DISTRICT COUNCIL SETS OUT TIMETABLE FOR SUBMITTING REVISED LOCAL PLAN TO GOVERNMENT

Derbyshire Dales District Council has set out a detailed timetable for completing its revised Local Plan and submitting it to the Government by December this year.

The tight deadline follows a series of changes in national government planning policy. However, the Council remains committed to keeping local communities informed on progress with the Local Plan, before a formal six-week public consultation starts in August.

The revised Local Plan will set out the overall vision along with policies and proposals for the future development of those parts of the District that lie outside the Peak District National Park.

As part of the review of the existing Plan, which dates from 2017, the District Council is considering how the local population will change in the future and what that might mean for the number of new homes (including affordable homes), employment land and other development needs and supporting infrastructure it needs to plan for.

The Council is also looking at key issues such as how to take into account the impacts of climate change, to meet the needs of children and older people, and to ensure it maintains a flourishing green environment.

Public consultation on 'Growth Options' and on housing needs and land availability has already taken place, which is being used to inform the revised Plan.

Upcoming key milestones include next month, the completion of individual potential housing site assessments, before detailed proposals for where new housing development should take place are considered by the District Council's Local Plan Committee.

In April the Committee will consider the emerging draft Plan, including a development strategy and supporting policies, with a final version draft Plan scheduled for May based on the remaining evidence base received, including interim sustainability appraisal outcomes.

By June, the Committee is due to undertake consideration of the final draft Plan, ahead of a full meeting of the District Council in July. Council will be asked to approve 'Regulation 19' consultation, which is a six-week process due to start in August.

Following this consultation, the Council will consider whether any changes or amendments to the Local Plan should be made, before it is submitted to the Secretary of state in December.

An Examination in Public is anticipated in the summer of 2027, with the new Local Plan likely to be finally adopted early in 2028.

The timetable follows a review by planning consultants Hyas Associates, who note that the Council has already done a lot to prepare, including two rounds of Regulation 18 consultation in recent years, and is well advanced in preparing its supporting evidence base.

Register on the Local Plan webpage at www.derbyshiredales.gov.uk/LocalPlan, where more background information about the review to date is also available.

The Local Plan review timetable will be presented to a full meeting of the District Council for approval on 29 January.