The following motions have been received in accordance with Procedure Rule 16:

 

The following motion was received from Councillor Ed Potter and supported by the Conservative Group

 

We all know that litter blights our roadside verges. This includes an increasing number of disused and broken temporary road signs which have been left behind and often over time lost in the undergrowth along our verges and roadside. In the Loton division this is a particular problem along the A5 and A458 as well as the more rural side roads. Once the growing season starts these signs often get covered by the vegetation and then are subsequently damaged by the hedge cutters which cut the verges. It would make sense when there are road closures on these busy roads that these disused highways signs, sandbags and traffic cones are removed. On the more minor roads and on traffic islands these could be collected by highways contractors whilst going about their daily routines and deposited back at highways depots for reuse or recycling. It is important to our

residents that we all take civic pride in where we live and these simple actions of removing these discarded items will make a big difference.

 

1.    Request that Shropshire Council Highways adopt a policy instructing all Highways works teams and contractors including utility companies who are permitted to work on the Highway remove disused and broken signs left behind by previous work schemes

 

2.    Ask the Chief Executive to write to the Chief Executive of National Highways to request their work teams and contractors operating in Shropshire adopt the same approach.

 

RESOLVED:

 

That Council

 

 

1.    Request that Shropshire Council Highways adopt a policy instructing all Highways works teams and contractors including utility companies who are permitted to work on the Highway remove disused and broken signs left behind by previous work schemes

 

2.    Ask the Chief Executive to write to the Chief Executive of National Highways to request their work teams and contractors operating in Shropshire adopt the same approach.

 

 

Motion received form Councillor Julian Dean and supported by the Green & Progressive Independent Group

 

Planning for a better Shropshire

 

Shropshire Council recognises the need:

 

·       to deliver the right homes, at the right price, in the right places to address the housing affordability crisis

·       to provide clean energy infrastructure to support the UK’s future energy needs

·       to rapidly deliver projects that will help our natural environment to recover such that the UK is no longer one of the most nature depleted countries in the world.

 

We believe these aims can all be delivered alongside robust local decision making given the right mix of regulation and funding.

 

Council notes:

 

·       Revisions to the ‘standard method’ for calculating housing targets - which has increased the housing target for Shropshire from 1070 to 1994 - but with no target for social or affordable homes, and no significant change to viability assessments which result in affordable homes schemes being scrapped or reduced. The adopted ‘stock based’ Standard Method fails to properly assess this area’s housing need or reflect the ability to grow and provide supporting infrastructure.

·       The Planning and Infrastructure Bill currently passing through Parliament. Despite pleas from across the environmental sector and cross-party support for amendments, the Bill continues to include damaging changes to planning rules such that the environmental movement has now come together to call on ministers to ‘scrap part 3’.

·       Proposed changes to planning decision making which will reduce the power of councils and councillors to act on behalf of their communities - this despite the fact that, nationally, 1.4 million homes had been granted planning permission since 2007 but not been built.

 

Council believes:

 

The combined effect of changes introduced by the government since last July, even when taking in to account the welcome additional funding for the Affordable Homes Programme (£39bn over 10 years), will in all likelihood fail to deliver the homes people need in Shropshire, damage efforts to recover our natural environment and further erode community trust in decision making.

 

Council resolves to:

 

1.    Request the Leader of the Council to write to the Prime Minister, Deputy Prime Minister, relevant Secretaries of State, as well as local MPs, expressing these concerns, and calling for the withdrawal of part 3 of the Planning and infrastructure Bill.

2.    Ask our MPs to oppose measures in part 3 of the Planning and Infrastructure Bill and, should these remain in the Bill, to vote against at final reading.

3.    Request portfolio holders to accelerate completion of the Local Nature Recovery Strategy and Local Transport Plan and to ensure that these policies, together with Shrewsbury Moves, are made material considerations in planning as soon as possible, and ahead of any timetable for the revised Local Plan.

4.    Request portfolio holders hold urgent meetings with Registered Providers to maximise the benefit to Shropshire from the uplift to the Affordable Homes Programme.

