Bromsgrove District Local Plan – Scoping Consultation

24th July to 5pm on 4th September 2026

Overview of the new plan-making system

The Council identified during the Draft Development Strategy consultation in the summer of 2025 that a new plan-making system would be introduced. The Government has now introduced this new system for plan-making in England.

For Bromsgrove District Council this means that the new Local Plan needs to be prepared under this system.

The purpose of the new system is to create a faster, streamlined and more digitised plan-making system. Further details about the new plan-making system can be found here.

Your previous comments will continue to shape the Local Plan. We will of course continue to take into account the comments you sent us last summer, so please don’t feel that you have to repeat anything you have said already. Responses to this consultation should be limited to the purposes of this scoping consultation and the questions set out in the document. This consultation does not address site-specific matters. 

Purpose of the Scoping Consultation

Following the introduction of the new national plan-making process, Bromsgrove District Council is required to hold a scoping consultation. The scoping consultation does not identify development sites or draft planning policies.

The scoping consultation is limited to only considering:

(a) the content of the Local Plan; and 

(b) how you would like to be consulted during the preparation of the new Local Plan.

The scoping consultation follows the publication of the Local Plan timetable and the notice of intention to commence local plan preparation on 29th June 2026, both of which are available to view on the page here

Update from the Draft Development Strategy Consultation  

In the summer of 2025, we consulted on a Draft Development Strategy (the DDS).  Whilst that consultation is now closed, you can still see the content of what we consulted on here.

The Council is listening, and whilst we won’t be able to satisfy all the wishes of a very diverse set of respondents our job is to as best as possible balance all of those competing wishes to produce a plan for Bromsgrove which provides certainty on how the district will develop in the years up to 2044.

The Council wants to prepare a plan which successfully deals with the issues you told us about. We want to make sure that new development will only happen where it can be supported by necessary new infrastructure: new or improved schools and local healthcare facilities will be provided, roads and junctions are improved, and new public transport is provided.   

How are we going to do this?

We will do this by progressing your local plan to adoption so we can use it to shape development. The next stage in that process is this scoping report and making sure we take this opportunity to get the scope of the plan correct. 

As highlighted above, comments submitted during the Draft Development Strategy (DDS) consultation will be rolled forward into the new plan-making system. If you submitted comments to the DDS consultation and your comments relate solely to potential development sites or other matters within the scope of the DDS consultation, there is no requirement to respond to this scoping consultation.

Draft Development Strategy Consultation Summaries have been produced. These documents summarise all comments received relating to settlements suggested for growth, these can be viewed here. We’re not inviting comments on these summaries. 

How the DDS has shaped the Scoping consultation

The DDS consultation document identified that a new plan-making system was coming. Now the new plan-making system has been introduced, the Council is able to carry forward the useful feedback from the DDS consultation into the new plan-making system. The Council has listened and the DDS consultation responses have shaped the scoping document and will continue to shape future stages of the Local Plan.

As the DDS summaries referenced above highlight, infrastructure is a key concern for our residents. As such, infrastructure is listed as a key priority and challenge, and delivery will be one of the Local Plan’s key aims.

Under the new plan-making system, the Government determines the matters the Council can consult on during the scoping consultation. This is why the scoping document doesn’t delve as deeply as last summer’s consultation did, but this is so we align with the new system.

Next steps

There will be further consultation stages for the Council to gather your views on the Local Plan, including potential development sites and planning policies, as outlined in the Local Plan timetable.

Responding to the Scoping consultation

Full details of the scoping consultation can be found in the scoping document.

An overview explainer document can be found here.

The notice of scoping consultation document can be found here.

The accompanying SEA Screening Statement can be found here.

*These documents are available for inspection at Bromsgrove District Council, Parkside during office hours and at libraries across the District (Alvechurch Library, Bromsgrove Library, Catshill Community Library, Hagley Library, Rubery Library and Wythall Library) during their respective opening hours. Details and opening times of the libraries can be found online

The Council’s privacy notice can be found here.

If you have any questions, please contact us