Solihull Council is preparing a new Local Plan.
As part of this process the Council needs to know if there are any potential sites which may be able to help meet the Borough’s development needs in the future.
The Council is now inviting landowners, residents and other interested parties to submit sites that could have development potential. You can submit sites for any type of future use including:
- new homes
- employment and retail uses
- Gypsy and Traveller pitches
- renewable energy projects
This is a fresh ‘call for sites’ exercise. Any sites that have previously been submitted or promoted in the previous Solihull Draft Local Plan will need to be resubmitted.
Site promoters will need to re-register their interest to ensure the Council has up-to-date evidence on the availability of any proposed sites. The Council is also keen to receive submissions about sites not previously promoted, especially if they relate to brownfield land opportunities.
How to apply
Submissions should be made using the online Call for Sites Proposal Form. Please complete the form as fully as possible to put forward sites that you think the Council should consider for development.
The results of this exercise will form part of the evidence base for the new Local Plan.
The Call for Sites exercise will run from Friday 29 November 2024 until Friday 31 January 2025. Any submissions received after this date risk not being considered in the assessment process to determine their suitability for inclusion within the plan.
Supporting a comprehensive approach
Call-for-Sites submissions are often driven by the land that may be available that happens to be in a single ownership. This can create smaller more inward facing developments that may be poorly connected to, or isolated from, the settlement that they should be a part of.
To avoid this situation, it may be necessary to look beyond the potentially artificially created boundaries caused by historic ownership patterns and put forward a larger site that can take advantage of looking at an area more comprehensively. We encourage promotors to work with other landowners and promotors to ensure submissions are made on a comprehensive basis and welcome joint submissions.
If individual submissions are made in relation to parcels of land that the Council believe should be considered together or more comprehensively, or parcels of land that ought to be included are omitted, the Council will, early in the evaluation, identify which parcels should be considered on a joint and comprehensive basis. In these circumstances it will be expected that those submitting proposals will identify a lead promotor between themselves and all parties should agree to the principle of joint working. To assist this process the Council may share contact details with other promotors, and this should be borne in mind when completing the submission form.
For sites to reach the allocation stage, the Council will need to be satisfied that adequate arrangements are in place for sites with multiple ownership to ensure that they can be delivered on a comprehensive basis to avoid piecemeal development.
Evidence of joint working can include landowner/promotor agreement to a collaborative approach including, if necessary, an equalisation agreement that covers a comprehensive approach to infrastructure provision and mitigation delivery. Whilst this agreement is not necessary at the Call-for-Sites submission stage, it will be required before a site will be included as an allocation in a draft plan, and so we encourage site promotors to give early consideration to such matters.
Guidance on completing the form
In completing the online form, you will be required to provide your personal information including the details of who you are representing if appropriate. We will also need information about:
- the site you are proposing
- including address details
- the current land use
- the preferred future use(s) of the site
The form will provide you with the opportunity to identify your site on a map and draw its boundary using an online mapping tool. Only one boundary can be submitted within a single form; additional boundaries require their own forms to be submitted. The mapping tool will calculate the area of the site, and you will be asked to estimate the developable area of the site.
A tutorial explaining how to draw a site boundary using the Call for Sites form is available here.
You will also be able to upload any supporting documents or images.
The Council is particularly keen to receive submissions for development opportunities on previously developed land. The definition of Previously Developed Land is set out in the glossary of the National Planning Policy Framework as:
Land which is or was occupied by a permanent structure, including the curtilage of the developed land (although it should not be assumed that the whole of the curtilage should be developed) and any associated fixed surface infrastructure. This excludes: land that is or was last occupied by agricultural or forestry buildings; land that has been developed for minerals extraction or waste disposal by landfill, where provision for restoration has been made through development management procedures; land in built-up areas such as residential gardens, parks, recreation grounds and allotments; and land that was previously developed but where the remains of the permanent structure or fixed surface structure have blended into the landscape.
If you have any queries or need help or advice on completing the form, please contact the Planning Policy Team by emailing psp@solihull.gov.uk.