Key plan for South Downs future – first evidence published
January 21, 2015
New evidence that will support the Local Plan for the National Park is being published online this week with more to follow over the next few months.
The Local Plan will set out for the first time how the National Park Authority will manage development in order to meet its responsibilities to conserve the landscapes while serving the needs of our communities and the local economy. Once approved by the Government it will contain the policies by which all development proposals in the National Park will be judged.
Tim Slaney, Director of Planning for the South Downs National Park Authority, said:
“The South Downs National Park is a living, working landscape with vibrant communities and businesses – 112,000 people live here and many others work in and visit this wonderful landscape including the town and villages.
“Properly managed development is necessary so we need good planning in place to care for landscapes, views and night skies; support the local economy, promote recreation; enable affordable local housing; and make sure that our green spaces are properly valued and cared for. To get this right we need to work with and understand the needs of local communities and other groups and the solid evidence that will stand up to full public examination.
“The Local Plan is important for everyone who lives in or cares about the future of the National Park and we’ll be asking as many people as possible to have their say when we consult on these plans in Autumn 2015.”
The evidence supporting the Local Plan covers a wide variety of subjects from key views, tranquillity to housing need and water catchments.
One of the pieces of evidence to be published is the Strategic Housing Land Availability Assessment (SHLAA) which assesses the availability of land for housing across the National Park. This doesn’t state where housing should be located or what specific housing sites should be allocated but identifies sites which may have the potential to be developed for housing in the future. It is important to note that sites mentioned in the SHLAA will not be automatically allocated in the Local Plan or that planning permission will be granted in the future.
Read the Strategic Housing Land Availability Assessment here
The sites identified as having potential for housing in the SHLAA will be looked at in more detail during the preparation of the first draft of the Local Plan. The ones that are then included as draft allocations will be subject to consultation in Autumn 2015.
The SHLAA is a high level assessment of potential housing opportunities across the National Park. It does not allocate sites to be developed; this will be done in the Local Plan and neighbourhood plans. The identification of potential housing sites within the SHLAA does not imply that planning permission would be granted for residential development. There will be an opportunity to comment on draft housing allocations in Autumn 2015 when the Preferred Options version of the Local Plan is published.
Key dates for the Local Plan
Winter/ Spring/
Summer 2015 Evidence documents being prepared and published
A large number of evidence based documents support the Local Plan. These need to be robust and will be tested at the Examination in Public along with the Local Plan.
Draft policies are being drafted and considered through the Planning Committee.
Autumn 2015 First Complete Draft of the Local Plan published and available for comment.
This will be the first time that people can look at the various draft policies for the South Downs National Park, together as a collective that seek to manage development in the most effective way having regard to National Park designation.
Mid 2016 Publication of Final Draft Plan.
This is followed by a formal ‘pre-submission’ consultation. Following this consultation, the plan and any representations received at this stage will be submitted to the Planning Inspectorate
The Plan will then be subject to an independent examination in public.
Spring 2017 Adoption of the Local Plan (subject to the outcomes of the independent examination).