Staffordshire
A county in the West Midlands region, from the Cannock Chase AONB to the Potteries of Stoke-on-Trent and the market town of Lichfield.
Self build in Staffordshire
Staffordshire is a landlocked Midlands county of considerable landscape variety, from the dramatic gritstone moorland of the Staffordshire Moorlands and the southern Peak District fringe to the Needwood Forest plateau, the Trent Valley lowlands and the urban fringe of the West Midlands conurbation in the south. This variety creates a range of self-build contexts, from sensitive upland landscapes where planning policy is highly protective to more accessible market town and rural fringes where development is more readily accommodated.
Staffordshire is a two-tier county with Staffordshire County Council and eight district and borough councils: Cannock Chase, East Staffordshire, Lichfield, Newcastle-under-Lyme, South Staffordshire, Stafford, Staffordshire Moorlands and Tamworth. Stoke-on-Trent is a separate unitary authority. Each district maintains its own self-build register and planning service.
Cannock Chase AONB is one of the most distinctive landscape designations in the Midlands. Covering approximately 68 square kilometres of heathland, woodland and acid grassland on the Cannock Chase plateau between Cannock, Rugeley and Lichfield, the AONB is a remarkable survival of open heathland landscape in the heart of the industrial Midlands. Planning policy within the AONB is protective of its natural beauty and tranquillity, and self-build proposals within or adjacent to the AONB must engage with the AONB Management Plan and its design guidance.
The Staffordshire Moorlands - covered by Staffordshire Moorlands District Council - encompass the southern Peak District fringe around Leek, Cheadle and the Churnet Valley. The landscape character of this area transitions from limestone and gritstone moorland in the north to the wooded valleys of the Churnet and the Dove in the south. Planning policy in the Moorlands District respects the sensitive landscape character of this area, and the district shares a planning boundary with the Peak District National Park.
Lichfield District Council covers one of the most historically significant districts in England. The medieval cathedral city of Lichfield - birthplace of Samuel Johnson - with its magnificent three-spired cathedral is the focal point of a district that also contains the Roman settlement of Wall (Letocetum), the Stowe Pool and Minster Pool and the parklands of Lichfield. Self-build opportunities in Lichfield city are limited by the heritage-dominated planning environment, but the district's rural villages offer occasional infill opportunities in a landscape of pleasant agricultural character.
The National Memorial Arboretum, established in the Trent Valley near Alrewas, is one of the country's most significant memorial landscapes and attracts significant visitor numbers. The surrounding Trent Valley flood plain constrains residential development, but the market town of Burton upon Trent - administered by East Staffordshire Borough Council - offers urban self-build opportunities in an area with improving connectivity.
Staffordshire is a two-tier county with Staffordshire County Council and eight district and borough councils: Cannock Chase, East Staffordshire, Lichfield, Newcastle-under-Lyme, South Staffordshire, Stafford, Staffordshire Moorlands and Tamworth. Stoke-on-Trent is a separate unitary authority. Each district maintains its own self-build register and planning service.
Cannock Chase AONB is one of the most distinctive landscape designations in the Midlands. Covering approximately 68 square kilometres of heathland, woodland and acid grassland on the Cannock Chase plateau between Cannock, Rugeley and Lichfield, the AONB is a remarkable survival of open heathland landscape in the heart of the industrial Midlands. Planning policy within the AONB is protective of its natural beauty and tranquillity, and self-build proposals within or adjacent to the AONB must engage with the AONB Management Plan and its design guidance.
The Staffordshire Moorlands - covered by Staffordshire Moorlands District Council - encompass the southern Peak District fringe around Leek, Cheadle and the Churnet Valley. The landscape character of this area transitions from limestone and gritstone moorland in the north to the wooded valleys of the Churnet and the Dove in the south. Planning policy in the Moorlands District respects the sensitive landscape character of this area, and the district shares a planning boundary with the Peak District National Park.
Lichfield District Council covers one of the most historically significant districts in England. The medieval cathedral city of Lichfield - birthplace of Samuel Johnson - with its magnificent three-spired cathedral is the focal point of a district that also contains the Roman settlement of Wall (Letocetum), the Stowe Pool and Minster Pool and the parklands of Lichfield. Self-build opportunities in Lichfield city are limited by the heritage-dominated planning environment, but the district's rural villages offer occasional infill opportunities in a landscape of pleasant agricultural character.
The National Memorial Arboretum, established in the Trent Valley near Alrewas, is one of the country's most significant memorial landscapes and attracts significant visitor numbers. The surrounding Trent Valley flood plain constrains residential development, but the market town of Burton upon Trent - administered by East Staffordshire Borough Council - offers urban self-build opportunities in an area with improving connectivity.
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