Sandwell Local Plan

Consultation on Sandwell Council's proposed main modifications to the Sandwell Local Plan (Regulation 19)

The Sandwell Local Plan (SLP) and accompanying information was submitted to the Secretary of State on 11 December 2024 to be examined. Following submission Sandwell Council has identified three potential main modifications to the SLP which it believes are necessary to ensure that the SLP is found sound at examination.

1. The proposed allocation of part of Rowley Regis Golf Course, Tippity Green, Rowley Regis, B65 9AA for housing development.
2. Changes to the wording of Policy SCC4 – Embodied Carbon and Waste.
3. The removal of Hill House Farm as a potential Habitat Bank for Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) and its replacement with Ray Hall Pastoral Land.

The council is inviting representations on the proposed main modifications under Regulation 19 of the Town and Country Planning (Local Planning) (England) Regulations 2012 between 09:00 Monday 28 April and 17:00 Monday 9 June 2025. 

To view and comment on the consultation document and Sustainability Appraisal please visit the SLP consultation website.

PDF versions of the consultation document, Sustainability Appraisal addendum, supporting evidence and response form are available to view and download by clicking here. The wider evidence base for the Sandwell Local Plan is available to view and download on the Examination Library webpage.

The consultation only relates to the three proposed main modifications detailed above. Comments should only relate to issues of soundness and legal compliance. Comments made about other aspects of the SLP or that do not relate to soundness and legal compliance will not be considered. Information about what ‘soundness’ means and what the legal requirements are is available to read on the SLP Frequently Asked Questions webpage.

All representations received will be considered by Inspector C Jack BSc (Hons) MA MA(TP) MRTPI from the Planning Inspectorate who has been appointed by the Secretary of State to carry out the independent examination of the SLP. The decision on whether to incorporate the main modifications that have been proposed by the council is taken by the Inspector. This consultation is taking place without prejudice to the Inspector’s final conclusions.

Submission of the Sandwell Local Plan to the Secretary of State (Regulation 22)

The Sandwell Local Plan and accompanying information was submitted to the Secretary of State on 11 December 2024. Inspector C Jack BSc (Hons) MA MA(TP) MRTPI from the Planning Inspectorate has been appointed by the Secretary of State to carry out the independent examination of the Sandwell Local Plan. 

To keep up to date on the progress of the examination, and to view the examination documents and information about the examination hearings, please visit the Sandwell Local Plan Examination webpage.

Publication of the Sandwell Local Plan (Regulation 19)

The Sandwell Local Plan was published in accordance with Regulation 19 of the Town and Country Planning (Local Planning) (England) Regulations 2012 and Sandwell Council invited comments on its soundness and legal compliance between 23 September and 11 November 2024. Any comments submitted after this date have not been registered. 

You can view a digital version of the Publication Sandwell Local Plan and view the interactive Policies Map on our external consultation websites under the 'historic documents' tab.

Please use the tabs at the top of this page to view and download the supporting evidence, and to read the Frequently Asked Question responses including a summary on what 'soundness' means and what the legal requirements for the Local Plan are.

You can view and download a PDF version of the Publication Sandwell Local Plan and other consultation documents here.

Register for email updates on the Sandwell Local Plan 

Draft Sandwell Local Plan Consultation (Regulation 18)

Sandwell Council held a Regulation 18 public consultation on the Draft Sandwell Local Plan between 6 November and 18 December 2023. The responses to the consultation informed the preparation of the Publication Version of the Local Plan.

The Draft Plan identifies where new employment and housing development will be located and where investment for new infrastructure, such as transport, schools and green space will be made during the period to 2041.

You can view a digital version of the Draft Sandwell Local Plan on our external consultation website under 'historic documents' or download a PDF of the draft version.

Issues and Options Consultation

The public consultation on the Sandwell Local Plan Issues and Options Consultation took place between 6 February and 20 March 2023.

View the Sandwell Local Plan Issues and Options consultation documents

Call for Sites

A Call for Sites exercise took place at the same time as the Issues and Options Consultation in February and March 2023. The exercise invited landowners and developers to submit details of land within Sandwell that they would like to promote for development. The site submissions have been assessed for suitability for development within the Site Assessment Report which forms part of the evidence base for the Sandwell Local Plan.

Sites submitted through the Call for Sites exercise can be found on the Sandwell Local Plan Call for Sites Map here.

Please contact the Planning Policy Team at any time if you would like to promote any land within Sandwell for development. 

Plan Making Process

There are a number of different stages involved in the preparation of a Local Plan, with the key stages outlined below.

How do I contact Planning Policy?

To speak to a Planning Policy Officer about the Sandwell Local Plan, please email Sandwell_LocalPlan@sandwell.gov.uk

Or call 0121 569 4054

Or write to Planning Policy, Sandwell Council House, Freeth Street, Oldbury, B69 3DE.

Can I view this page in a different language?

You can translate any webpage on the Council's website into 60 different languages including Punjabi, Bengali বাঙ্গালী, Polish (Polski) and Urdu (اردو). Please visit the translation webpage for further details.