PUBLIC consultation on a draft Local Plan for development in Wirral will not take place until next year.

The council has put forward a timetable, which aims to see publication of its draft plan approved in February.

There will then be six weeks of public consultation.

The document, proposing 12,000 homes, had been due to go to the government for approval by November, but because of delays caused by the pandemic, that date is now unachievable.

A council spokesperson said: "This is a crucial stage in the plan's development.

"It will be the full draft Local Plan which the council will submit to the Secretary of State for examination, and is the version that the council will consider “sound” in terms of the Plan’s legal requirements."

The key pledge in the emerging Local Plan is the protection of Wirral’s green belt.

The figure of 12,000 new homes to be created in Wirral by 2035 is based on government data and guidelines. It has drawn criticism from councillors across the political spectrum in the borough.

The key pledge in the emerging plan is protection of Wirral's green belt.

Under current proposals the Local Plan will see house building largely focused in Birkenhead and Wallasey with urban and brownfield sites the focus for development, which the council says will help inspire "major regeneration" of much of the eastern side of Wirral.

The intention is to see the Local Plan fully adopted by mid-2022 following its formal examination by a Government-appointed planning inspector later next year.

Cabinet member for the local plan, councillor Anita Leech, said: "This timetable for developing Wirral’s Local Plan will ensure we can protect the Green Belt and bring regeneration to those areas which need it.

"We said a while back we might need more time but instead we are actually going to speed up the development of the plan.

"This is because changes in the planning regulations brought in this summer mean any delay could result in an obligation to build even more new homes per year and that would put Wirral's Green Belt at risk.

"I will not accept that so we will press ahead."

Consultation on the initial Wirral Local Plan 2020-2035 Issues and Options Consultation document (under Regulation 18) took place early this year.

This included a four-week extension to the normal six-week consultation period due to the unexpected impact of the Covid-19 restrictions imposed towards the end of March 2020, although all planned public drop-in sessions were completed before that time

More than 25, 000 comments were made by more than 1,700 individuals and organisations to the issues and options consultation document released at the start of 2020 during extensive and wide-ranging consultation, influencing the Local Plan's development.

This consultation document showed how Wirral could meet the requirement for new homes and employment space and the regeneration of key areas across the borough, as well as protecting the Borough’s Green Belt.