Green credentials put forward for future Wiltshire housebuilding
The Council's added stipulations to their new Local Plan
Any new homes built in Wiltshire must be zero carbon, and have walking and cycling connections.
They're some of the green credentials being put forward in a new Local Plan, created by Wiltshire Council.
Renewable energy like solar panels and improving biodiversity would also be mandated in the document.
It's been approved by the authority's Cabinet, and will now go to Full Council next week - ahead of a public consultation later this year.
The Local Plan sets out the 'vision and framework' for housing, infrastructure and employment land for the next 15 years, and has been under development since 2017.
The final draft of the document will also ensure 40% of all new greenfield housing developments of 10 homes or more will be affordable homes.
There's also plans to make it easier to provide affordable housing in villages where there is clearly identified demand, but those developments will still need to be proportionate to the size of a village.
Cllr Nick Botterill, Cabinet Member for Strategic Planning, said:
“This a ground-breaking Local Plan that far exceeds anything we’ve done before in terms of sustainability and biodiversity.
“Since the last consultation in 2021, we have reassessed the scale of development required and reduced the number of houses to be built until 2038 to ensure that we’re not building more homes than we need to.
“We have also maximised the number of brownfield sites in the Plan to help protect as much of our countryside as we can.
“We recognise that there will be some controversial elements to the Plan. For example, the Plan will allow limited development in small villages, with at least 40% affordable housing to ensure that we can keep young people in the villages they grew up in. Our larger villages will also have a role to play in providing homes for our communities. These homes will be built by 2038, in some cases in accordance with Neighbourhood Plans.
“It has taken many years of consultation, evidence gathering and listening to feedback to get to this point, and the Plan will be considered by Full Council next week, before a public consultation in the autumn. The Plan will be examined by an independent Planning Inspector in 2024.
“We have committed to an effective Local Plan that delivers sustainable growth for Wiltshire in our Business Plan, and we look forward to giving residents, businesses, communities and other stakeholders the final opportunity to have their say in the public consultation later in the autumn – we’ll have more details on how people can get involved soon.”
You can read more about Local Plan, and the report given to Wiltshire Council's Cabinet on the authority's website.