Council seeks suggestions for new housing and development sites

The authority needs to have a new local plan in place for Amber Valley to establish robust, up-to-date policies to steer development where it can contribute to economic growth, while at the same time protecting and enhancing the environment.

The council needs to achieve a minimum target of 9,770 additional homes in Amber Valley by 2028.

But to ensure that sufficient sites can be brought forward for housing development, the council has issued a ‘Call for Sites’ which invites landowners, potential developers, town and parish councils and other interested parties to put forward any sites which they consider have potential for development.

Portfolio Holder for Regeneration, Coun Trevor Ainsworth, said: “It is important that residents are involved in shaping our borough’s future and are kept up-to-date with both the process and our progress so far.

“At this stage we are simply requesting suggestions for potential sites and there is no guarantee that any proposal will make it to the local plan.”

Proposed sites considered appropriate will then be included in a draft local plan, along with a range of other policies and proposals, to be published for public consultation early next year.

The council will only set out its proposed housing sites, once all of the potential sites have been carefully considered, to establish which are most suitable for development and that development can be delivered on those sites.

Any sites considered suitable for inclusion in the local plan will be subject to further consultation with the public through the local plan process later this year.

A progress report on the new local plan will be presented to the council at its meeting next Wednesday.

As well as providing information on the ‘Call for Sites’ process, the report provides an update on the other work being undertaken so far on the local plan, including a number of further studies, which are required to ensure that the evidence to support the policies and proposals for the plan is robust.

The council will also consider a separate report on July 13, which sets out the overall timetable and the key milestones for achieving an adopted local plan by 2018.