Dudley Council is currently preparing a draft Area Action Plan (AAP) for Stourbridge Town Centre. The Area Action Plan (AAP) will guide new investment into Stourbridge town centre over the coming years up until the year 2026 and will set out where new shops, offices, traffic and transport improvements, public spaces and homes should be located. Once adopted, the AAP will form the framework for development in Stourbridge Town Centre at least up to the year 2026 to protect its special qualities but also identify area-based development proposals to stimulate enhancement where it is needed. It will provide a sound policy framework for assessing planning applications coming forward inside the AAP boundary area. The Stourbridge AAP was subjected to Examination in Public in front of an independent planning inspector during May 2013, and Dudley Council anticipates adopting this AAP in October 2013.
As part of the preparation for the Stourbridge AAP, an Urban Historic Landscape Characterisation (HLC) report has been produced by the Council to provide background supporting technical evidence to support emerging policies and strategy within the AAP document.
The HLC will be used to identify constraints and opportunities for future development in the area. The designation of listed buildings, locally listed buildings, conservation areas and archaeological priority areas provides certainty for the development process. The Historic Landscape Characterisation documents can be downloaded below