5.    Share this resolution with neighbouring councils, local civic groups, nature organisations and the local press, to encourage wider opposition and coordinated advocacy.

 

By way of amendment Councillor David Walker proposed the following

 

Planning for a better Shropshire?

 

Shropshire Council recognises the need:?

 

·       to deliver sufficient homes, at the right price, in the right places to provide more?affordable homes for Shropshire people

 

·       to provide clean energy infrastructure to support the UK’s future energy needs and economic growth

 

·       to rapidly deliver projects that will help our natural environment to recover such that the UK is no longer one of the most nature depleted countries in the world.

 

We believe these aims can all be delivered alongside robust local decision making given the right mix of regulation and funding.? ?

 

Council notes:?

 

·       Revisions to the Standard Method for calculating housing need provide a target that will exceed this rural county’s capacity to deliver housing, employment and infrastructure.  

 

·       Replacement of out of date and development of new Supplementary Policy Documents (SPDs) is underway with a target date of September. The new SPDs will help provide policy clarity while the new local plan is taken forward.

 

·       Local Nature Recovery Strategy (LNRS) will soon go out for Public Consultation on the 6th of August. Member briefings will be organised to coincide with that.

 

·       Successive governments have under resourced the planning system and that has weakened capacity to process major and complex applications quickly. 

 

·       The Planning and Infrastructure Bill does not take into account the advice of the Office for Environmental Protection in May 2025 that the current wording of the bill would roll back species protection.

 

·       There is no timetable in the Bill for Environmental Delivery Plans (EDPs). 

 

·       Since 2007, 1.4 million homes with planning permission have not been built [1m since 2015 according to the Planning Portal Market Index]

 

Council believes:?

 

The combined effect of changes introduced by the government since last July, even when taking in to account the welcome additional funding for the Affordable Homes Programme (£39bn over 10 years), will in all likelihood fail to deliver the homes Shropshire people need in Shropshire, damage efforts to recover our natural environment and further erode community trust in decision making.??

 

Council resolves to:?

 

1.    Request the Leader of the Council to write to the Prime Minister, Deputy Prime Minister, relevant Secretaries of State, as well as local MPs, expressing these concerns, reiterate the concerns in the planning reform consultation responses and calling for the withdrawal of part 3 of the Planning and infrastructure Bill.?

 

2.    Ask our MPs to oppose measures in part 3 of the Planning and Infrastructure Bill that reduce protections for the environment. 

 

3.    Request portfolio holders to accelerate completion of the Local Nature Recovery Strategy and Local Transport Plan and to ensure that these policies, together with Shrewsbury Moves, are made material considerations in planning decisions as soon as possible.

 

4.    Request portfolio holders hold urgent meetings with Registered Providers to maximise the benefit to Shropshire from the uplift to the Affordable Homes Programme.

 

5.    Share this resolution with neighbouring councils, local civic groups, nature organisations and the local press, to encourage wider opposition and coordinated advocacy.?

 

Councillor Dean indicated that he was prepared to accept the amendment

 

RESOLVED

 

 

1.    Request the Leader of the Council to write to the Prime Minister, Deputy Prime Minister, relevant Secretaries of State, as well as local MPs, expressing these concerns, reiterate the concerns in the planning reform consultation responses and calling for the withdrawal of part 3 of the Planning and infrastructure Bill.?

 

2.    Ask our MPs to oppose measures in part 3 of the Planning and Infrastructure Bill that reduce protections for the environment. 

 

3.    Request portfolio holders to accelerate completion of the Local Nature Recovery Strategy and Local Transport Plan and to ensure that these policies, together with Shrewsbury Moves, are made material considerations in planning decisions as soon as possible.

 

4.    Request portfolio holders hold urgent meetings with Registered Providers to maximise the benefit to Shropshire from the uplift to the Affordable Homes Programme.

 

5.    Share this resolution with neighbouring councils, local civic groups, nature organisations and the local press, to encourage wider opposition and coordinated advocacy.