This site supports the development of the Bridgnorth Plan. We are working with residents and those employed in the town to produce a vision for the future of Bridgnorth and the wider settlement.
Please contact us via the Contact page if you would like to get involved.
Please contact us via the Contact page if you would like to get involved.
1st Edition of the Bridgnorth Plan
After 18 months' work we have released the first edition of the Bridgnorth Plan:
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This was approved by the Bridgnorth Plan Steering Group on 24th November 2020. We consider that it represents a balanced view of those that have responded to our consultation exercises and participated in our working groups.
To develop the Plan a number of working groups contributed to a Consultation Document during the second half of 2019. This considered a range of important issues facing the town, including ones relevant to Shropshire Council's review of its Local Plan. Public meetings were held in the Castle Hall, Low Town Community Hall and Tasley Village Hall in January and February and a survey was carried out to obtain people's views. Based on the results of the survey and feedback on the Consultation Document, we produced a report on the first phase of our work. Further work led to the first edition of the Bridgnorth Plan. Subsequent editions will be released in light of any final Local Plan and our continuing work.
Over the same period, Shropshire Council has released a number of versions of its draft Local Plan. These are discussed in more detail, together with the responses made by the Steering Group, on the Local Plan Review page.
Unfortunately, it appears that this Regulation 19 draft of the Local Plan has few changes for the Bridgnorth area compared to the previous draft. Of course, this means that the 1st edition of the Bridgnorth plan does not align with this draft of the Local Plan. Nonetheless, the Plan contains a wide range of information and recommendations for Bridgnorth that should be considered in developing infrastructure and services for the area. It remains a valid and valuable piece of community consultation that should not be ignored, especially given that such consultation is encouraged by Shropshire Council.
The Steering Group has always intended to issue further editions of the plan as our work progresses, and in the light of progress towards the latest Local Plan. We will be considering how to proceed with our work as the Local Plan passes through to examination.
To develop the Plan a number of working groups contributed to a Consultation Document during the second half of 2019. This considered a range of important issues facing the town, including ones relevant to Shropshire Council's review of its Local Plan. Public meetings were held in the Castle Hall, Low Town Community Hall and Tasley Village Hall in January and February and a survey was carried out to obtain people's views. Based on the results of the survey and feedback on the Consultation Document, we produced a report on the first phase of our work. Further work led to the first edition of the Bridgnorth Plan. Subsequent editions will be released in light of any final Local Plan and our continuing work.
Over the same period, Shropshire Council has released a number of versions of its draft Local Plan. These are discussed in more detail, together with the responses made by the Steering Group, on the Local Plan Review page.
Unfortunately, it appears that this Regulation 19 draft of the Local Plan has few changes for the Bridgnorth area compared to the previous draft. Of course, this means that the 1st edition of the Bridgnorth plan does not align with this draft of the Local Plan. Nonetheless, the Plan contains a wide range of information and recommendations for Bridgnorth that should be considered in developing infrastructure and services for the area. It remains a valid and valuable piece of community consultation that should not be ignored, especially given that such consultation is encouraged by Shropshire Council.
The Steering Group has always intended to issue further editions of the plan as our work progresses, and in the light of progress towards the latest Local Plan. We will be considering how to proceed with our work as the Local Plan passes through to examination.
Approach
The Bridgnorth Plan will provide a vision for the future of Bridgnorth and the surrounding area, giving a framework within which relevant organisations can collaborate and provide the required infrastructure and services. Responsibility for provision will generally remain with the appropriate bodies, such as Shropshire Council, the NHS, the emergency services and landowners. However, the town is more likely to get what is needed if everyone takes an interest in defining our requirements.
- The Steering Group wishes to avoid setting up new working groups when there are existing groups and/or experts in a field who are better placed to make progress. Our aim is to find or establish groups to address issues facing the town, understand what needs doing and provide inputs and leadership.
- The Bridgnorth Plan itself is not our primary goal. The process of developing working group and the contributed knowledge and experience of residents and businesses, often in collaboration with service providers, is expected to produce results.
- An evolving Bridgnorth Plan will be produced, in a number of Editions, to provide an overview of the issues facing the town and what is being and/or needs to be done to address them. Releasing editions of the plan will allow it to evolve in the light of consultation, further work and the revision of the Local Plan that is currently being carried out by Shropshire Council.
How to get involved
If you'd like to help your town, contact us via the Contact page and let us know in which of the working groups you would like to participate. You will be invited to the next meeting and sent any relevant information that is available for the working group.
We also need assistance on the following:
We also need assistance on the following:
- PR and communications: We have to involve the community and developing a route forward. We need to improve this web site, maintain a presence on social media and use excellent PR to promote the needs of the Town.
- Understanding funding: We must understand how the needs identified in the Bridgnorth Plan could be funded. A plan cannot be a plan unless it can be implemented. However, we are not trying to raise funds – just to determine whether funding would be available.