Call to have your say on new housing sites planned for Wath

Rotherham Borough Council said the amendments were required by a government inspector to ensure the Local Plan was “fit for purpose” and could be fomally adopted by the council.

The Local Plan is the council’s 15-year plan to provide for future development needs for the borough and sets out how many houses need to be built and allocates land for new homes and jobs.

The plan is formed by the Core Strategy, which sets out the headline numbers and strategic policies and was approved by a Government Inspector and adopted by the Council in 2014, and the Sites and Policies document, which identifies individual sites for development and provides detailed policies to measure all proposed future development against.

The changes being consulted on relate to the Sites and Policies part of the plan, which was submitted to the Government in March 2016 before being examined by an independent inspector.

After a series of public hearings, the inspector recommended two additional housing sites be earmarked in the Wath area, with 242 earmarked for land off Far Field Lane (below) and 328 for a site between Pontefract Road and Barnsley Road.

 Members of the public and interested parties now have until Monday, February 19, to give their views on the changes.

The inspector will only consider comments that specifically relate to the proposed main changes, the council said.

The council’s strategic director of regeneration and environment, Damien Wilson (pictured), said: “The inspector has indicated that our plan can be passed, subject to some changes. 

“This is good news for the council and the people of Rotherham as the plan promotes the new homes and jobs the borough needs. 

“But we are not quite there yet; we now need to consult on the inspector’s changes. 

“The current consultation will enable further comments to be made before the final decision is made by the inspector.”

To have your say, visit http://rotherham.limehouse.co.uk/portal.  

The consultation documents are also available during normal opening times at the council’s main office at Riverside House on Main Street, and in all libraries in the borough.