A note from your clerk – West Suffolk Council “Call for Sites”

One of the first things they need to do is to understand the sites that are available for consideration as part of the local plan preparation process and whether they are suitable and deliverable.

The call for sites will run until 5pm on 20 May 2026 after which each site will be assessed for suitability, availability, and achievability.  This is not just for land for new homes, but for employment, mixed use sites and for infrastructure growth such as community facilities, education, health and transport, and green infrastructure such as parks, allotments, play areas and other open space.

In terms of the impact of Local Government Organisation on the preparation of any new local plan, the government has told local planning authorities to get on with the preparation of local plans for their district area.

They have further advised that shortly prior to the current West Suffolk Local Plan being adopted, the government increased housing targets. The local plan making regulations require West Suffolk to formally begin local plan making by June 2026 because our current local plan housing requirement is less than 80 per cent of the government’s latest assessment of housing need for West Suffolk. Progressing a new local plan is also required so that the West Suffolk can maintain a 5-year land supply which is crucial for us to maintain a plan led approach and resist speculative development.  The preparation of a new local plan for West Suffolk will ensure growth will be plan led.

They have gone on to say:

If we don’t carry out this work, new homes will still be built. What we would lose would be the ability to say no to some of the speculative development that would come forward and some of the protection that we are currently able to provide to our countryside. We would also no doubt see piecemeal development which would make it much harder to secure developer funds towards critical infrastructure such as community facilities, education, health, and transport.

 So, the call for sites is taking place ahead of the council formally beginning work towards the preparation of the next local plan for the district. It is important to note that no decisions have been taken into what land uses will be allocated. Sites submitted during the call for sites will be assessed to ensure they are suitable, available, and achievable for potential development. These assessments will be used to inform the preparation of the local plan which will cover the period to the year 2045.  

Further details on the call for sites can be found at West Suffolk Planning Policy Consultations – West Suffolk Planning Policy Consultations