Newcastle-under-Lyme Local Plan

After careful consideration and having weighed up the serious risks associated with whether to accept or reject the Local Plan that this administration has inherited, we will be recommending that the Local Plan is approved at Full Council on 8 July 2026.

This is not a decision we take lightly.

As we have said previously, this is not the Local Plan we would have written from scratch. There are parts of it we have concerns about, and there are decisions we would have approached differently. But leadership means dealing with the situation as it is, not as we might wish it to be.

This administration inherited a Local Plan that had already gone through the formal examination process. The Planning Inspector’s final report was issued on 19 May 2026, the day before the new administration was appointed.

We asked whether amendments could still be made, and the answer was clear: there is no mechanism for the Inspector’s final report to be amended now that the examination has concluded.

The choice before us is whether Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough is better protected with an adopted Local Plan or left exposed and vulnerable without one. After considering the planning, legal and financial risks, the administration has concluded that approving the Local Plan is the better and safer course for the Borough.

Without an approved and up-to-date Local Plan, the Borough would be far more vulnerable to speculative development. Developers would be able to submit planning applications for land anywhere, including greenfield and even Green Belt land, knowing that without a Local Plan planning law makes a presumption in favour of the application.

That is why we have concluded that approving the plan is the safer course for our towns, villages, green spaces and communities.

The Local Plan also helps direct development towards brownfield sites in and around our town centres, supporting regeneration where it is needed and helping to reduce pressure elsewhere.

It supports key local stakeholders, including Keele University, through mixed-use allocations that can help deliver ambitions for a science and innovation district, bringing jobs, investment and opportunity to the Borough.

We also have to be honest about the financial risk. Some planning applications would likely come forward regardless of whether this plan is approved. If the Council rejected the plan and then refused those applications from a weaker planning position, there would be a real risk of decisions being overturned on appeal. That could leave local taxpayers facing significant costs.

This administration will continue to fight for the best possible outcome for Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough. We will be honest about the challenges, straight with residents about the choices before us, and determined to protect our communities from uncontrolled development.

Jonathan Gullis, Leader of Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council and Cabinet member for Planning and Town Centres.

Graham Shaw, Deputy Leader of Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council and Cabinet member for Finance.