Draft Local Plan: Pre-Publication version

Overview

The Council is inviting comments on the first draft of the Local Plan. The Local Plan is the key planning document for the borough. It sets out policies and guidance to shape our places, plan and manage growth and guide development across the borough over a 15-year period.

We are consulting on the first draft of the Local Plan, which sets out a strategic vision, objectives and the spatial strategy. The draft Plan includes place-based strategies covering the whole borough, along with accompanying site allocations, as well as the thematic planning policies that will guide future development in the borough. It will inform how growth will be accommodated across the borough. The draft Plan seeks to address future challenges including climate change, health, affordability and liveability.

The draft Plan has been informed by a number of evidence base studies including an Open Land Review (Green Belt, Metropolitan Open Land, Local Green Space and Other Open Land of Townscape Importance), a review of nature conservation sites, an Urban Design Study, assessments of future needs for housing, retail and leisure, and employment land and premises.  Its development has been informed by a ‘Direction of Travel’ public consultation which was undertaken in spring 2020.

Have your say

The draft Local Plan (referred to as the ‘Pre-Publication’ or ‘Regulation 18’ version), the accompanying Sustainability Appraisal, and other documents and evidence that support the draft Local Plan, are all available on our website.

The consultation is open to everyone.  We would like to hear your thoughts and views on the draft Local Plan, and we are particularly keen to hear from our local communities, businesses as well as landowners and other key organisations in the borough.  We have produced a response form, containing a number of questions, which we hope will help you in responding. 

All the details, including the documents and how to respond, are on the Pre-Publication Draft Local Plan webpage.  

There are a number of themed virtual events in January 2022, which will explain more about the draft Local Plan and provide an opportunity to discuss topics – more details, including how to register can be found by clicking here.  

What happens next

Following this consultation, we will consider and analyse all responses received and make changes to the Plan, where appropriate. There will be a further round of public consultation on our final version of the Local Plan (so called ‘Publication’ or ‘Regulation 19’ version) later in 2022. This will be the version that we will submit – together with the representations received – to the Secretary of State for independent examination in public. The Local Plan is anticipated to be adopted in Autumn 2024.