Time running out to have your say on National Park’s Local Plan Review
February 27, 2025
People are being urged to have their say as the clock counts down to the deadline for a major public consultation on the future of the National Park.
The Local Plan Review will decide how and where development takes place in the National Park, as well as addressing important issues such as nature recovery, climate change, affordable housing and helping local communities thrive.
Well over 600 comments have been received from the public so far, including more than 400 through the online consultation platform and a further 200 via email or post.
More than 800 people have attended consultation events at venues across Sussex and Hampshire throughout January and February.
The consultation runs until midnight on Monday, 17 March.
Claire Tester, Planning Policy Manager for the National Park Authority, said: “We’ve had a really good response to the consultation and I’d like to thank everyone who has taken the time to give their feedback.
“This is the main opportunity for people to help shape the final Plan, so it’s really important that if you care about the future of the National Park that you take part in the consultation.
“Probably the easiest way to submit comments is through the online platform, so we encourage everyone, both inside and outside the National Park, to have their say if they can.”
The National Park Authority proposes to keep much of the existing Local Plan, including the emphasis on landscape-led, which means that the nationally-designated landscape is considered in every planning decision. The Local Plan will continue to prioritise the provision of clean air, water, dark skies and food and a medium level of growth spread across the towns and villages of the UK’s youngest National Park.
The Local Plan Review document contains:
- 55 existing policies that have been updated, as well as eight new, thematic policies. Changes include strengthening climate, nature and green infrastructure policies, greater protection for water resources, and more policies around viticulture and regenerative tourism given their importance for the South Downs economy.
- 28 existing Local Plan site allocations that have not yet been implemented and will be carried over into the Local Plan Review, some with changes to wording or site areas.
- 48 new proposed site allocations across Hampshire, West Sussex and East Sussex.
- Settlement maps showing existing Local Plan and Neighbourhood Plan allocations, alongside the proposed new ones.
Feedback from the public will help shape the next version of the Local Plan, which will be published in 2026 ahead of its submission for examination by an independent Inspector. Once the new Local Plan is adopted in 2027, it will be used to help decide all planning applications in the National Park.
Responses to the consultation can be made in the following ways:
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Online: Using the consultation platform to view and give feedback on the draft revised Local Plan at https://sdnpalocalplanreview.commonplace.is/
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Email: planningpolicy@southdowns.gov.uk
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In writing: Planning Policy Team, South Downs Centre, North Street, Midhurst, West Sussex, GU29 9DH
The web hub for the Local Plan Review can be accessed here: www.southdowns.gov.uk/local-plan-review
- This is a Draft Local Plan on which the Authority is seeking views. It will be subject to revisions as the Authority moves through the process. However, at present the Plan would provide approximately 4,500 new homes to 2042.
- The proposed new allocated sites were identified through the Land Availability Assessment 2024 (Provisional Findings) which reviewed around 800 sites across the National Park. Comments on these proposed sites are sought from statutory consultees, the community and the development sector to inform the next version of the Plan. Additional site suggestions are also welcomed.
- The current Local Plan is available here: southdowns.gov.uk/planning-policy/south-downs-local-plan/local-plan/
- The South Downs National Park has one of the most unique built environments within a protected landscape in the UK. As Britain’s most populated National Park with over 113,000 residents, it spans 15 different local authority areas across three counties and has four bustling market towns. It boasts 167 conservation areas – more than any other National Park in the UK – as well as 18 distinctive landscape types, over 1,000 designated spaces for wildlife and well over 5,800 listed buildings. Dealing with around 5,000 planning cases a year, the National Park is one of the country’s top 30 busiest Planning Authorities.