Stroud Local Plan Review – Is the end in sight?
2025 has been a busy year for all things related to the Stroud Local Plan Examination in Public (EiP).
For those fellow Stroud watchers, the summer saw the Council submit to the Inspectors new Highway Evidence relating to the capacity of various motorway junctions, which had previously given the Inspectors serious concerns. Essentially, the Council’s position was that the new evidence prepared jointly with Highways England demonstrated that the capacity problems could be overcome. The latest evidence did not remove the requirement for Junction upgrades. Instead, it looked to delay the delivery of key strategic allocations to provide the necessary headroom to enable the Council to resolve serious funding deficits. On 9 October, the Inspectors issued their detailed verdict on the latest material issued by the Council.
Essentially, the Inspectors remain unconvinced about the evidence presented by the Council, and they are concerned about the need to delay the delivery of certain strategic allocations in the Plan. As a result, their position remains unchanged.
Away from the detailed technical arguments on motorway junction capacity, the Inspectors highlighted a more obvious concern, that of the length of time the EiP has taken. The Plan has been under examination since October 2021. It has to be remembered that there are still issues to be addressed in the EiP process, which sit outside of the motorway junction capacity and funding debate. The need for additional work and reprogramming of the outstanding EiP sessions means, in the Inspectors’ view, that the Plan would not be adopted until 2027 at the earliest.
What does this mean for those with land interests in the District?
The position remains unchanged from my earlier articles this year. By their own admission, the Council does not and cannot demonstrate a 5-year housing land supply. This means that the presumption in favour of sustainable development should be engaged in most instances (except where the footnotes to paragraph 11 apply). To be fair to the Council, it has readily recognised this problem. It has been granting planning permission for greenfield development sites situated outside but adjacent to settlement boundaries at various locations in the District. However, given the current situation, it is reasonable to conclude that the Council will have to release more.
For those not already in the planning system but with aspirations to develop land, the remainder of 2025 through to summer 2026 represents a critical opportunity to undertake conceptual work on sites, conduct community consultation, and engage with the Council via its pre-application advice process.
How we can help
If you have a site which you think might have development potential in the Stroud District, then feel free to come and talk to us about what you are looking to bring forward and to find out more about how we can best assist.
At McLoughlin Planning, our simple objective is to get results for our clients by providing high-quality planning consultancy. Our team of chartered town planning consultants delivers strategic advice and planning solutions across southern England and Wales – from strategic land promotions and commercial premises to private developments and rural projects.
Since joining forces with Plainview Planning in 2024, our Group combines expertise across 13 planning professionals and support staff. This collaboration allows us to provide ingenious, commercially-minded solutions to a wide range of town planning challenges.
-
For larger, strategic or complex projects (such as land promotions, multi-phase developments, aviation schemes), please contact our McLoughlin Planning team.
-
For householder projects, developments of 10 units or fewer, or smaller independent commercial projects, our specialist Plainview Planning team can help.
Contact us
If you have a development project which would benefit from expert planning consultancy input, then feel free to view our full ‘About Us’ page to view which of our planning consultants best fit your needs and contact us through either our ‘Arrange a Call‘ tab on our contact page or via the email and telephone number provided below.
We value your privacy and any information which you provide will not be shared outside of our company and will only be used in relation to your enquiry.
As always, the content of this article was correct at the time of publication, but for the most up-to-date information on planning topics and policy queries, contact our team.
Nathan McLoughlin – Managing Director
T: 01242895008