-resourced the planning system, weakening Shropshire Council’s capacity to process major and complex applications quickly. The previous administration failed to invest adequately in planning, leaving us with just five officers working on the Local Plan — two of whom were seconded — compared to 21 who worked on SAMDev. This chronic underinvestment has had a cascading effect across the service.
At the same time, the Labour Government’s revisions to the Standard Method for calculating housing need have set targets that exceed the capacity of rural counties like ours to deliver housing, employment, and infrastructure. These targets are now mandatory, and while we must meet them, we must also ensure that development is sustainable, locally supported, and properly resourced. Arguably, their target of delivering 1.5 million homes in this parliament isn’t realistic or achievable. Shropshire’s share they now have to deliver is 2,025 dwellings per year — an uplift of 86% on the previously identified need. Last December, the Government revised the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF), introducing a raft of changes, most notably the introduction of ‘Grey Belt’.
The Planning and Infrastructure Bill: A Threat to Local Democracy?
As we look ahead, we must also be vigilant. The Planning and Infrastructure Bill currently before Parliament poses serious risks to local decision-making. It ignores the advice of the Office for Environmental Protection, which warned in May that the bill’s wording would roll back species protections. It also lacks a timetable for Environmental Delivery Plans (EDPs), which allow developers to offset environmental harm with cash payments—a move that risks commodifying nature and undermining genuine mitigation efforts, whilst potentially doubling admin costs for the council and developers.
At full council, we called on our MPs to oppose Part 3 of the Bill and to defend the principle that planning should be local, democratic, and environmentally responsible.
Withdrawing the Draft Local Plan: A Difficult but Necessary Decision
After years of work and extensive consultation, the draft Local Plan (2016–2038) has been withdrawn from examination. This was not a decision taken lightly. The examination process had become protracted and increasingly unviable, with clear indications that the Inspectors were likely to find the plan unsound. Continuing would have meant further costs and delays, with little prospect of success.
Last week, the full council meeting formally withdrew the draft local plan. The current Core Strategy and SAMDev Plan will remain in place, alongside adopted Neighbourhood Development Plans. Although SAMDev will carry diminishing weight, it will ruthlessly expose Shropshire to inappropriate development. But we are not standing still. Officers are preparing the evidence to support the new plan. The new plan is anticipated to start next January and be completed by autumn 2028. My job is to ensure we establish a sound policy framework as quickly as possible. Work will begin in earnest on a new Local Plan under the Government’s revised planning framework. As yet we don’t know what that is and can’t start without it. It is little consolation that the local plan would have needed revising anyway, given the new NPPF and housing targets.
As depressing and disastrous as this position is, this is an opportunity to reset—to build a plan that is more responsive to local needs, more robust in the face of national policy changes, and more ambitious in its vision for Shropshire.
Planning in a Policy Vacuum: Holding the Line with SPDs, LNRS and LTP
In the absence of an up-to-date Local Plan, we are not without tools. A suite of Supplementary Planning Documents (SPDs) is being developed to provide interim policy clarity, with a target adoption date of September. These will help guide decisions on design, infrastructure, and housing mix while the new plan is developed.
Alongside this, the Local Nature Recovery Strategy (LNRS) is about to go public consultation in August, and the Local Transport Plan (LTP) is being refreshed to align with the new planning framework. These documents will form part of the evidence base for the new Local Plan and help mitigate the risks of speculative development in the interim.
Launching the Call for Sites: Shaping the Future Together
In parallel, we’ve launched a new Call for Sites, inviting landowners, developers, businesses, and communities to propose land for potential development. This is the first step in shaping the spatial strategy for the new Local Plan. It’s a standard part of the evidence-gathering process, but it’s also a chance to think creatively and strategically about how we want our county to grow.
I’ve emphasised in recent communications that this is not a free-for-all. Not every site submitted will be taken forward. But it is vital that we understand the full range of options available to us—from housing and employment land to renewable energy and community infrastructure.
We’ve also taken steps to make the process more accessible. While the form is designed with developers in mind, I’ve suggested including options like What3Words or Google Maps links to help less technical users participate. And we’re planning further communications to explain the process and the wider Local Plan timetable.
Planning with Purpose
These developments—the withdrawal of the old plan, the launch of the new Call for Sites, the rollout of SPDs, and our resistance to centralising legislation—are not contradictory. They are part of the same story: a commitment to planning with purpose, transparency, and ambition.
We want a Local Plan that boosts our economy, delivers affordable homes, supports infrastructure, and protects the historic and environmental assets that make Shropshire special. We want a planning system that works with communities, not against them.
This is a moment of change—but also of opportunity.
