A series of public events will be held from next week for the people and businesses of Liverpool to have their final say on the city’s 15 year Local Plan.
Liverpool’s Local Plan sets out how the city would meet the challenges of a predicted population rise of 47,000 people by creating 35,000 new homes and developing 370 acres of land for 38,000 new jobs.
The plan, which was recently endorsed by the city council, has identified 100 detailed policies to manage this growth and also includes a new policy for controlling developments in the city centre and a new robust process to limit conversions of properties into homes in multiple occupation (HMO’s).
Following consultations on the draft plan in 2014 and 2016 this is the final public consultation exercise before the plan is submitted to the Secretary of State for inspection.
The public consultation events will be held on:
- Tuesday, 6 February – 1 pm to 7pm at Cunard Room, Cunard Building, Water Street
- Friday, 9 February – 10.30-7pm at Rotunda College, 107-115 Great Mersey St, Kirkdale
- Tuesday, 20 February Р11 am Р5:30pm at Bean There Caf̩, 376 Smithdown Road, Liverpool 15
- Thursday, 1 March – 11-7pm at Central Library, William Brown Street
The public can also download the plan and provide feedback online and by email until midnight, Friday 9 March by going to http://www.liverpool.gov.uk/localplanconsultation
Key to the plan is to focus future development on brownfield land and making sufficient provision for regeneration projects and job creation in the city’s key employment areas.
Liverpool currently has £14bn worth of regeneration projects on site or in the pipeline and in 2018 £1bn worth of schemes will be completed for a record fourth consecutive year.
Mayor of Liverpool Joe Anderson, who recently announced a new housing company is being set up to deliver 10,000 new homes, said: “Liverpool is undergoing unprecedented growth and this Local Plan sets out how and where this will continue and flourish.
”Everyone will be affected by this Local Plan which is why we’ve been consulting with businesses and residents for the past three years and why we will continue to get feedback to fine tune any of the policies before it goes to the Secretary of State.”
Councillor Ann O’Byrne, Deputy Mayor of Liverpool, added: “This Local Plan sets out to determine how we make Liverpool a healthier and more prosperous city that meet the needs of a changing population.
“It’s impact will be huge because it asks all the fundamental questions like what type of homes should people live in, what type of jobs we can provide, what type of high street we shop in, how do we enjoy our parks and green spaces and how do we travel between them. The public’s feedback has been vital to date and will continue to be over the coming month.”
Once submitted to the Secretary of State, Liverpool’s Local Plan will be considered by an independent inspector who will decide whether or not it is ‘sound’.
To be found sound, the Local Plan must comply with all necessary legal requirements and pass the tests of ‘soundness’, which require that it should have been positively prepared so that it meets the future development needs of Liverpool and it must be justified, effective and consistent with national policy.
Any comments, whether of support or objection to the soundness of the Local Plan, will be considered by the Inspector at an Examination in Public in the summer this year.
Once approved the Local Plan will then replace the existing Unitary Development Plan 2002 on all planning matters.
Key info:
The Local Plan is the key, statutory planning and development policy each local authority is obliged to produce.
It will shape Liverpool’s development needs until 2033 by:
- Allowing the build of nearly 35,000 new homes to meet the needs of a growing population
- Providing the places to work for an estimated growth in jobs of nearly 38,000 – on nearly 150 hectares (370 acres) or nearly 250 football pitches in area
- Protecting and managing developments affecting open space and the natural and historic environment of the city so that it is not significantly affected
- Promoting better quality new homes that are wheelchair accessible, meeting residents needs throughout their lifetime if necessary
- Increasing the supply of affordable homes
- Managing the over-concentration of developments such as hot food takeaways and homes in multiple occupation (HMO’s’)
- Promoting key development areas especially within the City Centre – protecting the key assets and role of those areas while encouraging and enabling more growth from Baltic Triangle in the South to Ten Streets in the north and the waterfront in the west to Paddington Village in the east.
