Issue - meetings

This item has been placed on the agenda for the meeting at the request of the Area Committee of CALC (County Association of Local Councils)

The Chairman informed the Forum that the Strategic Planning Manager had prepared a written response:-

"The draft Core Strategy was published for consultation on the 31st October 2008 until 16th February 3009.  Around 130 responses were received.  The responses are currently being evaluated and, where necessary, changes made to the strategy to take into account the comments submitted.  The Strategic Housing Land Availability Assessment (SHLAA) has also been produced as one of the key pieces of evidence that underpins the housing distribution within the Core Strategy.

Ongoing work on the evidence base will be taking place although further production and publication of the Core Strategy is significantly affected by the ongoing review of the Regional Spatial Strategy (RSS) and, until the outcome is known, it is impossible to produce a core strategy which would be judged sound by the Secretary of State.  Once the outcome of the RSS is known, it will be easier to predict an accurate timescale for the production although, if the RSS directs significant growth to the district in the form of extensions into the green belt at Redditch and South Birmingham, further delays could be necessary."

Members of the Forum voiced their concerns in respect of the use of land for other authorities' housing allocations, together with the size of likely housing developments and the associated infrastructure provision.  Several speakers also outlined their impressions of the presentations which had been made earlier in the day relating to Bromsgrove, Redditch and Birmingham at the WMRSS Examination in Public in Wolverhampton.  However, it was understood that their was still a considerable amount of time to go before any definitive details could be known.