PLANS to build more than 1000 homes across Salisbury in the next 15 years have been approved by county council leaders.
Wiltshire Council's Cabinet endorsed the Local Plan on Tuesday morning (July 11) so that it can now be considered by Full Council on 18 July, before a public consultation later in the autumn.
This is the most important place-shaping document for Wiltshire and outlines where and how housing, employment and infrastructure development should take place until 2038.
The Local Plan has been in development since 2017 and has been through several stages of engagement, consultation and changes based on evidence and feedback from communities, developers and businesses across Wiltshire.
Read more: Harnham residents slam Wiltshire local development plans
The latest revision of the plan reduced the overall number of houses needed in Wiltshire from 45,630 to 36,740 but concentrated the demand in Salisbury.
Seven sites have been marked for housing which could see around 1,100 dwellings built in the city.
It features increased environmental protections, including a mandate that all houses must be zero carbon, boosting small-scale energy generation such as solar, and increasing biodiversity net gain from 10 per cent to 20 per cent.
All new developments must also have cycling and walking connections.
The plan also requires 40 per cent of all new greenfield housing developments of 10 homes or more to be affordable.
Councillor Nick Botterill, cabinet member for strategic planning, said the revised plan ensures the council is "not building more homes than it needs to".
He said: “We have also maximised the number of brownfield sites in the plan to help protect as much of our countryside as we can.
“We recognise that there will be some controversial elements to the plan. For example, the plan will allow limited development in small villages, with at least 40% affordable housing to ensure that we can keep young people in the villages they grew up in.
See more: Wiltshire Council Local Plan: Residents angry about plans to build
The plan will be examined by an independent planning inspector in 2024 and the official public consultation begins in the autumn.
At this stage, any comments about the plan must focus on whether the proposed sites meet the 'tests of soundness' and should not focus on whether or not the respondent or a community likes or dislikes a particular site.
Objections for reasons other than 'tests of soundness' are unlikely to lead to a change when the plan is considered by the planning inspector.
To read the full Cabinet report, click here.
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