Nottingham City Council has debated the most important issues facing the City over the next 15 years to feed into its forthcoming Core Strategy – a key document which relates to future developments and use of land as well as outlining the strategy for delivering strategic development needs, including housing, leisure and retail.

The Core Strategy is the most important document for the future planning of Nottingham. It is part of the Local Development Framework (LDF) – which will replace the Local Plan as the statutory development plan for Nottingham. The Core Strategy comprises a 15 year plan of how the City will change. It will include strategic development sites and new planning policies to guide the future development of the City. The Core Strategy is being prepared alongside the Core Strategies being produced by neighbouring authorities across the Greater Nottingham Conurbation, to ensure a consistent planning policy approach.

The main issues and options to be discussed and debated are:

• Ensuring that Nottingham builds on its national City status and strengths and plays a strong role in the region.

• Creating a truly sustainable City by reducing carbon emissions, promoting sustainable energy solutions and responding to existing and anticipated climate changes in ways that protect the environment.

• Accommodating new housing whilst achieving a mixed and balanced communities and high quality design covering housing type and delivery, tenure, density, student housing, design, empty homes and affordable housing.

• Improving the quality of our neighbourhoods focusing on health, education, retail facilities, leisure facilities, open and green spaces, safety and transport.

• Providing for lasting economic growth in a changing world economy and enabling prosperity for all residents by protecting valuable employment land and buildings, whilst also recognising older poor quality sites may need to be released for other uses.

• Accommodating growth and regeneration and delivering necessary infrastructure in order that the needs of our communities, residents, businesses and visitors continue to be met, and a sustainable future for the City is ensured.

Councillor Alan Clark, Portfolio Holder for Neighbourhood Regeneration at Nottingham City Council, said: “The Core Strategy is an important and influential document which will be central to the development of Nottingham and will respond to needs in relation to housing, leisure and retail. Communities and stakeholders will be able to input into the content of the Core Strategy throughout its preparation and influence the decisions before they become firm.”

Members will discuss the strategy at Full Council on Monday July 14.