Wirral puts out call for sites

As it readies to begin the local plan process anew, the local authority is seeking suggestions for land to enable it to meet its 1,602 homes a year target.

Wirral Council is accepting submissions for potential residential and employment sites to inform its local plan. The deadline is 5pm 24 July.

This is the first step in crafting a new local plan, which must be adopted within 30 months according to national government.

Wirral Council is targeting September 2028 for having its local plan ready to submit for examination, with an eye to it being adopted in 2029.

The new plan is necessary thanks to changes to the National Planning Policy Framework. These changes included changing the local authority’s housing need calculation, which informs how much housing land supply it needs to demonstrate.

Prior to the changes, Wirral Council had a target of enabling the delivery of 728 homes a year. After the changes, that number shifted to 1,602.

You do not need to own land that you put forward for site consideration. At the conclusion of the submission period, the council will look at all the sites and conduct a strategic housing and economic land availability assessment to see if they are suitable for including in the new local plan.