Out To Consultation – Unmet Housing Need in Birmingham

With Birmingham City Council adopting its new Local Plan in January 2017, 37,900 new homes are required elsewhere in the Greater Birmingham Housing Market Area to meet the shortfall in the city.

Stuart Tym, Head of Planning at Wilkes updates us on who’s doing what now.

The four Black Country Councils of Dudley, Sandwell, Walsall and Wolverhampton are now consulting on an Issues and Options Report which closes on 8th September.

The Black Country Authorities had previously estimated that they had capacity to meet there own requirements up to 2031 but in a rapidly expanding area of need what capacity will it have to take in the growth required as a whole?

The Housing Market Area and the Plan identified the need to provide the 37,900 new homes which now has heads scracthing at authorities throughout the West Midlands.

Solihull, Stratford upon Avon and North Warwickshire have also started on Plans or Memorandums of Understanding which chip away at this total.

With the absence of Regional Planning still being felt hardest in the area of calculating Housing Need and the gap met in part by the duty to cooperate it remains to be seen how the country’s housing crisis will be resolved in this region.

If you have a site which is suitable for housing now really is the time to promote it!

Stuart has also advised LPA’s on their emerging Plans as they promote them and their emerging CIL Schedules and the processes and procedures entailed.

For anyone wanting legal assistance in their response to the Black Country’s consultation or with regard to any strategic planning matters please contact Stuart Tym on 0121 233 4333 or via email on [email protected].