Wiltshire Local Plan attracts nearly 11,000 comments
The document will be discussed at the Council's Cabinet meeting today
More than 10,700 comments, from thousands of the different respondents, have been passed on to Wiltshire Council, about the county's Local Plan.
The document will set out the development plans for housing, infrastructure and employment growth through until 2038.
Once it's approved, it'll form the basis of what all planning applications in Wiltshire will be judged against.
Wiltshire Council's Cabinet will discuss the Plan, and decide on the next steps today (Tuesday 8th October).
Cllr Nick Botterill, Cabinet Member for Strategic Planning, said:
“I am very pleased to see that so many members of the local community engaged in the Local Plan consultation process. It has taken some time to carefully consider people’s comments, but I am pleased that we’re now in a position to bring this ambitious Plan forward for Cabinet’s approval, so that it can proceed to the next stage.
“We are not proposing wholesale changes because we believe that the Plan meets legal and technical requirements and is capable of being approved by a Planning Inspector. Through the examination process, an independent Inspector will consider all responses to the consultation and assess the soundness and legal compliance of the Plan; they can also recommend modifications should any be needed.
"This is the most ambitious and environmentally conscious Local Plan that Wiltshire has ever produced, with zero carbon standards for new homes and policies to increase biodiversity alongside new developments. We’re also maximising brownfield development and ensuring developments have their fair share of affordable homes.”
The council held a consultation on the Local Plan in Autumn 2023.
If the Plan is approved by Cabinet, it will then be considered by Full Council on 15th October.
It'll then be submitted to the Planning Inspector – along with all the comments received during the consultation.