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Flintshire Local Development Plan consultation

Published: 23/11/2017

Flintshire County Council is preparing a Local Development Plan for the County and has released an important document for consultation, which is the LDP Preferred Strategy. The LDP, when finalised, will provide land use planning guidance for the period from 2015 to 2030. The Preferred Strategy follows on from the previous consultations - particularly relating to Strategic Growth and Spatial Options. It presents the preferred approach on how much the County will grow by and how development will be broadly distributed across the County. The Preferred Strategy provides for the creation of 8,000 – 10,000 jobs and the provision of 6,950 new homes. The Plan also has a total portfolio of 223 hectares of employment land. A range of 16 strategic policies provides guidance on a range of topics including housing, employment, infrastructure and the environment. It includes two strategic mixed use sites at Warren Hall, Broughton, and Northern Gateway, Deeside, which are important in delivering future economic growth, given the wider sub-regional importance of the Flintshire economy. The consultation also provides the opportunity for interested parties to comment on the Council’s preliminary assessment as to whether candidate sites broadly fit in with the Preferred Strategy. There is also an opportunity for interested parties to put forward new or ‘alternative’ sites for consideration as part of the consultation exercise. The Council is seeking views on the Preferred Strategy to finalise it, before moving on to prepare the detailed Deposit LDP which will contain detailed policies, proposals, maps and housing allocations. Flintshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Planning and Public Protection, Councillor Chris Bithell, said: “The process of identifying housing allocations is always difficult and emotive but the Plan has to make provision for new housing developments to meet the County’s needs. The role and value of the Preferred Strategy is to ensure that it provides a logical basis on which to develop the detailed plan, in order to bring forward housing developments in sustainable locations.” For the first time, this consultation uses an on-line consultation system which enables interested parties to view and comment on the main Preferred Strategy document online. The Council is keen to encourage the use of this easy and direct method of commenting on the Plan. · The Council has a statutory duty to prepare a Local Development Plan · The consultation exercise runs for a 6 week period and comments must be submitted by 5.00pm on Thursday 21 December · The Preferred Strategy can be viewed on the website www.flintshire.gov.uk/ldp/preferredstrategy · The Preferred Strategy is accompanied by a range of supporting background papers and other documents which are also available on the website · Comments can be made using the on-line consultation portal, by e-mail, using the comments form or in writing Any queries can be directed to 01352 703213 or developmentplans@flintshire.gov.uk