The council has been talking to parish and town councils over the past couple of years about which sites in their area may be suitable for development, and the preferred sites are now being discussed.

It’s all part of the Site Allocations and Management of Development (SAMDev) policy, which will set out the guidelines for the future development of Shropshire.

The Preferred Options document sets out the potential sites for about 8,000 homes which could be built by 2026, and it’s important that people have a look at the plans to see what’s proposed for their area.

The consultation started in early March and was due to finish in early June – but that has now been extended to 20 July 2012.

Councillor Malcolm Price, Shropshire Council Cabinet member for planning, said:

“We appreciate that this policy is really important to local communities in identifying the amount and location of future development for their towns and villages, and the extension to the consultation will help to ensure everyone has the best opportunity to respond to the proposals for their areas.

“The plans are very detailed and comprehensive so we thought it made sense to allow more time for people to look at what’s proposed for their area so anyone who is interested can get involved. I would encourage people to respond to this consultation electronically via the online response forms on the council website shropshire.gov.uk/samdev. If you can’t get online, you can visit your local library or Broadplace, you can give the council a call on 0345 678 9000 to arrange to see the plans or attend a public meeting. There is also a Facebook page where people can go to discuss the plans – just search ‘Plan My Shropshire’ on Facebook.”

Public meetings have been taking place, and more are being arranged between now and the end of the consultation.

The latest dates and locations are:

– Thursday 26 April 2012 at Ludlow Assembly Rooms. Public meeting from 7.30pm to 9.30pm.
– Tuesday 1 May at The Guildhall, Shrewsbury (specifically for south west areas of Shrewsbury). Drop-in session from 5.30pm, public meeting from 7.30pm to 9.30pm.
– Thursday 3 May at Minsterley Village Hall. Public meeting from 7pm to 9pm.
– Thursday 3 May at Ellesmere Town Hall. Public meeting from 7pm to 9pm.
– Wednesday 9 May at Birchmeadow Centre, Broseley. Public meeting from 7pm to 9pm.