LATEST UPDATE

Gateway 1: Commencement

On the 30th of September 2026, Shropshire Council formally commenced the process to prepare the next "Shropshire Local Plan" by passing through 'Gateway 1'.This marks the start of the 30-month plan-making period. Gateway 1 involves a self-assessment of readiness to start the 30-month plan process and you can see a summary on Shropshire Council's website using this link: https://next.shropshire.gov.uk/planning-policy/next-local-plan/gateway-1-commencement/

The Gateway 1 self-assessment follows completion of the statutory 'scoping' stage of plan-making, which Shropshire Council started on the 8th of May 2026, when they published a 'notice of intention to commence plan-making'. This stage included an early scoping consultation to which Shropshire Council received responses from over 800 residents and organisations. These responses are currently being assessed and will be used to inform the next stage of plan-making, alongside wider evidence.

BACKGROUND

Shropshire Council originally created a Local Plan which covered from 2016 to 2038. The aim of the plan was to decide where new homes would go across the county. The draft plan that Shropshire Council submitted was deemed "unsound" by Planning Inspectors and it was formally withdrawn in July 2025. 

Shropshire Council is now writing a new plan that goes from 2025 to 2046 (with adoption in 2029) and they say that some 40,600 new dwellings (a minimum of 2,030 a year) must be planned for. Earlier in the year they asked landowners to put forward sites that can be considered for development and the Sundorne Castle Estate has submitted a large number to them.

The Parish Council's involvement so far has been to respond to Shropshire Council's "scoping consultation", the deadline of which was the 15th of July. This consultation aims to gather public and stakeholder input by asking for opinions on Shropshire Council's "vision, spatial strategy, methodology and the evidence base". At this stage, the Parish Council cannot submit an opinion on any of the sites the Estate has put forward.

Here is a link that will take you to Shropshire Council's map showing promoted sites in the region. Once you have read the information and clicked "I understand", use the "+" sign in the top left corner to zoom in and see the sites that have been put forward by the Estate in Upton Magna.

https://experience.arcgis.com/experience/232e9007138641d293996b3ba10eeee3?utm_source=copilot.com 

Below you will find a number of documents that give you more information on what is happening - this includes Shropshire Council's timetable for creating the plan. You will also find a copy of a flyer that was recently delivered to most (if not all) of the households in the Parish. The responses to the flyer have been pulled together to find out how parishioners feel about the possibility of development, and a report compiled. You can view the report below. Names of responders will be kept confidential by Clerk, and only the content of the response given to Councillors and/or included in any report.

We are in initial, early discussions regarding this, in order to obtain more information. When we have enough, we may arrange a community meeting so that we can share any information we have gathered. Please note that this subject will be included on the agenda at the next usual Parish Council meeting, which is scheduled for Thursday, 10th of September at 7.30pm in the Memorial Hall. Everyone is welcome to attend.