URL: https://sandwell.moderngov.co.uk/ieDecisionDetails.aspx?ID=1177

Decision Maker: Cabinet

Outcome:

Is Key Decision?: Yes

Is Callable In?: Yes

Purpose: Following the Examination in Public of the Sandwell Local Plan the council and the inspector have identified a number of modifications to resolve soundness and legal compliance issues.

Content: Approval was sought for the list of main modifications, amendments to plan diagrams and plans within the Sandwell Local Plan which would be circulated for public consultation. It was a statutory requirement of every Local Planning Authority to have an up-to-date Local Plan. The revised National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF), released in December 2024, contained transitional arrangements that required local planning authorities to submit local plans by March 2025 for them to be considered under the previous NPPF (2023) and regulations. The Sandwell’s Local Plan was submitted to the Secretary of State in December 2024.   The timetable for producing the Plan was set out in the Local Development Scheme (LDS), the latest version of which was approved by Cabinet on 05 February 2025 and which was published on the Council’s website. The LDS set out the timetable for the current Draft Sandwell Local Plan as well as an indicative timetable for reviewing the Plan under the new NPPF and regulations. The LDS would be reviewed early 2026.   Reason for Decision The Examination in Public of the Draft Plan commenced when the Council submitted the Draft Plan to the Secretary of State via the Planning Inspectorate. A Planning Inspector had then been appointed to examine the Draft Plan.   The Inspector had identified a number of Matters, Issues and Questions (MIQs) for the Draft Plan which had been discussed with the Council and other representors at public hearing sessions held during the weeks commencing 14 July 2025, 22 September and 29 September 2025. Other respondents included West Midlands Police, the Birmingham and Black Country Wildlife Trust, Friends of Sheepwash Urban Park and Sport England, along with planning consultants acting on behalf of private clients with housing allocations in the plan.   Following the hearing sessions, the Inspector suggested a number of main modifications that would resolve any legal compliance issues for the DSLP. These modifications ranged in scope from redrafting parts of an individual policy or reasoned justification to the deletion or amalgamation of whole policies and rearranging the format of the document. There were also proposed changes to the Policies Map, which was the geographical representation of the policies in the SLP.   Alternative Options Considered Option 1 – Consult on the proposed main modifications to comply with legislative requirements to allow adoption of a Local Plan. The Planning Inspector was likely to recommend that the plan as submitted (without the main modifications) should not be adopted, before recommending main modifications to make the submitted plan legally compliant. The Town and Country Planning (Local Planning)(England) Regulations 2012 required the Council to consult on any main modifications to the Local Plan before incorporating them into the Local Plan.   Section 20 of the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act required that the Council should then make the recommended main modifications, together with any additional modifications at their discretion, if they wished to adopt the plan. The Council would not be able to adopt the Sandwell Local Plan if the main modifications were not made to it. Therefore, there was no other option but to consult on the main modifications if the Council wished to adopt the Draft Plan.   Resolved:- (1)           that approval is given to the list of main modifications, amendments to plan diagrams and plans within the Sandwell Local Plan for public consultation, to commence on 16 February 2026 for a period of 6 weeks to 30 March 2026;   (2)           that delegated authority is given to the Executive Director for Place, in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Housing and Planning:   a)             to agree any necessary amendments to supporting documentation for consultation and any other typographical, presentational, and consequential wording changes to the Local Plan prior to publication;   b)             following public consultation on the Proposed Main Modifications, consider and summarise the responses received and forward to the Inspectors for their consideration in producing their Report. That following the receipt of the Report from the Inspector recommending adoption of the Local Plan, that the Plan be brought back to Cabinet and Full Council for adoption.  

Date of Decision: February 4, 2026