Colin buchanan

Colin Buchanan has built on its strong track record in infrastructure planning to support Local Development Frameworks (LDFs) with a new commission to deliver an Infrastructure Capacity and Development Strategy for Stafford Borough Council.

The consultant team, which includes Mott MacDonald, Levvel and Hewdon Consulting, will assess potential locations for growth to understand the scale, cost, phasing and funding of the social, physical and green infrastructure needed to support the level of growth required by the West Midlands Regional Spatial Strategy Phase Two Revision – Draft Preferred Option. The study will be central to demonstrating the deliverability of the Council’s LDF Core Strategy.

The study will provide a robust evidence base to support Stafford Borough Council’s LDF (Local Development Framework), including an analysis of trigger points for new infrastructure provision, viability of strategic locations to meet affordable housing needs and recommendations for a developer contributions strategy. The Infrastructure Strategy will assist the Council and other service providers to identify and prioritise infrastructure provision as part of an integrated approach to planning and infrastructure delivery. 

John Pounder, Director of Planning at Colin Buchanan, comments ‘Deliverability has always been central to the tests of soundness for LDFs, but last year’s changes to PPS12 have brought this to the fore. Stafford Borough Council is seeking to ensure that these issues are fully addressed and inform decisions on development options’.