Regulation 18 Consultation on our Single Local Plan

The Regulation 18 Consultation on our Single Local Plan closed on 17 December 2023. 

Thank you to everyone that responded to the consultation. We have shared a summary for the responses below. 

What we consulted on 

his consultation is focused on (i) our proposal to combine the four volumes of the Local Plan Review into a single, consolidated Local Plan; and (ii) the content of that single Local Plan.

It is important to emphasise that previous rounds of consultation and engagement on the emerging Local Plan Review documents have played a very significant role in determining the way forward in our strategy to /produce a single, consolidated Local Plan. The feedback received to date on the Local Plan Review documents will continue to shape the new single Local Plan; the new single Local Plan will take forward much of the content of the separate volumes previously consulted upon, with some updates and refinement as the volumes are brought together. We remain committed to ongoing consultation and engagement, involving local residents, businesses and other stakeholders in the plan-making process.

In more detail, the proposed changes to be made to the four Local Plan Review documents as they are brought together in a single Local Plan are as follows:

• To update the policies, site allocations and supporting text to take account of changes over time. For example, where sites proposed for allocation in the previous versions of the Local Plan documents have now been developed or built out, these will be removed from the Local Plan.
• To reflect updates to the evidence base, to ensure the single Local Plan is supported by a robust and up-to-date suite of evidence. This includes, for example, updates to the Local Housing Needs Assessment, Employment Land Review Study, Retail Needs Assessment and Whole Plan Viability Assessment.
• To enable general conformity with the London Plan. The previous versions of the Local Plan Review documents were prepared prior to the publication of the adopted London Plan 2021. It will be important to ensure that the policies and approaches in the single Local Plan are in “general conformity” with the London Plan. This includes in relation to setting the housing target for the Borough, and the approach to be taken to protecting the Green Belt.
• To ensure the single Local Plan reflects the latest Council priorities, including in relation to climate change and the move towards net zero carbon.
• To take account of the comments made by the Planning Inspectors who were presiding over the examination of Volumes 2, 3 and 4 of the Local Plan Review. For example, to ensure the plan period will cover a minimum of 15 years after the Local Plan is adopted.
• To make any other changes deemed necessary and appropriate to ensure consistency with the updated NPPF (September 2023 version) and enable timely progress towards adoption of the single Local Plan. This will include avoiding repetition between sections of the Local Plan and within the policies of the Local Plan.

Who responded 

18 people responded to the consultation between 1 November 2023 (when it opened) and 17 December (when it closed).  

Our teams spend time analysing the results and will share more information on this page about next steps, once these have been agreed. 

What did people say? 

Overall, 44.4% of people agreed with the proposal, 33.3% disagreed and 22.2% were ‘unsure’.