Forest of Dean District Council calls for potential sites for future housing and employment
Forest of Dean District Council is appealing to interested people, organisations, agents and/or land owners to suggest where land across the district could be potentially used for housing or employment, or for a combination of both, as it carries out its annual evaluation of possible sites.
Leader of the Council and Cabinet Member for Overall Strategy, Cllr Tim Gwilliam, said,
“This year we are developing our new Local Plan, a strategy that will guide and inform developments in our district for the next 20 years. With the Local Plan, Biosphere Reserve bid and Levelling Up Fund projects all contributing to our future, this is a pivotal time for the Forest of Dean. If you have land that you believe could potentially be developed in the future, either for housing or business purposes, this is your chance to submit it for consideration.
“By submitting your site for assessment, it does not necessarily mean that development will happen, but it is that important first step that puts it in front of the right people for consideration.”
The assessment is required by the UK Government, and will help determine potential areas of land for all types of housing (Including travellers and travelling show people) and employment across the Forest of Dean District. The yearly study allows the council to keep its list of potential sites as up to date as possible.
This process will be particularly important for this year, as suggested sites could help support the development of a new Local Plan, which will guide the development of future housing and employment up to the year 2041.
All the sites suggested are assessed to see whether they could be developed if supported by planning policy, but it is important to note, the assessment does not determine whether a site will be allocated for housing development or for employment in the future.
Forms are required to be returned by 31st March 2022 in order to be considered as part of the 2022 assessment.
The council will accept submissions after the deadline, but these will be treated on a rolling basis and assessed as part of future Strategic Housing and Economic Land Availability Assessment (SHELAA) updates in 2023 and beyond. If you have submitted a site(s) that was considered last year or before then you will not be required to re-submit, unless you wish to make changes to the site(s), or remove it from the study, as past sites will be carried forward.
Any additional sites put forward may be considered on a long-term basis and will be retained within the council’s records for future use. All the information supplied to the council will be available to the public.
If you wish to put forward a site(s) to be considered in this year’s review, then proceed to download a form from the council’s website at https://www.fdean.gov.uk/shlaa or email [email protected] for more information.