Newcastle-under-Lyme Council Adopts Contested 2020-2040 Local Plan

On Wednesday 8 July, Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council’s Full Council voted 32 to 6 to adopt the Local Plan 2020-2040. The plan obliges the council to identify land for housing, employment, community facilities and environmental protection, and to demonstrate a five-year supply of housing land. It provides for approximately 400 new homes each year through 2040, restoring the council’s statutory power to refuse planning applications that fall outside the identified supply.

Local Plan Approved During Full Council Meeting

The plan, required by central Government, was drafted over several years under a previous Conservative administration. Throughout the examination process, residents mounted “fierce opposition” to allocations on Green Belt land, notably a proposal for around 900 homes at Keele Golf Course (the KL15 allocation) and the strategic employment site AB2. Campaigners warned of Green Belt loss, increased traffic and pressure on local infrastructure. An independent Planning Inspector’s final report in May removed some allocations but retained others pending further technical evidence.

Local Plan Approved During Full Council Meeting

Deputy Leader Cllr Graham Shaw argued that rejecting the plan would leave the borough “exposed to speculative development with far less ability to refuse planning applications.” He noted the administration did not draft the plan but felt compelled to adopt it because the Planning Inspector’s report could not be amended. Council Leader Cllr Jonathan Gullis, also Cabinet Portfolio Holder for Planning, recused himself from the debate due to a declared interest linked to his advisory role with Indurent, the developer behind AB2. Gullis has signaled reluctance to fund a new 2030-45 plan, citing the Government’s proposal to abolish the council.

Local Plan decision ‘responsible thing to do’ – Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council

Former Conservative Leader Cllr Simon Tagg contended that “much of the pressure stemmed from the Government’s mandatory housing requirements rather than decisions taken locally.” Labour councillors Dave Jones and Sheelagh Casey-Hulme, together with several Reform UK members, voted against the motion, echoing resident concerns about permanent loss of Green Belt and biodiversity.

Local Plan Approved During Full Council Meeting

• “Speaking after the meeting Deputy Leader Graham Shaw said: This administration has made very clear that it does not agree with all parts of this Local Plan, that if it had been in our hands we would have done some things very differently.” — Cllr Graham Shaw, Deputy Leader

Local Plan decision ‘responsible thing to do’ – Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council

• “For without an approved and up-to-date Local Plan, developers would be able to submit planning applications for land anywhere, including greenfield and even Green Belt land, knowing that planning law makes a presumption in favour of the application.” — Cllr Graham Shaw, Deputy Leader

Local Plan decision ‘responsible thing to do’ – Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council

• “Former Conservative Leader, Cllr Simon Tagg, likewise acknowledged the difficult position facing councillors, arguing that much of the pressure stemmed from the Government's mandatory housing requirements rather than decisions taken locally.” — Cllr Simon Tagg, Former Conservative Leader

Local Plan Approved During Full Council Meeting

• “Deputy Leader Cllr Graham Shaw told members that, while nobody around the chamber would claim the document was perfect, failing to adopt it would leave Newcastle-under-Lyme exposed to speculative development with far less ability to refuse planning applications.” — Cllr Graham Shaw, Deputy Leader

Local Plan Approved During Full Council Meeting