Issue - meetings

To consider the implications of the government's national planning reforms on the Council's new Local Plan programme and decide whether the Plan will be taken forward under the current legislative and national policy framework or be prepared as a 'new style' plan under the revised legislative and national policy framework.

The committee received the report which provided detail on the transitional arrangements for local plan preparation now confirmed by the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) as part of its proposed reforms to the planning system. The report highlighted the impact these arrangements will have on the Council’s programme for preparing the new Local Plan and set out proposed next steps to support the preparation of the  new Local Plan.

RESOLVED (unanimously):

That the Environment and Communities Committee:

1.    Agree that the Council prepares a ‘new style’ local plan under the reforms to the plan-making system being taken forward by the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities

2.    Agree that an issues paper is prepared to provide an initial opportunity for public engagement to help shape the direction of the Council’s new Local Plan

3.    Agree that, alongside the issues paper:

a)    public consultation is carried out on a draft Land Availability Assessment Methodology, a draft Sustainability Appraisal Scoping Report and a draft Settlement Hierarchy Review

b)    a ‘call for sites’ is carried out