A cabinet member has called for a new Local Plan at Lichfield District Council to force housebuilders to give more consideration to the green agenda in future.
Cllr Andy Smith’s comments came as the local authority’s cabinet backed plans to tear up the proposed Local Plan.
It would mean a rethink on how and where homes are built in future across the district.
Cllr Andy Smith, deputy leader and cabinet member for leisure, parks and major projects, said there was now a chance to fix key areas of the Local Plan.
He told a meeting this week:
“It is no secret that I was against the submission of the plan for a number a reasons, mainly because we are here as an authority to do what our residents expect of us – and I know our residents are against the crawl out of our current residential areas.
“For me, a fundamental part of the Local Plan – which houses are built and where – should include the green agenda and tackling climate change.
“We didn’t put enough strength on this in the plan that has just been submitted.
“What can we do for the green agenda to hammer down what developers have to do, such as adding solar panels and the inclusion of electric charging points in new builds?”
Cllr Andy Smith, Lichfield District Council
Cllr Alex Farrell, cabinet member for the Local Plan, said it was an area he was keen to look again at for any future submission of a revised document.
“I agree – it’s a really important aspect of what we do.
“It also ties in with out design code we are working on and the two will work in parallel.
“We will consider a range of policies including those which set standards for new buildings. There are regulations for new build standards controlled by government, but there’s no reason why we can’t set a different priority.
“It is very important for it to feature in the Local Plan.”
Cllr Alex Farrell, Lichfield District Council
