The timetable for the local plan has been delayed (again). This time is it because the new government has been consulting on changes to the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF). The council has to follow the NPPF when writing the Local Plan, and the changes won't be confirmed until around the end of this year.

The number and type of houses the government is asking the council to build will also be revised.

Therefore, the council's previous deadline for completing the plan - 25 June 2025 - no longer applies.

The Council's new proposed timetable is:

• Now: Analysis and consideration of consultation feedback, changes to the draft plan considered by the cross-party councillor working group

• Autumn 2025 – publication of our final draft for approval by councillors and the launch of a six-week consultation under Regulation 19

• Spring 2026 – submission to the Planning Inspectorate. (There will then be an "Examination in Public")

The "regulation 18" consultation for the redrafted Local Plan closed on Monday 3 June.