Commitment to protecting green spaces reaffirmed by Council

Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council has confirmed its commitment to safeguarding green spaces across its area as ‘important community assets for residents’.

Full Council approved a formal motion to allay concerns arising from approval of the Local Plan 2020-2040, which determines which land in the Borough can be developed and which cannot.

Ben Simpson, Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council Cabinet member for Waste, Recycling and Green Spaces, said:

This administration knows how important parks, playing fields and open spaces are to our communities and we want to take this opportunity to show we understand their significance by confirming that they are valued as important community assets and that we will use the appropriate safeguards to protect them in future.”

Council has also expressed its concern that it has been instructed by central Government to begin work on drafting a new Local Plan for the period 2030-2045, which would see an additional 2,000 homes planned across the Borough – putting further pressure on green space.

Council leadership has already written to Government opposing this request and Full Council last night agreed that the three MPs whose constituencies include parts of the Borough be asked to join that opposition against a new Local Plan.