Local Plan voted through by district councillors

The South Warwickshire Local Plan will be submitted to the Government following one final consultation. This was the decision taken by district councillors in meetings yesterday in both Warwick and Stratford. The Warwick District Council (WDC) meeting can be viewed here. Strenuous arguments to show that Plan is unsound were put forward by many local people and parish councils, including Old Milverton and Blackdown, but to no avail. In Warwick District, the Plan was approved by just six votes (21 in favour, 15 against, 2 abstentions and 6 absences). The next steps are set out in a press release by WDC here. The key points are that the next stage – the Regulation 19 consultation – is being undertaken on behalf the Government’s Planning Inspector and is focused on specific issues, namely whether the plan meets legal requirements, shows effective joint working between councils and has been properly tested in terms of soundness. The consultation will run from Tuesday 21st July to Tuesday 8th September. We will put a link to the consultation as soon as it is live, and will follow this up within a week with guidance on how to respond.