Draft Submission Plan (Regulation 19)

Introduction Comment

Importance of a Plan Led System

1.At the heart of planning is the need to plan positively for sustainable development. One of the principal ways this is achieved is by having a local plan to guide the development of an area. Solihull Council’s local plan is key to delivering sustainable, infrastructure led development that reflects the vision and aspirations of local communities. The aim is that local authorities should positively seek opportunities, through their local plan, to meet the development needs of their area. The Council’s local plan addresses the spatial implications of economic, social and environmental change that is happening to the Borough, both now and in the future. It promotes an infrastructure led strategy to meet the development needs of the Borough, delivering homes and employment opportunities for local communities. Comment

2.Two thirds of the Borough is located in the Green Belt, and this includes the strategically important Meriden Gap that separates Solihull and the Birmingham conurbation from the city of Coventry. This plan seeks to protect this important feature that makes Solihull special whilst accommodating, in a managed way, the growth that is needed. Comment

3.The current local plan, the “Solihull Local Plan” (SLP), was adopted in December 2013 and covers the period 2011 to 2028. Whilst the content of the Plan remains broadly consistent with key aspects of national policy, the evolution of the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF), especially in recent years and the increase in the nationally derived housing requirement mean the plan is now considered largely ‘out of date'. Comment

4.In October 2020 the Council published the “Solihull Local Plan – Draft Submission Plan”^[1]. It was subsequently submitted for independent examination in May 2021. During the course of the examination significant changes and intended changes to national planning policy were made and this impacted on the examination process such that the Inspectors eventually recommended that the plan be withdrawn, which then took place in October 2024. Comment

5.This plan has therefore been produced as a replacement to the 2013 plan as the 2020 wasn’t able to be pursued to adoption. Comment

Glossary of Terms

6.Planning can be quite a technical and complex area and often uses unfamiliar terms. Whilst this document has been written as plainly as possible, it has had to use some technical terms and many abbreviations. To help understand the document a glossary and schedule of abbreviations has been provided towards the end of this document. Comment

How Could it Affect Me?

7.The local plan as a whole sets out the future spatial strategy for the Borough. It is key to delivering sustainable, infrastructure led development that reflects the vision and aspirations of local communities and includes the allocation of sites to promote development. It also identifies land where development would be inappropriate because of its impact on, for instance, environmental or historic assets; and it also incorporates a strategy for enhancing the natural, built and historic environment. Comment

What will happen if we don’t identify enough land for new development?

8.National planning policy is that the supply of land for housing should be significantly boosted, and without an adequate supply of land for new dwellings, access to the homes that we all need becomes ever more difficult. Equally, land for commercial needs has to be managed to ensure that both existing businesses can flourish whilst also providing an opportunity to attract new business into the Borough. Of course, we also need to recognise the special place that Solihull is, and this plan seeks to ensure that the right balance is achieved between providing land for new development and protecting what makes Solihull special. Comment

9.If the Council does not have an appropriate plan in place, it will be unable to demonstrate a ‘5-year land supply’. This is already a pressing issue in the Borough following changes to the national housing requirement in December 2024 and means policies in the 2013 plan would be considered out-of-date and lead to less influence over the impact, including through inappropriate design, that some developments may have. This increases the Borough’s vulnerability to speculative development proposals and would lead to development and growth taking place in an unplanned manner, placing additional pressure on infrastructure without guaranteeing or planning positively for measures that can mitigate the impacts. In addition, the Secretary of State could intervene in the Council’s plan making powers thus taking away local choice about where development should be accommodated. Comment

Background

10.This plan has been developed in a way that represents an evolution of the Local Plan Review that was withdrawn from examination in October 2024. This included significant consultation which helped to shape the plan and its contents. Comment

11.The previous Local Plan Review was subject to a series of stages which started with a scope, issues and options consultation in November 2015; and further consultations on draft versions of a plan in November 2016 and January 2019. These earlier stages, and the evidence base prepared to support this plan culminated in the Draft Submission Plan being published for consultation in October 2020. It was subsequently submitted for examination in May 2021. The Plan was subject to a protracted examination period, caused in part by changes to national policy and a small number of key issues regarding housing land supply. The Inspectors overseeing the examination recommended the Plan be withdrawn in September 2024, which was confirmed through a meeting of the Full Council the following month. Comment

12.Despite its withdrawal much was achieved through the examination of the draft Plan, including: Comment

• The inspector confirmed the duty to cooperate had been complied with;
• The Spatial Strategy was deemed acceptable in principle;
• The housing requirement, including its basis as a stepped requirement, was agreed in principle; and
• The proposed residential site allocations were confirmed as acceptable in principle.

13.A key step in withdrawing the previous Plan Review was the approval of a Position Statement to help form the basis for the next Plans development. This recognised the opportunity for a new Plan to represent an evolution of the previous Plan Review as opposed to a fundamentally different strategy. Comment

14.Further changes to national policy and legislation since July 2024 meant the council undertook work to determine the best way to produce a new plan and whether that would be best served under the new plan-making system^[2] or the legacy approach^[3]. This work resulted in a letter being received from the Minister for Housing and Planning in December 2025 encouraging the Council to produce a plan under the legacy system. Comment

15.The Council subsequently undertook a consultation^[4] in January 2026 on issues and options for the new plan. The feedback to that consultation has helped shape this new draft Local Plan. Comment

Relationship to Other Plans

16.This plan replaces both the Solihull Local Plan (2013) and Gypsy and Traveller Site Allocations Development Plan Document (DPD) (2014) which will no longer form part of the development plan for the Borough once this plan is adopted. Comment

Neighbourhood Plans

17.There are now five neighbourhood development plans that have been “made”^[5]. Whilst they were prepared under the provisions of the 2013 Local Plan, they will remain part of the development plan for the Borough where there is no conflict with the strategic policies of this plan. In addition to the five Neighbourhood Plans a further five areas have signalled an intention to produce a Neighbourhood Plan. Others that come forward, or updates to existing, will need to reflect the strategic policies of this plan. Comment

18.The Council places great importance on Neighbourhood Plans and recognises the substantial efforts that communities have made in bringing forward plans. In the context that this plan provides a number of policies that include Borough wide standards or expectations, there may be occasions when existing neighbourhood plans (particularly if they are up to date and reflect current evidence) provide a more appropriate local expression of a standard or expectation that should be taken into account and given due weight. Comment

19.The local authority will continue to work with neighbourhood groups, parish councils and Neighbourhood Forum(s) to support the ongoing delivery of new neighbourhood plans and the update of existing plans as appropriate and in accordance with national guidance. Comment

20.The ‘made neighbourhood plans in the Borough are as follows: Comment

• Hampton in Arden – August 2017
• Knowle, Dorridge & Bentley Heath – April 2019
• Berkswell – September 2019
• Balsall – June 2021
• Meriden – June 2021