Tewkesbury Borough Council has adopted its new “Local Plan” after receiving the green light

The Tewkesbury Borough Local Plan is an important document because it earmarks sites for new housing, jobs and other types of development that the area will need over the next 10 years or so.

It also sets out general policies designed to improve people’s quality of life by preserving what is already special about the borough and by setting standards for developers to follow. These cover a wide range of issues such as:

• Protecting the Green Belt and promoting nature recovery

• Carefully managing flood risk

• Providing affordable housing and local jobs

• Insisting on good design and protecting quality of life in existing neighbourhoods

• Introducing minimum space standards for new dwellings

• Resisting the loss of local shops and pubs

• Providing broadband connections to new development

• Encouraging installation of electric vehicle charging points

• Extending cycle networks and making improvements to public transport

• Protecting historic and archaeological sites and promoting tourism

• Improving Tewkesbury and other retail centres

• Providing new sport and recreation facilities including preserving canal and former railway lines.

Over the last five years the council has invited the views of residents, business and other organisations and carefully listened to thousands of individual comments.

Last year, a Government Inspector then held a series of public hearings to examine the soundness of the council’s proposals. Their official report was received in April 2022 and confirmed that, subject to a number of changes, the Local Plan could be legally brought into effect.

Cllr Rob Bird, Leader of Tewkesbury Borough Council, said: “Adoption of the Tewkesbury Borough Plan is a major success for this council and our area. Development planning affects everyone, and as one of the fastest growing areas in the country, there is huge demand for new housing here, and competing pressures on land availability.

“This new, sustainable approach is our answer to effectively managing these demands, which impact on residents and businesses alike, and will facilitate natural growth, thriving communities and prosperity. The inspector’s approval of our plan delivers certainty for sustainable development, and I would like to thank everyone in our community who took the trouble to help shape the outcome.”  

The plan was formally adopted by councillors at a special meeting on Wednesday, 8 June and takes immediate effect in guiding how individual planning applications will be considered.

View the plan: Local plan — Tewkesbury Borough Council