Inspectors are dealing a major blow to the council over an ‘inadequate’ local plan

The comments come from inspectors Louise Crosby and Elaine Worthington, who are carrying out an analysis of the proposed local plan for Shropshire.

The local plan is one of the council’s most important policies and identifies locations within the authority’s area where residential and commercial investments are recommended by 2038.

The proposed plan includes a total of 31,300 homes to be built over this period and 320 hectares of development land.

In their latest letter, inspectors gave the council until the end of the month to determine how it could address the issues they identified within six months – failing which they will ask the authority to withdraw the proposals.

Such an outcome would have serious consequences for the council and the planned development of the district.

In their letter, inspectors highlight a number of what they consider to be shortcomings in the plan, including long-standing problems with the way the council has delivered 1,500 homes to the Black Country.

They also pointed out that the Council was relying on “windfall profits” to cover the total allocation of funds.

Unexpected rainfall sites are those that were not included in the plan, which then materialize and are counted towards the targets.

In a section that will be of great concern to the council, the letter reads: “We are now asking the council to provide a project plan to address the shortcomings we have identified.

“This should include a detailed work program and realistic timetables for all the work needed to correct the soundness issues we have identified above.

“It should outline all the steps the council will need to take and illustrate how these issues can be remedied within six months.

“If this were not possible, we would need to reconsider our position and the likely outcome would be a recommendation to withdraw the plan.”

They asked for a response by January 31.

One of the main issues in the council’s plan was the offer to provide 1,500 homes to Black Country councils and how these homes were provided.

Inspectors previously suggested the council included the figure in its own requirements rather than adding it – which would have created a plan requiring 32,300 homes rather than 31,300.

He says the current approach means Shropshire Council is not providing enough housing to meet its own needs.

Following a hearing on the matter, the council identified three sites where it said it would build 1,500 homes in the Black Country – 600 at Tasley Garden Village in Bridgnorth, 300 on land between Mytton Oak Road and Hanwood Road in Shrewsbury and 600 at the former Ironbridge Power Station.

But inspectors have now highlighted the issue as a serious issue, saying facilities must meet targets set by Shropshire council.

They said: “During the course of the inquiry it became increasingly clear that in agreeing to take over some of the unmet needs of the Black Country between the stages of plan preparation set out in Regulation 18 and Regulation 19, the Council was doing so under Article on the basis that no additional locations would be needed.

“This approach led to a number of significant and interrelated problems with the plan.”

It added: “The evidence underpinning the plan, in particular housing requirements and supply, appears to have changed continuously over time, which has caused enormous confusion and makes it difficult to track.

“No matter which way you look at it, the council is still committed to the high growth option, but demand in Shropshire has been reduced by 1,000 homes and sites have been adapted to meet the needs of the Black Country.

“Even taking into account the council’s latest work, overall housing demand is only 500 homes higher than the plan presented, despite the addition of 1,500 homes to meet Black Country needs.”

The letter also said the three locations chosen for allocation to the Black Country did not necessarily make geographical sense, and identified green belts in areas such as Shifnal and Albrighton as potential alternatives.

The comments will raise serious concern among campaigners opposed to development in and around towns, as well as the proposed Bradford Estates plans for 3,000 homes on land north of the M54 and west of Tong.

The letter states: “We have serious concerns about the geography and distribution of the proposed allocations that have been identified as meeting the needs of the Black Country.

“While the proposed housing allocations on the former Ironbridge and Bridgnorth power station sites have strong links with the Black Country, in particular Telford and Wolverhampton, sites on the west side of Shrewsbury are much less similar.

“This is particularly true when compared to areas such as Shifnal and Albrighton, which are close to the M54 and the Black Country.

“While we appreciate that this land is within the Green Belt, the Council has already provided evidence to show that, at least in principle, there are the exceptional circumstances required to justify changing the boundaries of the Green Belt to allocate land for development.”