Bosses say joint plan for housing between Warwick and Stratford councils is still on track despite political changes

The deputy chief executive of Stratford-on-Avon District Council says a new joint local plan with Warwick District Council remains on track despite political changes.

The South Warwickshire Local Plan (SWLP) will set out proposed locations for new housing, workplaces and infrastructure across both districts in the years ahead and is one of a number of initiatives the two councils are working together on.

The authorities had been negotiating a full merger but that fell through a year ago (May 2022) with a change of political landscape following the recent local elections likely to bring fresh perspectives to the table.

Both councils had been Conservative-led but the Liberal Democrats have taken outright control at Stratford for the first time, while a Green-Labour coalition has come together to run Warwick District Council, changes that led to the proposed SWLP timetable being placed “under review”.

The existing timetable was at stage two of eight. It was anticipated the final version would be adopted at some point between June and December 2025.

Councillors on Stratford’s overview & scrutiny committee – a panel that runs the rule over key services provided by or on behalf of the authority – assessed actions being taken to carry out the council’s plan this week.

One of the objectives is to “continue to develop the South Warwickshire Local Plan in line with the timetable”. Under progress, it was noted that “new councillors will need to be brought up to speed on the SWLP and agree progress and next steps”.

Committee chair Councillor Andy Crump (Con, Southam East) said: “Bearing in mind the two main drivers of the South Warwickshire Local Plan are no longer the ruling administration in either district, it will be interesting to see how that works.

“Lots of good work has been done, most of it from officers working together between Warwick district and ourselves, and it has made savings.”

Vice-chair Councillor Dave Passingham (Green, Shipston South) quoted a letter in the local press from Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE) Warwickshire which he said was “advocating” going back to separate plans. Without offering support for that view, he queried: “Is that something we are discussing?”

Cllr Crump said the committee “could ask the administration what their views are” as part of its ongoing work but deputy chief executive Tony Perks said: “From what I understand, the intention is for the South Warwickshire Local Plan to continue as a joint exercise.

“We are in discussions with the new administration at Warwick district, they seem to be supportive of that.

He said if the councillors in charge of either authority now were inclined to go their separate ways, it would be “their prerogative” but that he understood “the work is planned to continue for the time being” and that “the rationale for creating it (the joint plan) hasn’t changed”.

Between June 2020 and April 2022 the two councils worked together to explore joint working and then a merger with the intention of creating a new South Warwickshire District Council by April 2024.

The proposal to merge was approved by both councils in December 2021, following which a submission was made to the Secretary of State. However in April 2022, the plans for the merger were ended.