Leeds City Council has welcomed positive feedback from a planning inspector on its 15-year masterplan for the future planning and growth of the city.
The planning inspector has written to the council with recommended modifications to its Core Strategy. A key element of the strategy is providing 70,000 new homes in the city by 2028 which received backing from the inspector, along with suggested housing distribution across the city.
Leeds City Council’s executive member for neighbourhoods, planning and support services Councillor Peter Gruen, said:
“The inspectors’ recommendations are generally very encouraging and show that we’re on the right track with many key elements of the plan unchanged. He recommends some changes and we will need to consider their implications. It’s vital that we get the strategy right as once finalised it will be the key guide to all development and growth in Leeds for the next 15 years.
“Housing has always been a key element of the strategy which the inspector has recognised, accepting our ambitious target and the proposed distribution around the city, which will allow us to meet the needs of local residents.”
The core principals guiding the strategy are:
– An agreement to build more houses to address housing need
– A need for significant proportion of new affordable housing
– A strong focus on building on brownfield sites in order to promote regeneration and protect the greenbelt
– Fairness across the city, in terms of all parts of the city accepting some new housing
– Respecting and retaining community identities and character, rejecting possible suburban sprawl
– Infrastructure of services around new developments, such as schools and health services to also be carried out in a manageable and sustainable way
The council will now consider all the modifications and implications detailed in the planning inspector’s letter with a view to preparing a further progress report to Executive Board’s meeting in March.
The inspector will deal with outstanding issues of affordable housing and Gypsy and Traveller policy at further hearing sessions in May. It is anticipated that the Core Strategy will be adopted later this year and become the key planning document for Leeds.
To find out more about the Core Strategy and the inspector’s correspondence visit www.leeds.gov.uk and search for Core Strategy.
