Local Plan Updates – October 2022

Ashford – The Ashford Local Plan 2030 was adopted in February 2019.

Aylesbury Vale – The Vale of Aylesbury Local Plan 2013-2033 was adopted by Buckinghamshire Council as a Development Plan Document in September 2021.

Basildon – Basildon Council withdrew its local plan in March 2022. The new LDS sets a timetable with the Issues and Options consultation in Q4 2022, a second Reg 18 draft local plan consultation to take place in Q3 2024 and the Reg 19 submission local plan in Q4 2025. The full LDS can be viewed here. The programme does appear quite protracted, with the EiP in Q4 2026 and adoption of the plan not until Q4 2027.

Bexley – The Planning Inspectorate has appointed an inspector who has concluded all hearings. A final decision soon will be issued shortly.

Braintree – The Local Plan 2033 is in 2 sections. Section 1 was adopted in February 2021. Section 2 was adopted on 25th July 2022. The Local Plan covers the period to 2033 and supersedes the Local Plan Review (2005) and the Core Strategy (2011).

Brentwood –  At the Extraordinary Council meeting on 23 March 2022, the Council voted to adopt the Local Plan. There will, however, be an immediate review which will commence shortly.

Broxbourne – Broxbourne Local Plan was adopted in June 2020.

Buckinghamshire  – The new unitary authority has to have a local plan by 2025. It is currently carrying out a wider call for sites which concluded in Septemebr 2022.

East Cambridgeshire – Consultation on the proposed submission version of the Single Issue Review of the Local Plan was carried out between 3 May and 13 June 2022. An inspector was appointed in July 2022. They subsequently published Guidance Notes, MIQs and Provisional Hearing Programme for the scheduled hearing sessions opening on Tuesday 8 November.

Castle Point Despite the Inspector approving the local plan, the council decided at its June 2022 meeting to not adopt the plan. A revised LDS for a new local plan will be prepared shortly.

Central Beds – The local plan was adopted on 22 July 2021.

Chelmsford – The Chelmsford Local Plan 2013-2036 was adopted in May 2020. The council are starting a review of their adopted Local Plan. They have extended the Issues and Options consultation to run for 10 weeks, from Thursday 11 August 2022 to Thursday 20 October 2022.

Cherwell – Consultations were held on the Local Plan Review Options Paper and related documents concluded on 10 November 2021.  Results are yet to be published.

Chiltern and Bucks – The new Buckinghamshire unitary council resolved to withdraw the Local Plan and, instead, await the new unitary local plan.

Colchester – The Local Plan is in 2 Sections: Section 1 providing a shared strategic policy context and addressing cross boundary matters for North Essex together with Braintree and Tendring Councils. This was Adopted by Colchester Borough Council on 2 February 2021. Section 2 of the Colchester Local Plan 2017-2033 provides the policy framework, site allocations and development management policies for the Borough up to 2033. This was adopted by Colchester Borough Council on 4 July 2022.

Dacorum – Consultation on the South West Herts Joint Strategic Plan is currently under way and runs until 5pm on Friday 4 November 2022. This has delayed the Dacorum local plan.

Dartford – Dartford Council carried out a consultation on the second Pre-Submission (Publication) Local Plan, concluding on 27th October 2021. The Council submitted the Pre-Submission (Publication) Dartford Local Plan on 13 December 2021. Stage 2 hearings will be held on 8 November 2022.

Dover –Consultation on the Regulation 18 draft Local Plan was completed in 2021. The Publication required by regulation 19 will is coming this month and will last 7 weeks followed by the submission of the Local Plan to the Planning Inspectorate in quarter 1-2 of 2023. It is hoped that the Local Plan will be finalised and agreed in 2024.

Elmbridge – As of 17 June 2022 The Regulation 19: Draft Elmbridge Local Plan 2022-2037 representations stage has opened and all representations documents and supporting information is available to view.

Epping Forest – The Council and Inspector are locked in negotiations over the wording of the final modifications in respect of the Harlow & Gilston Garden Town. It is anticipated the modifications consultation will start in November 2022, with the local plan to be adopted in January opr February 2023.

Epsom and Ewell – The pre-publication Regulation 18 stage will take place from October to December 2022 with aim to have to whole process completed by the end of 2024.  

Gravesham – the 2014 local plan is overdue for review. A Regulation 18 Stage 2 consultation ran from October 2020 to December 2020. It was anticipated that the local plan would be adopted by December 2021, as yet there are no further developments.

Harlow – Harlow Council adopted its local plan in December 2020. It is about to commence a partial review.

Hart – The Local Plan was adopted on 30 April 2020. The Yateley, Darby Green and Frogmore Neighbourhood Plan submission version were accepted in July 2022.

Havering – The council adopted the local plan on 17 November 2021. In the housing delivery test published in January 2022, Havering achieved only 46%, well below the 75% threshold.

Hertsmere –  The council did, effectively, shelve the local plan at a meeting at the end of January with no current plans to bring it or any revision of it forward.

London Plan – On 29 January 2021, the SoS approved the London Plan to be officially published. This was published on the 2 March 2021, therefore, the London Plan 2021 is now an official development plan document, and has been adopted.

Maidstone –The Local Plan Review was submitted to the Secretary of State for independent examination on Thursday 31 March 2022 and the judgement has yet to be published.

Medway – The local plan is expected to be published for Reg 19 consultation in summer 2022. That has been delayed.

Milton Keynes – Since the councils plan “Plan:MK”, was adopted in March 2019, Milton Keynes will probably begin process of starting a new plan in 2022 with aim to have it finished by mid 2025.

Mole Valley – As of October 2022, the inspector’s Note 14 has been published confirming the examination can proceed to the Stage 3 Hearing Sessions.

