Issue - meetings

This report sets out the next steps and work required on the Local Plan in preparation for the Regulation 19 consultation in November 2025.

Recommendation:

That the Local Plan Sub Committee notes the contents of this report.

The Head of Planning Policy and Conservation presented a report which set out the work stages which had been completed, next steps, and work required on the Local Plan in preparation for a Regulation 19 Consultation in November 2025.

The sub-committee noted that the new NPPF had been released in December 2024, and that the Regulation 19 draft Plan would therefore need to be prepared against that document.  The required updates to the Local Housing Needs Assessment and the Economic Study had been completed and were summarised in topic papers later on the agenda.

The Head of Planning Policy and Conservation summarised the following key points:

·        The Plan was required to cover a period of 15 years from adoption, starting with the current year.  As adoption was expected in 2026, the Plan would cover the period 2025 - 2041 (i.e. a period of 16 years) which resulted in a total of 13,312 dwellings across the plan period using the new standard method target of 832 dwellings per annum.  When existing commitments such as planning permissions and a windfall allowance were factored in, this figure fell to c.11,500 dwellings.  This represented the approximate number of new homes which would need to be planned for prior to taking the Green Belt into consideration.

·        The Green Belt Review would help to assess which areas of the District now fell under the new definition of ‘Grey Belt’ and whether the development proposed in the plan would fundamentally undermine the remaining Green Belt.  The Government had advised that it would shortly be publishing updated Planning Practice Guidance on the Green Belt.  This was expected to include a new Green Belt review methodology and a standard approach. The Government had stated that this would be released by the end of January; however, it was still awaited at the current time and the Green Belt review was unable to proceed until the new methodology was known.  Once it became available a tender process could be finalised in order to select consultants to work on the review.  Officers confirmed that funding had been applied for to cover the costs associated with this work.  The Head of Planning Policy and Conservation highlighted that the Green Belt Review was an important piece of evidence work not just because of the potential policy and site assessment implications, but also because it needed to be completed before officers could judge the level of growth which might be accommodated within the District.   The latter would help to inform the potential for removing sites based on their impact on the remaining or wider Green Belt.  This in turn would have an impact on further evidence work and thus may also affect the timeline for the production of the draft Plan.

·        Officers were working on putting together a draft list of sites in anticipation of the need for this to help inform the Green Belt review work.  A Call for Sites was currently being undertaken, asking for developers and landowners to come forward with any  ...  view the full minutes text for item 53