I have made a statement separately about the latest development in the Local Plan saga. And saga it certainly is.
The Inspectors say the new national planning guidance arrangements (NPPF) do not apply to our draft Local Plan (!), so we will be taking time to consider the implications of the new NPPF, and how any additional flexibility it provides can be best used to support the long term interests of the borough in the most effective and meaningful way, in particular the protection of the Green Belt.
Planning is a very complex subject, but despite media headlines and political soundbites, in the end the devil is in the detail. The challenge is the interpretation of that detail with all the (often conflicting) planning guidance statements by expert lawyers and other professionals. Many of these represent vested interests with deep pockets, so the stakes are very high and the penalties for a decision against you can be enormous in financial terms. Great care has to be taken by the Council when it does this work, to avoid a hit on the public purse.
The other side of the coin is, of course, widespread housing need, for every type of housing, and the regrettable fact that many young people have to leave the borough to buy a home.
At the time the original draft Local Plan was progressed, the housing need issue, not just in Solihull, but in many councils across the country, led to a release of land from the Green Belt. Every draft Local Plan has to be subjected to independent examination, where all stakeholders can scrutinise every part of it. It seems that most of the work by the Council was accepted by the Inspectorate, but we paused the examination in the light of the government’s proposed changes to the NPPF, because we did not accept the conclusions of the Inspectors, just in regard to two issues. It seems that most issues around site selection and development principles were accepted by the Inspectors after extensive scrutiny.
As I have said in my statement, we will now consider the implications of the new NPPF and will review all of our options for moving forward.
To other matters…
Some of you may have seen in the news that the number of measles cases across the West Midlands is continuing to increase. Most of the cases are in Birmingham, but we are also seeing cases in Solihull too. It hasn’t really been around for many years so some people may have forgotten, but it really is a nasty illness, particularly for children with quite a few cases needing hospital care. Symptoms include a runny nose and red, sore eyes, with a rash following a few days later. It’s also one of the most infectious illnesses out there. There’s more information on the NHS website about the signs to look out for if you think you or someone in your family may have measles. Although it’s possible to get measles after vaccination, this is rare with 99 out of 100 people fully protected.
Most children in Solihull are fully vaccinated but if you have children or grandchildren over the age of 1 who are not, please do contact your local GP Practice. All GP practices will have a version of the vaccine that doesn’t contain pork products if required. Colleagues in Public Health are working in tandem with the NHS and the UK Health Security Agency on this, with schools kept up to date regularly with the latest guidance on the symptoms to look out for and vaccination information. More information on the vaccine is available on the Birmingham and Solihull Integrated Care System website, as well as the NHS England website.
The Council will be hosting a service for Holocaust Memorial Day on Thursday 25 January. If you would like to attend then please contact comms@solihull.gov.uk.
I’ve elected to keep my message short and focused on the really big issues this week, but it certainly hasn’t been a quiet week for the Council. We’ve continued our programme of tree planting, launched a trial to help older people stay warm and avoid falls this winter, and finally I’d like to remind everyone of The Apprenticeship Show next month.
Thanks,
Councillor Ian Courts