Share YOUR knowledge into plan, council urges

Residents are being urged to share their local knowledge, as a consultation to identify sites for the thousands of homes that need to be built in Bromsgrove District by 2043 hits the halfway stage.

Already nearly 3,000 contributions have been received on the Draft Development Strategy Consultation for the Bromsgrove District Local Plan. Launched in June, the programme offers residents an extended 12 weeks to comment on where housing, employment, and infrastructure should be developed up to 2043.

It follows the allocation from Government requiring Bromsgrove District Council to find suitable sites for 9,000 new homes. If the Council does not, then Government will allocate the sites instead.

As well as providing advanced online consultation tools, the Council has put on officer-led drop-in information sessions in a bid to hear from as many people as possible on the best places for these homes to be built.

Bromsgrove District Councillor Kit Taylor, whose portfolio covers Planning, said: “No development is not an option, and we need to pull on local knowledge to help us to get this right before the future of our District is taken out of our hands.

“I want to thank those people who have spent time to fill in our consultation and come along to our drop-in sessions, because it’s so important that we work together on this. For example, where landowners have suggested sites for us to consider for the future development, this process means we can all look at the implications of that together, in this very open and transparent way.

“Local knowledge is key to making sure we deliver what Government has told us to, with the District, our residents and each other in mind.”

Another drop-in session has also been added to the calendar of consultation events, bringing the total to 19 across 15 district locations. That’s set for Alvechurch Village Hall on September 4th, from 3pm until 7.30pm.

The consultation runs until September 22, with materials available at www.bromsgrove.gov.uk/BromsgrovePlan or Alvechurch, Bromsgrove, Catshill, Hagley, Rubery, and Wythall libraries throughout. Event details are also available on that link, and for queries contact bromsgroveplan@bromsgroveandredditch.gov.uk or 01527 881211.