Previous stages

The new Local Plan has been through previous periods of public consultation, as listed below, and set out in the overview.

There have been two public consultations under Regulation 18 of the Local Planning regulations, which relate to the preparatory stages of Local Plan preparation. The first was on the Issues and Options in 2017, and the second on a Draft Local Plan in 2019.

A third public consultation on the Local Plan, related to a Regulation 19 Pre-Submission Local Plan, which took place in 2021.

The Local Plan was submitted on 1 November 2021, along with all supporting documents, to the Secretary of State for independent examination. The Local Plan remains subject to this examination stage.

The council undertook a public consultation from January to April 2024 as part of the Examination, focussing on the proposed changes to the Submission Local Plan following the Inspector’s Initial Findings in November 2022. Further information is available on the Consultation on the council's response to the inspector's initial findings webpage.

A Public Consultation in September – October 2024 on a suite of new evidence base documents following Stage 3 Hearing Sessions were held in June and July 2024, followed by a Consultation on proposed Main Modifications to the Local Plan held between March and April 2025.

Please refer to the Representations and next steps webpage for more information on the representations received to the above consultations, or the Examination of the Local Plan and latest news webpage for further details on the Examination.