A lot of panic in LDF teams about this today with an inspector quoting the Forest Heath case and asking if the Core Strategy is lawful. (see short report in Planning) Looking into the papers it seems that the issue is not the same as Forest Heath,though still a breach on its face. There were options consulted on between settlements, the problem is not assessing and consulting on the choice of strategic sites and reasonable alternatives in the same settlement. The problem though serious can be avoided by integrating the strategic site selection and appraisal process into the SEA process, and if not done so far consult swiftly on a supplement to the environment report. More detailed note on and links to the key documents it if anyone is interested.
