Agenda item

The Council was required to review the Local Plan: Strategy and Sites (LPSS) within five years of adoption to decide if an update to the Plan was required. Having considered changes in national planning policy, associated guidance and relevant legislation, as well as changes in circumstances affecting Guildford borough since the LPSS was adopted, officers had recommended that the Local Plan should be updated.

Changes identified and which supported a decision to update the LPSS included the level of local housing need based on Government’s standard method calculation, which differed significantly from the LPSS housing requirement; changes in the economy; slower progress toward delivery of several strategic sites than had been anticipated; and changes in planned delivery of supporting infrastructure such as the Guildford A3 scheme.

Furthermore, whilst many of the LPSS policies remained consistent with the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF), there were changes in planning related legislation and guidance identified which supported a decision to update the LPSS. More fundamentally, however, the Government had proposed to introduce significant planning reform flowing, at least in part, from the recent publication of the Levelling Up and Regeneration Act 2023 (LURA). These changes, which included a new NPPF and National Development Management Policies and other regulations, would impact on plan-making to the extent that ‘new style’ Local Plans were proposed.

Should the decision to update the Local Plan be supported, a further report would be prepared to propose appropriate timing for and budgetary requirements of the Local Plan update. Importantly, this would consider planning reform proposals including the Government’s timescales for initiating ‘new style’ Local Plans alongside the impacts of changes on the nature and form of plans and supporting evidence. 

It was important to stress that the findings of this review did not change any elements of the LPSS. The LPSS remained part of the Council’s Development Plan, which was the primary consideration in terms of determining planning applications. Due weight would be given to policies according to their degree of consistency with the NPPF, which for the most part they were.

Upon the motion of the Lead Councillor for Planning, Councillor Fiona White, seconded by the Deputy Leader of the Council, and Lead Councillor for Regeneration, Councillor Tom Hunt, the Council

RESOLVED:

(1)    That the Guildford Borough Local Plan: Strategy and Sites (2015-2034) be updated following the findings of the review undertaken in accordance with Regulation 10A of the Town and Country Planning (Local Planning) (England) Regulations 2012 (as amended).

(2)         That a further report be submitted to the Executive at a later date to clarify the appropriate timing for and budgetary requirements of the Local Plan update, such report to follow the enactment of the national planning reform legislation and to consider its implications for the update process.

Reasons:

·      There was a statutory requirement to review the LPSS within 5 years of its adoption. This was to assess whether it needed updating. The review findings set out in the report had indicated that an update of the LPSS would be an appropriate course of action to ensure that the Council’s Local Plan remained effective into the future.

·      There were a range of uncertainties which impacted on the context for the preparation of a new / updated Local Plan, some of which related to the lack of clarity regarding the detail of proposed Government reforms to the planning system which guided plan-making. It was necessary that these were fully considered in order to set out recommendations regarding the scope and timing of a new plan-making process.