03/09/2026
SOS will be commenting on the South Warwickshire Local Plan (SWLP) (see below) which is now at regulation 19. The consultation to test it is legally sound and compliant with planning law.
The following is quoted from the SWLP:
Unlike the previous consultations, there are no consultation questions to be answered and comments (called representations) on this version of the SWLP must relate to these tests:
a. Positively prepared – providing a strategy which, as a minimum, seeks to meet the area’s objectively assessed needs; and is informed by agreements with other authorities, so that unmet need from neighbouring areas is accommodated where it is practical to do so and is consistent with achieving sustainable development;
b. Justified – an appropriate strategy, taking into account the reasonable alternatives, and based on proportionate evidence;
c. Effective – deliverable over the plan period, and based on effective joint working on cross-boundary strategic matters that have been dealt with rather than deferred, as evidenced by the statement of common ground; and
d. Consistent with national policy – enabling the delivery of sustainable development in accordance with the policies in this Framework and other statements of national planning policy, where relevant.
If you do not believe that the plan meets the tests, you then have the opportunity to set out what changes should be made for the plan to be found sound. The easiest way to submit representations is to use our online consultation portal at: https://southwarwickshire.oc2.uk/document/168
The objections we raised as a town at the previous stage have been taken seriously and documented. Well done Shipston!
*What happens next?
Once consultation has closed on 8th September, representations will be analysed and presented to a final council meeting in early December and it will then be submitted to the government by 31st December for review. If it gets accepted, the SWLP will become law in 2028.
*What about current planning applications?
Current applications will need to be given permission or rejected BEFORE the SWLP has any legal weight. Stratford need to meet the government’s requirement of a 5 year land supply for housing before 2028. So the fight is still very much on as developers will want applications granted before The SWLP has legal weight.
*As it stands, is the SWLP good for Shipston?
Thanks to the efforts of our councillors and our high numbers of objections, many of our points have been taken into account. We hope that from 2028, if the plan is accepted by government, Shipston will benefit from the legal protections included and housing numbers very much reduced from initial fears of over 3000. Of course there will be development ongoing for the 25 years from that point, but it will be restricted by planning law from that point onwards.
SOS has been in meetings with STC, consulted our legal team and discussed this with Barcheston and Willington and Honington Parishes, and decided to agree overall with the next phase of the plan, as has Dave Passingham, because this plan could be better for Shipston than potentially a Government driven alternative. However, we make the following points:
1. In Regulation 19 there has been a strategic shift from the preferred new settlements and Strategic Growth areas supported by investment in infrastructure to a more disparate approach, meaning new housing being bolted onto existing small settlements with no investment in infrastructure. Existing towns like Shipton need additional infrastructure if we get more houses.
2. In the NPPF and government strategy it states housing needs to be sited along communication lines – is not delivered in this plan. Shipston is miles from railway and motorway transport links.
3. The Housing and Economic Land Assessment (HELAA) was redeveloped between regulation 18 and 19 and not communicated, and has limited rationale and there has been no consultation about how it was done.
4. There has been a move from areas of Strategic Growth supported by Infrastructure investment to development of Local Growth Areas. There is no clarity about the rational of introducing Local Growth Areas (LGA) which Shipston has been down graded to but there seems to be no additional infrastructure to go with LGAs.
We are still waiting for all the planning applications already submitted to be determined, and for the Fell Mill Planning application to be submitted. All this will happen BEFORE the SWLP become law so we are still incredibly vulnerable.
Keep up to date via email or on our socials and website so you know when to act! www.saveourshipton.org
