Publication Plan April 2024

Object

Representation ID: 6340

Received: 30/05/2024

Respondent: Seddon Homes

Agent: WSP

Legally compliant? Not specified

Sound? No

Duty to co-operate? No

Object to the part of Ash Flats site (SHELAA site 034) in South Staffordshire not being allocated. Sites do not always follow Borough boundaries and the delivery and quality of a scheme should not be constrained due to having to be confined to a single Borough.Stafford are also in the process of conducting a Local Plan review and have consulted on the Preferred Options Plan. Within the Preferred Options Plan, Land at Ash Flats is identified as a draft housing allocation. The intention is not necessarily to seek residential development on this southern part of the site requiring South Staffordshire to apportion some of its housing numbers to this site, but more that there is a joined-up approach that enables the full extent of the Ash Flats site to come forward. It is acknowledged that the southern part of the Ash Flat site is within the Flood Zone, therefore, whilst unlikely to come forward for housing, this doesn’t preclude it from being suitable to accommodate non-housing elements of a wider scheme being delivered at Ash Flats such as ecological and landscape enhancements. A main modification is required to Policy SA3 to include ’Land adjacent to M6 off Ash Flats Lane’ (site reference 034) as a cross-boundary housing allocation.

Object

Representation ID: 6341

Received: 30/05/2024

Respondent: Seddon Homes

Agent: WSP

Legally compliant? Not specified

Sound? No

Duty to co-operate? No

Previous representations to the Local Plan Publication Stage in 2022, submitted by WSP on behalf of Seddon Homes, raised concerns about the lack of cross-boundary working and the failure to account for cross-boundary sites. Whilst there is an acknowledgement in paragraphs 3.6 and 3.7 that the Council has been working collaboratively with neighbouring authorities on cross-boundary issues, it seems like this has been focused on meeting unmet needs from the Greater Birmingham Housing Market Area (GBHMA) or unmet employment needs. However, the GBHMA doesn’t include Stafford and there is no reference to any cross-boundary working with Stafford with regards to the delivery of housing.

The suggestion isn’t that South Staffordshire take on additional housing numbers as part of the Ash Flats site coming forward for development, just that there is a joined-up approach which enables housing to be maximised on the land within Stafford with the ability to then deliver open space, landscaping and ecological enhancements across the remainder of the site.The Ash Flats site forms a logical extension to Stafford Town with defensible boundaries that would not result in urban sprawl across the open countryside. These physical boundaries extend into South Staffordshire, therefore, containing the development of the site.

Having part of the site allocated for housing and the remainder in the open countryside would be at odds with one another and therefore Until all cross-boundary issues such as this have been considered and addressed, the Duty to Cooperate cannot be said to have been fully complied with.

Object

Representation ID: 6342

Received: 30/05/2024

Respondent: Seddon Homes

Agent: WSP

Legally compliant? Not specified

Sound? No

Duty to co-operate? No

Inset Plan 11 - a main modification is required to Policy Inset Map 11 to include ’Land adjacent to M6 off Ash Flats Lane’ (site reference 034) as a cross-boundary housing allocation.