solihull.gov.uk

Local Plan Review 2026-2043 Issues and Options Consultation

Ends on 16 March 2026 (40 days remaining)

Additional Supply in Non-Green Belt Locations

Windfall Developments

  1. A windfall assumption of 200 dwellings per annum was included in the 2020 plan and it was implied that this was accepted by the Inspectors.
     
  2. The 2020 plan had an end date of 2037 whereas the new plan will have an end date of around 2043 (i.e. an additional 6 years), therefore an additional 6 years’ worth of windfall could be assumed. This would add 1,200 units.

9. Is there evidence to suggest that this windfall rate should be lower, it’s about right, or that it should be higher? Comment

Greater Density and/or Going Higher

  1. Additional capacity could be achieved by ‘going higher’ in urban locations (e.g. town centre & NEC) and/or higher densities on allocated sites.
     
  2. Land supply expectations following the examination of the 2020 plan included the following:
  • Town centre developments: 1,100[25] dwellings.
  • NEC: 500[26] dwellings.
  1. A lively outdoor shopping street at dusk with modern buildings on both sides. People are strolling, some sitting at outdoor cafes, and decorative string lights hang overhead. The scene captures a vibrant, social atmosphere.
    A planning application [ref no. PL/2025/00547/MAJFDW] has now been submitted for Mell Square. It incorporates some flexibility over the balance of land uses to be provided in the redevelopment, including up to 1,600 residential units. This would represent an additional capacity at the site of up to 1,087 dwellings. As the final capacity of the completed development will depend upon the balance of commercial/residential floorspace of the scheme, it has been assumed that 800 additional dwellings would be a reasonable assumption to use at this time.
     
  2. Recently, Birmingham City Council has resolved to dispose of their freehold interest in the NEC. It is understood that under these new arrangements market testing of the development opportunity at the NEC is now underway and an update on potential plans will be expected next year.
     
  3. The Council will wish to see updated evidence to review the scale and pace of delivery at the site. If it could be demonstrated that during the plan period a minimum of 1,500 dwellings could be delivered at the site, then this would represent an additional 1,000 dwellings being added to the land supply when compared to the recommendations made by the previous Inspectors.

10. Are there more opportunities in the town centre or at the NEC to identify additional capacity, if so, how much more? Comment

11. If you favour ‘going higher’ in locations such as the town centre or Arden Cross/the NEC, do you have any views on how high (i.e. the number of storeys) new buildings could be? Comment

  1. It is particularly important that assumptions around land supply from these sources are reasonable and are evidence based. They must be capable of being demonstrated as deliverable or developable in the plan period.

12. Are there any other non-Green Belt opportunities that should be considered? If so where, what do you think the capacity would be and what evidence is this based on? Comment

[25] This included 1,000 dwellings in Solihull town centre (513 of which would be from Mell Square) and 100 dwellings in Chelmsley Wood.

[26] The plan was submitted on the basis of 2,240 dwellings being provided as part of the Phase 1 development at the NEC. However, due to concerns over scale and rate of delivery in the plan period, the Inspectors believed only 500 was a reasonable assumption.

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