More than 500 sites earmarked for housing

A new Local Plan has identified more than 500 sites for housing, Warwick and Stratford district councils have said.The authorities, which last year applied to the Government for permission to merge to create a South Warwickshire District Council, are working together to produce a new South Warwickshire Local Plan.The plan will set out the planning policies that the councils will use to assess applications for development, as well as identifying sites to meet future needs to support housing, jobs, infrastructure and open space.A ‘Scoping’ and ‘Call for Sites’ consultation ran for six weeks in May and June last year as a first stage in the plan making process.Information relating to that consultation has now been published, including an interactive map that charts the 555 sites suggested for potential development.The list of sites submitted for consideration are “in no way an endorsement by either council”, the authorities said, and that their inclusion means they are either suitable for development or will be included within the Local Plan itself.The next stage of the plan preparation will include a full public consultation.