About the Local Plan update

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.

The purpose of the Local Plan is to provide a 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. Following a review, which considered changes to national planning policy, the council took the decision to update the current adopted Local Plan. An updated plan will look longer into the future, covering the period up to at least 2040, 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 undertook its first non-statutory Issues and Options stage in late 2020. Find out more information on the consultation and the responses received.

This was followed by the first statutory consultation on a draft Plan (Regulation 18 consultation) in early 2024. Find out more information on the consultation and the responses received.

A number of evidence base documents to support the Local Plan update have also been completed. These cover a variety of issues from landscape impact to water quality. View the published documents online.

Using the consultation responses and evolving evidence work, the council will draw up a further draft Local Plan in 2024. The next version is due to be consulted on in winter 2024/25, in line with a process set nationally, before an examination by an independent planning inspector. The council is aiming to adopt the Local Plan by winter 2025/26.

The government launched a consultation on proposed changes to the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) in July 2024 which has the potential to impact upon plan making. The council has responded to the consultation and these can be viewed online.

Draft policies

The Local Plan Update includes a number of policies that aim to improve protection for our natural environment, including rivers, place a key focus on regeneration, support local communities and ensure better designed homes are built.

A working group comprising Councillors from all Groups met twice in September 2023 to provide feedback on the latest draft of the policies. You can view minutes of these meetings below:

Minutes from meetings

Cross party working group meeting minutes - 12 and 20 September 2023(PDF) [257 kb]

In addition, the Conservative Group provided written comments, which can be viewed below:

Comments from Conservative Group(PDF) [166 kb]

Future housing numbers

Delivering the right amount of housing for the borough is important and the Cabinet has put forward a ‘stepped trajectory’ approach.

This would see the government figure of building 828 homes a year reduced to around 650 a year from 2025 for the first five years of the plan, before stepping up for the remainder of the 20 year Plan period.

Spatial Strategy

The Spatial Strategy of the Local Plan Update sets out where new housing developments should be located. The Spatial Strategy was debated by the council’s Economic, Planning and Housing (EPH) Committee in September 2023. You can find more information about this meeting, including the latest draft of the Spatial Strategy

Keep up to date

Sign up to the council's mailing list to receive updates on planning policy matters in the borough and be included in the circulation of the council's newsletter in future, please register for updates by using the link below using our consultation software CiviQ.

Register for updates

Please note that the above link takes you to an external portal, which the council subscribe to.

For further information on how your data will be used please read our Privacy Notice Basingstoke and Deane is the data controller for the personal information you provide on the form on CiviQ. You can contact the council by phone on 01256 844844 or by writing to us at Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council, Civic Offices, London Road, Basingstoke, RG21 4AH. The council’s Data Protection Officer can be contacted at dpo@basingstoke.gov.uk.