A number of residents are puzzled as to why, having gone through a 'Call for Sites' process already, the Council should be repeating the process three years later. The following email has been received from the senior planning officer which explains why:
"The Council did indeed run a call for sites in 2017. We are now running a further call for sites to identify any new sites that may have not been on our radar previously. The Council has a challenging housing target of 606 homes per annum and we are looking to explore all of our options for meeting this need.
"The Council have previously left an open call for sites on the website so that landowners that wished to promote a site could do so, however it is hoped that this further ‘formal’ call for sites will help to boost activity and our awareness of potential development sites in the Borough.
"Following our Preferred Options consultation, councillors are in the process of deciding on the Local Plan strategy to take forward to the next stages of the Plan. We will assess any new development sites thoroughly and carry out a public consultation at the next stage of plan preparation."
Kind regards
Hannah Bridges MRTPI
Senior Planning Officer (Strategic Planning)
