Local Plan sent to Secretary of State

Since 2016 the Council’s Planning Policy team has been focussed on the preparation of a new Local Plan.

On 1 November 2021 we submitted the Local Plan to the Secretary of State for it to be independently examined by a planning inspector.

The Local Plan will guide future development in the borough up to 2038. It puts forward new sites for future housing and other development, and new and updated planning policies against which future planning applications will be determined.

Submitting the Local Plan is a significant milestone. It is the next stage in a statutory process we must follow as we prepare the Plan, and it comes after the third and final stage of public consultation which took place earlier this year. In the months that followed the consultation all the representations that were received have been considered, and together with many supporting documents, they were submitted with the Local Plan.

The Secretary of State will now appoint an inspector to undertake the independent public examination into the Local Plan and present a report as to the soundness of the document. The examination is likely to take place in March and April 2022.

You can find the Submission Local Plan and all its supporting evidence in our Local Plan page.