Agenda item

REPORT OF THE INTERIM STRATEGIC PLANNING MANAGER

This report provides an overview of the new plan-making system. A Cabinet report on 20 January 2026 sought delegated powers for the submission of a formal notice of the intention of the Council to start preparing a new Local Plan under the new system as well as publish a revised Local Plan timetable.

RESOLVED: That the Overview and Scrutiny Committee noted the broad ‘direction of travel’ for the Local Plan Review pending formal laying and enactment of the relevant legislation and regulation; and provided any commentary as required.

REASON FOR DECISION: To ensure the Council is well-positioned to progress preparation of the Local Plan as quickly as possible once the new plan-making system comes into effect. Cabinet previously first resolved, in principle, that a review of the Local Plan should take place in January 2024. However, the Council did not progress on the review which was held back due to the delays in the publication of the regulations and guidance on the new Local Plan system.

Audio recording – 1 hour 39 minutes 6 seconds

Councillor Donna Wright, as Executive Member for Place, presented the report entitled ‘Local Plan Next Steps’ and advised that:

·                The report asked the Committee to note the report that was presented to Cabinet on 20 January, which outlined the new local plan making system and the adoption of the Local Plan by the end of 2028.

·                A timetable had originally been agreed for adoption by the end of 2027. However, this had stalled due to delayed government guidance and legislative changes.

·                The local plan adoption process had been streamlined by the Government to include a 30-month examination process that was preceded by a 4-month ‘Get Ready Period’.

·                A revised timetable for the Local Plan based on new requirements was shown in Appendix A to the report, with the aim to submit the Local Plan for examination prior to Local Government Reorganisation (LGR) in April 2028.

·                The revised timetable had been approved by the Strategic Planning Board in December, and they would continue to scrutinise the Local Plan as it progressed.

·                The delivery of the Local Plan would be subject to filling vacancies in the Strategic Planning Team, which would take place soon.

·                If the team was not fully staffed, the timetable would be kept in line with resource availability and updated as appropriate.

·                Thanks were put on record to the Strategic Planning Team for managing the process around the Local Plan despite the uncertainty on legislation and guidance.

·                Members were also asked to note the broad direction of travel pending formal laying and the enactment of legislation.

The following Members asked questions:

·                Councillor Donna Wright

·                Councillor Ralph Muncer

·                Councillor Paul Ward

·                Councillor Daniel Wright-Mason

In response to questions, Councillor Donna Wright advised that the timetable may need to be revised depending on when the new legislation was received, therefore, it was hard to predict the timeline for scrutiny outside of the Strategic Planning Board. 

In response to questions, the Interim Strategic Planning Manager advised that:

·                Regular Member Workshops on scoping, policy development and site allocation in the Local Plan would continue.

·                There would be opportunities for the Committee to scrutinise the Local Plan prior to decisions being made by Cabinet.

·                Most local plans being made under the new system would be finished after LGR in April 2028.

·                Only the Planning Inspectorate could withdraw their Local Plan under the guidance, and it was understood that the Government would introduce regulations to ensure that a new unitary authority would take the plan forward.

·                Five-yearly reviews of local plans would continue to take place after LGR.

·                It was understood that local plans produced by existing authorities would come together to cover the geographical areas within a new unitary authority until a new Local Plan that covered the new geographical area was prepared.

·                If there was no Local Plan in place by the end of 2028, the new unitary authority may be open to speculative development.

·                The proposed timeline would be challenging to meet if legislation was delayed further.

·                Sites identified from the Call for Sites exercise would be made public after a sieving process had taken place, and the legislation system had been received.

In response to questions, Councillor Val Bryant advised that the recommendations from the S106 Task and Finish Group would be looked at before guaranteeing that they could form part of the policies within the new Local Plan.

The following Members took part in the debate:

·                Councillor Ralph Muncer

·                Councillor Claire Winchester

The following points were raised as part of the debate:

·                This work would be vital in shaping the future of the district regardless of LGR.

·                It would be important to engage the public as soon as possible to ensure that sensitivities were addressed to ensure better outcomes for communities.

·                They were looking forward to wider engagement through consultation taking place, in addition to the opportunity to discuss this further at future Committee meetings.

Councillor Jon Clayden proposed and Councillor Sadie Billing seconded and, following a vote, it was:

RESOLVED: That the Overview and Scrutiny Committee noted the broad ‘direction of travel’ for the Local Plan Review pending formal laying and enactment of the relevant legislation and regulation; and provided any commentary as required.

REASON FOR DECISION: To ensure the Council is well-positioned to progress preparation of the Local Plan as quickly as possible once the new plan-making system comes into effect. Cabinet previously first resolved, in principle, that a review of the Local Plan should take place in January 2024. However, the Council did not progress on the review which was held back due to the delays in the publication of the regulations and guidance on the new Local Plan system.