Up to 2,500 new homes could be built in Ledbury over the next 20 years according to plans currently out for public consultation.

Herefordshire Council is asking people to help form its new Herefordshire Local Plan 2021-2041, which will replace the current Core Strategy in determining where houses are built in the county.

There are currently about 5,000 new homes with planning permission in Herefordshire but the county will need to build a further 12,000 in order to hit Government targets for housing growth.

A number of options are being set out to determine how these new homes are distributed across the county - and people have until the end of the month to tell the council what they think.

One option earmarks Ledbury as a ‘growth town’ and suggests it take a further 1,400 dwellings on top of the 1,100 that it is already committed to.

The document says Ledbury has achieved its expected growth levels with current housing permissions and none of the other options put forward include anywhere near as many new homes for the town.

An option to spread growth across Herefordshire’s five market towns suggests Ledbury take 600 additional dwellings, compared to 1,700 for Leominster, 1,500 for Ross, 650 for Bromyard and 250 for Kington.

Another option, based on housing need data, spreads the majority of the housing growth across rural areas and doesn’t suggest any more potential dwellings for Ledbury.

Zero carbon developments

Liz Harvey, cabinet member for finance, corporate services and planning, and a Ledbury councillor, said: “On average we are required to plan for 850 new homes per year over the next 20 years - around 17,000 dwellings.

“Fortunately, Herefordshire already has 5,000 existing planning permissions for housing, which will count towards achieving that target. So this update will aim to strategise the location of around 12,000 homes – a much more realistic figure for Herefordshire than the growth ambitions of the current plan.

“The new plan will also need to ensure that development is located and designed in a way which both requires less energy, and produces more of that energy from renewable sources. All new developments will need to be net zero carbon by 2030, so these factors are vital.”

You can see the proposals and have your say at https://hlp.commonplace.is/. The consultation runs until February 28.