New housing targets prompt rapid local plan update in the Cotswolds
Cotswold District Council is set to fast-track updates to its local plan to make sure homes are built in the right places at the right time, after government planning reforms more than doubled the number of houses the district is expected to deliver.
Work to update the plan at pace follows a government directive requiring the council to identify land for 1,036 new homes each year - despite 80 per cent of the district being within the Cotswold National Landscape, where development is heavily restricted.
At a full council meeting on Wednesday, the authority’s leader Cllr Mike Evemy, will recommend that members give the green light for work to progress immediately, after cabinet met last week and agreed to proceed.
New housing targets mean developers are now more likely to pursue sites in the Cotswold district that were previously protected under the council’s earlier local plan.
Based on a lower housing requirement – set locally – that plan identified suitable locations for housing for at least the next seven years, exceeding the former five-year housing land supply requirement and placing the district in a strong planning position.
This comprehensive update to the local plan aims to restore that position, ensuring future development is focused on the most appropriate and sustainable sites.
This work will be shaped with input from residents, businesses, communities, town and parish councils, environmental groups and others, with a public consultation inviting feedback in the autumn. As well as new homes, the public will be asked about schools, healthcare, jobs, transport, and other vital infrastructure to ensure communities have everything they need to thrive.
Once finalised and signed off by the Planning Inspectorate, the plan will guide development in the Cotswold district until 2043 and beyond.
Cotswold District Council leader Cllr Mike Evemy said the updated plan will give Cotswold residents a valuable opportunity to have a say on the future of the district and that their views will hold genuine weight.
“A local plan might feel a little distant or technical to people, but it really matters,” he said.
“With government housing targets more than doubling, we’re at a turning point. If we don’t act now, we will lose control over where and how development happens for years.
“This is our chance to shape the future of the Cotswold District - protecting what makes it special while planning for the homes, jobs, and infrastructure our communities need. When the time comes, I urge everyone to get involved and have their say.”
The proposal to update the local plan by 2027 has been agreed by the Council’s Cabinet and will go before the full council on 16 July.