A Local Plan which will serve as planning framework for the town until 2041 is set to be voted on by Middlesbrough cllrs.
Middlesbrough’s Publication Local Plan is set to be debated and voted on at an extraordinary meeting of full council on Wednesday March 5. Once the plan is in place, it will be used to guide decisions on individual planning applications and covers the period from 2022-2041.
If approved by full council, the plan will go out for another round of public consultation, followed by a submission to the Secretary of State, Angela Rayner. The council is expected to adopt the final plan at the end of 2025.
The nearly 450 page agenda includes hundreds of comments from residents who engaged in a previous consultation period. Issues raised received responses from the council, with some comments causing amendments to be made. The local plan itself spans nearly 200 pages.
In their public communications, the council have chosen to focus on the change in strategy regarding the location for a future gypsy and traveller site. Previously, Teessaurus Park had been earmarked for the site, which is legally required somewhere in the council area.
The executive summary of the report explains how the Local Plan intends to set out “the housing allocations where new housing development is proposed to take place, alongside other planning policies for: housing; economic growth; green and blue infrastructure; physical, social and environmental infrastructure; the historic environment; and design/placemaking.”
The point of contention is expected to be the amount of housing, which has caused cross party concern over past months. Conservative group leader on Middlesbrough Council, Cllr
David Coupe, spoke to the Local Democracy Reporting Service about the latest plans. “I know we need houses and I accept that”, he outlined, before commenting that “we’re going to run out of land very rapidly”.
While stressing that he wasn’t a NIMBY, Cllr Coupe did describe the aims of achieving 420 houses as “a bit much” and “too ambitious”. He reiterated comments that he made back in a planning meeting in 2024, adding: “There won’t be a blade of grass left.” The Stainton and Thornton cllr’s ward is set to be heavily affected by future housing development, with more green space than other areas in the town. He said that there would be at least 1,000 houses as part of the Hemlington Grange development when that work is completed.
Before moving on to the next stage, the plan has to be approved by the meeting of full council, Cllr Coupe said that it will be passed as Labour hold the majority.
If the Local Plan fails to be passed, then the process of creating a plan will start all over again, only this time, the council will have to find a way to build 522 houses per year, as is the target from the Government for the Middlesbrough Council area. Because of the stage the council was at curating the Local Plan when the new mandatory housing targets were released by the Government, Middlesbrough are allowed to continue finalising the current Local Plan with the lower target of 420 houses per year.
Speaking in 2024, Middlesbrough Labour Mayor Chris Cooke said: “The local plan, if it makes it through in time, will lock our housing target in at the current level… I’m quite comfortable with the level we are trying to set in the local plan. But equally, by the end of the local plan, that’s it, it’s done.”
On the latest development, executive member for development, Cllr Theo Furness said: “It’s important that everyone understands that the sites identified in the draft Local Plan would still need to gain planning permission in the normal way and would be developed over the plan’s 15-year lifespan.
“The next stage of our consultation is now set to be launched and I’d urge anyone with a view to make sure they have their say.”
Plans state that new housing will accommodate a mix of properties including bungalows and adaptable properties for our growing older population, affordable homes, flats and larger family houses. The plan prioritises housing development on brownfield land.
While housing on greenfield land will be minimised, some sites remain in the plan due to the complex nature of developing brownfield sites and the lack of available land because of Middlesbrough’s tight boundaries.
The council say that staff have also continued to work with representatives from the Middlesbrough Development Corporation to ensure that developments to support a thriving town centre are identified.
If approved by cllrs at a full council meeting on March 5, those living and working in Middlesbrough will have the opportunity to give their views during a six-week public consultation, which would begin on March 11.
Representations made during this period will then be considered alongside the plan by a Planning Inspector during Independent Examination. The Plan will then be brought back to Council for adoption following this process, which is expected to be towards the end of 2025.
