LORD GIVE ME STRENGTH!
SANDWELL PLAN 2 
So when does a “plan” just remain a plan without ever being put into action?
Imagine my surprise to receive the recent email below from Sandwell Council planning policy. The SLP was of course a culmination of nearly a decade of time wasting bollocks that began life as “The Black Country Core Strategy”, then evolved into the “The Black Country Plan”. When Dudley Council shafted this, Sandwell and the other authorities began their own local plans, much of it copy and pasted, and this led to many errors which the inspector picked up on in her examination, of which I took part.
Sandwell had claimed that undertaking the plan at this time under the December 2023 NPPF would be more advantageous as this version of planning policy was more favourable and less stringent in holding local authorities to account on housing targets set by Government. SMBC are over 14,000 down which makes this plan look ridiculous and is impossible to deliver.
I think the council, under then Labour control, expected this plan to go through quickly, but did not bank on the inspector doing a diligent job and looking through it with a fine tooth comb. We are still awaiting the outcome of this, after SMBC had submitted their modified plan.
So here is the email below, and just when you thought it was safe to go back into the water, a sequel is already in the pipeline!
“Dear Consultee,
Current Sandwell Local Plan (SLP) – currently in Examination
An update on where we are with the current draft Sandwell Local Plan. We recently consulted on the Main Modifications and all responses have been forwarded to the Planning Inspector and we await her findings on the examination of the plan and her final report. We will update our website https://www.sandwell.gov.uk/planning/sandwell-local-plan when we have further information. We are hoping to adopt this plan, subject to being found sound in summer / autumn this year. Even though we are awaiting the final report from the Planning Inspector and it is not adopted, due to government regulations we have been instructed that we have to start work on a new local plan. We will still continue to adopt the current SLP and at the same time continue to progress work on the new plan (Sandwell Local Plan 2 (2026- 2044), once this is adopted this will replace SLP.
New Sandwell Local Plan – Sandwell Local Plan 2 (2026-2044)
We are pleased to let you know that we are about to begin work on the next Sandwell Local Plan 2 (2026 – 2044).”
So let me get this straight, without even getting the inspectors decision, a bit like waiting for GTA 6, SMBC are going to bypass this by adding another 3 years, carrying out the whole exercise again and achieving what- another fucking “plan”, the son of Sandwell Plan.
I raised these issues and had the following reply.
“The government introduced new regulations (including The Town and Country Planning Regulations 2026). The reforms aim to speed up the process, mandate a universal 30-month limit for plan creation, and ensure comprehensive, up-to-date local plan coverage to meet housing targets and boost community participation. In Sandwell work will formal work will commence on the next local plan in July with an adoption date in 2029. Yes, there will be an examination in public before the adoption of the plan.”
This “plan” has been going on now for longer than the First and Second World Wars combined, and has more to it than Operation Overlord and Sea lion with this crazy Government of wankers, another chief Onanist incoming shortly, demanding targets for redistributing dinghy filth from France outwards from the south. THEY ARE NOT WELCOME HERE!
But the tax payers continue to prop up this rambling pile of shite and the council are even hiring someone to join the team to rewrite what has already been rewritten several times before.
“Most improved council” LOL
Maybe that should be the neigh team. 😛
Sandwell planning is about to drop another “new improved” load