Local Plan Review plan period

2021-12-06T11:12:46Z

My council adopted its Local Plan in December 2015. The plan period is 2012-30. The five year review in December 2020 found that most policies remain up to date, apart from its policies for the supply of housing, due to undersupply and the standard method LHN calculation. Members instructed officers to carry out a limited update of housing policies. The question has arisen as to whether the Plan period needs to roll forward e.g. to 2040 to allow for 15 years post adoption period (as required by paragraphs 22 and 68 of the NPPF,); or can the Plan period terminal date remain at the current date of 2030? The argument for keeping the 2030 date being that it's a review of the plan under para 33 of the NPPF not a new Plan.

To complicate matters, it is likely that the council will need to seek to reduce the housing requirement due to environmental constraints including AONB and 2 SACs; so it is not just a matter of allocating additional housing sites to make up the shortfall under a site allocations DPD.

Advice would be gratefully received- thanks