North Hertfordshire – The Inspector’s fact check report was sent to the Council at the end of June with any comments the Council had submitted by the end of July. The Inspector’s report was received on 8 September 2022 and the examination is now closed. The council must now make a decision on the adoption of the local plan.

Rochford – The Council is still in the process of preparing a new Local Plan which will set the strategy for the District to 2040. The new Local Plan will replace a number of the adopted policy documents which form the local development plan for the District, including the Core Strategy. As things stand, preferred options document public consultations (Reg 18) is expected in the early summer of 2022, with full adoption anticipated in Autumn/Winter 2023.

Runnymede – During the course of 2022 the Planning Policy team will be focussed on updating key parts of the evidence base which will underpin the review of the local plan. Updated evidence base documents will be published on the evidence base documents page once complete. The review is expected to be finished by 2023.

Sevenoaks – Two Regulation 18 consultation stages are scheduled for autumn 2022 and autumn 2023. The first of these would include larger non-Green Belt sites, as well as a specific focus on smaller sites.

Southend-On-Sea – The council has refined its options for the local plan throughout 2021, and plans to consult on preferred options (Reg 18) before the end of 2022.

South Essex Joint Strategic Plan (SEP) – The plan is no longer statutory.  Issues Paper on a range of topics such as housing, employment and environment are currently being prepared.

South Northamptonshire – On Wednesday 22 July 2020 South Northamptonshire Council resolved to adopt the South Northamptonshire Local Plan (Part 2) 2011-2029 at its meeting of Full Council. Building on the West Northamptonshire Joint Core Strategy (WNJCS) which was adopted in December 2014, it was prepared to help further guide planning decisions in the area and forms part of the Development Plan for the District, along with the WNJS and “made” neighbourhood plans.

South Oxfordshire – The South Oxfordshire Local Plan 2035 was adopted at a meeting of Full Council on 10 December 2020. It now forms part of the development plan for the district and replaces the South Oxfordshire Local Plan 2011 and Core Strategy. Bioabundance has tried to launch a legal challenge against the plan, on the basis that it does not align with the 2008 Climate Change Act: its second attempt was refused by a second High Court judge.

Spelthorne – Consultation on the Pre-submission Spelthorne Local Plan 2022 – 2037 (Regulation 19) and on the Staines Development Framework are now closed. It ran from 15 June to 21 September 2022. It was extended to allow for additional time for members of the public to consider evidence base documents published since the start of the consultation.

St Albans – Due to several factors, including budget and staffing issues resulting from the additional workload from the new sites, the Council has revised its LDS. St Albans Local Plan is now unlikely to be adopted until autumn 2025 at the earliest, with regulation 18 consultation taking place in the first half of 2023.

Surrey Heath – The Council consulted on a Regulation 18 Draft Local Plan: Preferred Options version of the local plan for an eight-week period, from 14 March to 9 May 2022. The consultation has now closed with results expected to be published soon with the planned adoption being July 2023.

Swale – Following the consultation on preferred options, Swale Council is now considering all the comments received and preparing a summary of the main issues. This will be used to support the Local Plan and the Sustainability Appraisal and to develop the next stage of the Local Plan, the drafting of a Pre-Submission Local Plan. Swale will then carry out further consultation on this Plan (Reg 19). At this time, they expect this consultation will take place in 2022.

Tandridge –Following a meeting of the Planning Policy Committee on 23 June 2022, it was resolved that the Local Development Scheme 2022 is adopted and supersedes the January 2020 version of the document. As requested from the Inspector in his letter, ID20, the Council have sent an update on the progress of work on the Local Plan as originally set out in TED55.

Tendring – Section 2 of the Tendring District Local Plan 2013-2033 and Beyond was formally adopted on 25th January 2022. This includes the new garden community on the Colchester border.

Thanet – At the meeting of the Council on 9 July 2020, Thanet District Council adopted the Thanet Local Plan (to 2031), with the Modifications recommended in the Inspectors’ Report. The Council also adopted the Thanet Landscape Character Assessment as a Supplementary Planning Document (SPD).

Three Rivers – The consultation on the Local Plan Regulation 18 Preferred Policy Options and Sites for Potential Allocation finished in August 2021. The timetable for processing the huge number of responses is likely to take longer than originally expected. As a result, the council is aiming for the next stage of consultation (Regulation 19) to happen in November / December 2022.

Thurrock – Thurrock Council was hosting online public consultations in February and March 2022 and will move on to the next stage later this year.

Tonbridge and Malling – The Local Plan (Regulation 18) consultation is now open. It opened on 22 September and closes 3 November 2022.

Tunbridge Wells – The examination process of the Local Plan will begin in March/April 2022, with the adoption expected in January 2023.

Uttlesford – The draft (Regulation 18) Local Plan is scheduled for consultation, originally scheduled for Spring, but has now been postponed. The Council will publish a new timetable soon.

Vale of White Horse – The Local Plan 2031 Part 2 was adopted by Full Council on Wednesday 9 October 2019.

Watford – As of 21 September, the Inspector’s Final Report has now been delivered to the council, which signifies the formal closure of the Examination of the Local Plan.

Waverly – The Development plan was submitted to the secretary of state again in December 2021.  Part 2 public hearings were held between July and September 2022.

Welwyn Hatfield – Welwyn Hatfield are working with the inspector to come uo with a local plan that meets all requirements. The inspector’s last letter was sent to the council on 6 September 2022, the council are yet to respond.

Woking – The Council adopted the Site Allocations Development Plan Document (DPD) on 14 October 2021. The DPD now forms part of the development plan for the borough, and will be used to assess any planning applications that are submitted. The Site Allocations DPD supports the delivery of the Core Strategy, and allocates land for housing.

Wycombe – The local plan was adopted in 2019 but was subject to a legal challenge that ultimately failed in the high courts.