About the Draft Local Plan - latest news

The council's Local Plan, which was adopted in 2016, is currently being updated to ensure it remains up to date and delivers national and local objectives.

A Local Plan provides the planning policy framework to direct growth and change to appropriate locations and therefore achieve sustainable development to create places people want to live, work and locate their businesses. The plan covers all types of development, from housing to employment, schools, roads, parks, shops and community facilities, The Local Plan also includes a range of planning policies to inform the location, scale and appearance of developments. When adopted it will form part of the Development Plan for the area.

Reason why the Local Plan is being updated

National guidance promotes the concept of an on-going cycle of plan making and review, which is reinforced by a legal requirement to review Plans every five years. An updated plan will look longer into the future, covering the period up to at least 2042, and will ensure that the borough's needs are met over this longer period. It will also enable key objectives of the council, such as tackling climate change and ensuring the protection of enhancement of our environment to be embedded into the plan.

How long it will take to update the Local Plan

The council has published a Local Development Scheme (LDS) which sets out which planning documents will be produced and when.

Progress on the Local Plan update

The council has completed a number of initial stages of plan making:

• Issues and Options (2020). Find out more information on the consultation and the responses received.
• Statutory consultation on a draft Plan (Regulation 18 consultation) (2024). Find out more information on the consultation and the responses received.

A number of evidence base documents have also been completed, covering a variety of issues from landscape impact to water quality. View the published documents online.

The government published a new National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) in December 2024 which impacts upon plan making, including introducing a higher local housing need figure. The council has considered the implications of the new NPPF and an updated LDS has been published.

The Cabinet member for Strategic Planning and Infrastructure, Councillor Andy Konieczko, has responded to the new NPPF.

The council is currently consulting on an additional statutory consultation on the Local Plan Draft Spatial Strategy (Regulation 18 consultation). Find out more information and how to respond to the consultation.

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