Local Development Framework

Local Development Framework (including the Local Plan)

The Council adopted the Local Plan on 23^rd June 2006. There were no High Court Challenges to the Local Plan during the statutory 6-week period. An up to date text version of the Plan should be available by November 2006. Unfortunately due to various production difficulties the Plan (including all the maps) will not be published until June 2007.

The Local Plan is now part of the new planning system known as the Local Development Framework (LDF). The Local Plan, along with Regional Spatial Strategy, forms the Development Plan of which are the main considerations in the determination of a planning application for new development. Most Local Plan policies will be saved for the duration of the Plan period i.e. to 31st March 2011.

The Council’s Local Development Scheme (2007) (sets out a programme of policy document preparation for the period 2007-2010) has been approved by Full Council on 27th February 2007. The document is currently awaiting approval from the Government Office for the West Midlands.

The new development planning system known as the Local Development Framework (LDF) has been brought in by the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004. It will gradually result in the replacement of the old system of Local Plans, Structure Plans and Supplementary Planning Guidance with a new local level system of Local Development Documents comprising of Development Plan Documents, Supplementary Planning Documents and Statement of Community Involvement.

The focus of the new system is:

• A folder of documents rather than one large document to produce shorter and a more concise plan;
• To speed up the preparation of plans, ensure that plans are monitored and reviewed in response to changing circumstances;
• A programme rather than project management;
• More involvement with the community and interested parties at an early stage of the plan process;
• Comprehensive and robust evidence based documents that integrate with the plan;
• Requirement of a Sustainability Appraisal and Strategic Environmental Assessment;
• To·provide a wider spatial planning approach.

More detailed information about the new system can be viewed at the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) (the replacement for the ODPM - Office for the Deputy Prime Minister) The DCLG website can be found at www.communities.gov.uk

South Worcestershire Joint Core Strategy

The West Midlands Regional Assembly has drafted three spatial options relating to allocating sustainable housing and employment growth through phase two of the Regional Spatial Strategy up until 2026. Worcester City, Wychavon District Council and Malvern have been identified in the West Midlands Regional Spatial Strategy as areas where potential growth could be accommodated. Although each Council will have its own LDF, the three district Councils will be working together on one of the elements of the LDF, known as the South Worcestershire Joint Core Strategy (SWJCS). The aim of the SWJCS will be to set strategic and spatial criteria against which decisions about the use of land can be planned to influence where development  should go. It is important that the views of the local community  have thier say on the future development of  South Worcestershire.

For further information on the SWJCS please click on the link to view the SWJCS website