Draft Local Plan - Supplementary Consultation

In responding to this present supplementary consultation, South Staffordshire Council would wish to reiterate the concerns - which we have previously expressed in our response to your Draft Plan consultation (December 2016) - on the level of contribution that Solihull MBC propose to make towards the evidenced housing shortfall of the Greater Birmingham Housing Market Area (GBHMA). Currently, the Draft Plan proposes a 2000 dwelling contribution to this shortfall, however the close relationship between Solihull and Birmingham - which is the primary source of the identified shortfall - suggests a considerably higher contribution would be justified.

It is considered that this consultation offered the opportunity to consider the findings of the GL Hearn Strategic Growth Study (SGS) and test the potential options for growth identified within Solihull Borough in the study, and the role these could play in making a contribution to the wider housing shortfall. The decision to defer the Borough's response to the SGS findings until the publication of the Draft Submission Stage reduces the scope for meaningful engagement and consideration of the appropriate scale and potential location of additional strategic growth options. There is a concern that continuing with the current contribution towards the GBHMA shortfall could introduce the risk that the plan fails in its statutory requirements.