Councillors investigate impact of new housing developments on public services

The group, known as the 'developer contributions task and finish' group, has produced a report with seven recommendations on how to identify and fund increased demand for these services caused by new housing.

The group's findings were presented to the council's Economy and Environment Scrutiny Committee last Thursday and will now be considered by the Cabinet for approval and implementation.

The scrutiny committee emphasized the importance of ensuring developers contribute to mitigating the impact of new housing on local services. They noted that Shropshire Council was an early adopter of the Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) – a system for collecting developer contributions – and that it was timely to assess its effectiveness.

Councillor Joyce Barrow, chair of the economy and environment overview and scrutiny committee – and chair of the task and finish group – said:

“Ensuring that the impact of new housing development in our county on the public services and the associated costs of addressing them is important for all of the organisations affected. We want people and families to have access to suitable homes in the places they want to live, but to also have good access to the services they need to use in close proximity.

"This must be balanced with those services being developed and invested in to meet the demand, and the correct levels of financial contribution from the housing developers has a significant role in this.

“Shropshire Council was an early adopter of the Community Infrastructure Levy back in 2012. At 12 years on, it is timely that our local arrangements should be reviewed to ensure that they are in line with best practice and will be fit for the future. That is why our first recommendation recognises this. The members of the task and finish group recognise the importance of people being able to get access to the services they need close to where they live.”