The final stage of consultation on a new Wolverhampton Local Plan to guide future development in the city up to 2042 is set to start later this month (November).

Known as the ‘Publication Plan’ consultation, it means people can have their say on the final version of the plan before it is submitted to the government.

Every local authority must prepare a local plan to guide regeneration, investment and planning application decisions for at least 15 years. 

The plan identifies environmental areas to protect and enhance, sites to allocate for housing development and employment use, key transport schemes and policies to guide design and secure infrastructure.

Subject to City of Wolverhampton Council Cabinet approval, consultation on the ‘Publication Plan’ will take place from Monday, November 25, 2024, to Thursday, January 9, 2025.

Full details on how people can have their say on the ‘soundness and legal compliance’ of the plan will be provided via the council website, at the Civic Centre and main libraries when the consultation goes live on November 25.

The ‘Publication Plan’ builds on work related to the city undertaken during the Black County Plan process and has been informed by 119 responses to the Wolverhampton ‘Issues and Preferred Options’ consultation, which took place between February and April 2024 and set out proposed policies and development sites to be included in the plan.

Responses to the ‘Publication Plan’ consultation will be considered and changes made before it is submitted to government in early 2025 for Independent Examination by a Planning Inspector.

Councillor Chris Burden, Cabinet Member for City Development, Jobs and Skills, said: “It is critical to have a Local Plan in place to provide certainty for our communities and support regeneration and investment in our city.

“We continue to promote a brownfield first approach and, while we await the outcome of the government’s National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) review, we are pressing ahead with a Wolverhampton Local Plan that does not contain any green belt sites.

“Subject to Cabinet approval, consultation on the final stage of the Plan will start later this month and I’d urge people to give their views on what I believe is a solid plan that will enable the city to thrive.

“The Wolverhampton Local Plan will help facilitate a vibrant mixed use city centre, enable new housing and employment opportunities on brownfield sites across the city, support local centres and strengthen the local economy.”

For more information, please visit www.wolverhampton.gov.uk/localplan.