Shepway Council Notification: Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004 and Regulation 19 of the Town and Country Planning (Local Planning) (England) Regulations 2012

• News and Updates

I write to advise you of the publication of the Places and Policies Local Plan Submission Draft for public consultation. This is the final consultation before the Plan is considered by an independent Planning Inspector at the Examination in Public.

The purpose of The Plan, supported by an up to date evidence base, is to allocate sufficient land for future development to meet the outstanding requirements set out in the Core Strategy (2013) for residential, employment and community needs. It also includes a series of detailed planning policies to be used to consider the suitability of future development proposals.

This draft follows the previous public consultations for the ‘Issues and Options’ (2015) and ‘Preferred Options’ (2016) stages.  The District Council would like to thank all who have made representations and comments in the past which have helped shape the Plan.

After this consultation we will submit the plan to the Government’s planning representative, a Planning Inspector, who will carry out a public examination.

The Inspector will consider if the plan:

• Complies with the legal requirements;
• Complies with the duty to cooperate and;
• Meets the tests of soundness.

We will collate and summarise your comments and pass them on to the Planning Inspector.

To further explain, a local planning authority should submit a plan for examination which it considers is “sound” – namely that it is:

• Positively prepared – the plan should be prepared based on a strategy which seeks to meet objectively assessed development and infrastructure requirements, including unmet requirements from neighbouring authorities where it is reasonable to do so and consistent with achieving sustainable development
• Justified – the plan should be the most appropriate strategy, when considered against the reasonable alternatives, based on proportionate evidence
• Effective – the plan should be deliverable over its period and based on effective joint working on cross-boundary strategic priorities
• Consistent with national policy – the plan should enable the delivery of sustainable development in accordance with the policies in the Framework

During the publication stage representations can be made to the council over a six week period between 5^th February and 23.59 on 19^th March 2018.

Your comments for this consultation should be based on whether or not you agree that the plan complies with the legal requirements, complies with the duty to cooperate and is sound, as outlined above.

If you don’t think the plan meets a requirement you should be prepared to explain why and support your reason with evidence. It will also be helpful if you say how the plan should change to meet the relevant requirement.

We will collate and summarise your comments and pass them on to the Planning Inspector.

The plan, Sustainability Appraisal, Habitat Regulations Assessment, public notice, timeline of work and other evidence base documents are available to view on the District Council’s web site at www.shepway.gov.uk/places-and-policies.

Copies of the Plan (and representation form) are also available to view at all local libraries within Shepway, the New Romney One Stop Shop and the council office in Folkestone (a list of opening times can be seen below).

You can make a representation by submitting the standard representation form on the Council’s consultation portal, which is the preferred way of making a representation as this allows you to decide which paragraph you want your comment to relate to and summarise in your own words.

Alternatively the standard representation form can be downloaded from the Council’s web site and sent via email (to planning.policy@shepway.gov.uk) or by post to the address above.

If you do not wish to be notified of any further stages of the Local Plan, please contact the Planning Policy team.

If you have any other queries please feel free to contact the Planning Policy team at the above email address.

Yours sincerely

Adrian Tofts

Planning Policy Manager

Shepway District Council Offices & Libraries and Opening Hours

*New Romney Library will be closed for three days for redecoration from Monday 19 February to Wednesday 21 February inclusive. The library will re-open as usual on Thursday 22 February 2018.