Birmingham's plan finds 64.89ha of local jobs land against 134.5ha of need, and none for the wider region. Stratford says the gap lands on neighbours.

Stratford-on-Avon District Council has told Birmingham that its new Local Plan does not set aside enough land for jobs. The council warns the shortfall could put “undue pressure on surrounding authorities” to take up the slack.

The response was signed off on Thursday 24 September by the council’s Deputy Leader for Planning and Economic Development. It was sent the same day, the last day of Birmingham’s consultation. The decision notice and the full response are on the council’s democratic services site.

It was written jointly with Warwick District Council, because the two councils are preparing one South Warwickshire Local Plan together.

Why Stratford has a say in Birmingham’s plan

The two councils do not share a boundary. But Stratford-on-Avon district sits in the Greater Birmingham and Black Country Housing Market Area, alongside Birmingham and the rest of the West Midlands conurbation. That is the area in which housing need is meant to be shared out when one council cannot meet its own.

The response says officers from Stratford and Birmingham met to discuss cross-boundary issues on 3 September. Both councils are aiming to submit their plans by 31 December 2026.

Homes: Birmingham says it can cope

On housing, the response has no major quarrel. It sets out Birmingham’s figures:

  • a requirement of 87,700 homes over 2026 to 2044
  • based on a local housing need of 4,639 homes a year at May 2026, plus a 5% buffer
  • a supply of 92,768 homes already identified
  • headroom of 5,068 homes above the requirement

Birmingham proposes no Green Belt release. The response notes that is a change from its earlier consultation, which identified grey belt land with room for about 5,600 homes. It also notes that the plan makes no reference to helping neighbours with their unmet need.

Stratford argues that grey belt land “would appear to be an obvious candidate” for meeting the needs of councils next door to Birmingham. It points out that Sandwell, Dudley and Wolverhampton all identified significant unmet housing need in their own consultations this summer.

Jobs land: the real objection

The sharper criticism is about employment land. According to the response, Birmingham’s own evidence identifies 134.5 hectares of local need and a further 103.8 hectares for wider West Midlands needs. The plan only deals with the local share.

Bar chart of Birmingham employment land in hectares, from Stratford-on-Avon District Council's response. Local need to 2044: 134.5. Local supply identified: 64.89. Proposed new allocations: 14.12. Five-year reservoir in the adopted plan: 96. Five-year reservoir in the new plan: 36.
Birmingham's plan finds under half the local jobs land its evidence says it needs. Chart by Stratford Avon News.
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Even that local need is not met in full, the response says:

  • only 64.89 hectares of local employment land supply is identified
  • proposed new employment allocations total 14.12 hectares
  • the rolling five-year reservoir of ready land falls to 36 hectares, from 96 hectares in Birmingham’s current plan

Stratford sets that against its own draft. The South Warwickshire Local Plan identifies 278 hectares of land to meet and exceed the area’s strategic employment needs. The response accepts the two areas are very different. But it says Birmingham, as “the centre of the West Midlands region and economy”, would be expected to plan for the strategic needs its own evidence identifies.

It also flags a technical problem. Birmingham’s jobs forecasts were based on a housing need of 4,511 homes a year, not the updated 4,639 figure or the buffered requirement. Stratford suggests the evidence may need updating.

The regional strategy question

Birmingham’s plan says the wider area’s needs will be handled by the West Midlands Spatial Development Strategy, which will “apportion development needs” between councils.

Stratford’s reply is pointed. The district is in the housing market area but is not covered by the West Midlands strategy. The response says it “would not be appropriate” for that strategy to hand unmet needs to councils outside its area. That would need cooperation between planning authorities instead.

The strategy is at an early stage. The response says consultation on issues and options starts later this year, with adoption expected in spring or summer 2028. Stratford expects Birmingham will need an early review of its plan once that strategy sets its figures.

What it means for you

  • Nothing changes on the ground yet. This is one council’s comments on another’s draft plan. An independent planning inspector will examine Birmingham’s plan after it is submitted.
  • The point to watch is land for jobs. If Birmingham does not plan for its share, the pressure to find sites moves outwards. Stratford is telling Birmingham, on the record, that it does not want to be the answer by default.
  • Your own district’s plan is the one you can influence most. The South Warwickshire Local Plan is due to be submitted by 31 December. Our planning news page tracks the district’s applications and decisions, and we reported on the district’s housing land supply position earlier this month.

Sources