New Single Local Plan (to 2036)

Draft Local Plan Issues and Options consultation document

Warning signConsideration of the draft Local Plan Issues and Options consultation document by the Council’s Cabinet has been deferred until the next meeting of cabinet on 17 October 2017 at the earliest.

The Department for Communities and Local Government published its consultation on “Planning for the right homes in the right places” on Thursday 14 September 2017. As part of this, the Government proposes to introduce a new and standard methodology for assessing housing need and, as a result, it is possible the number of new homes we need to plan for may change. Although we will be consulting on a range of development levels and locations within Dacorum, it is important that this is broadly compliant with emerging Government policy.

As such, Officers will now review the proposed Local Plan Issues and Options consultation document and bring it back to Cabinet for consideration with any necessary changes.

The new Local Plan is of great importance to us and we intend to progress with our plans for a full consultation with residents and stakeholders as soon as possible.

Background

We formally adopted the Core Strategy for Dacorum on 25 September 2013. Section 29 of the Core Strategy (Monitoring) includes a commitment to conduct a partial review of the Core Strategy. This will follow completion of the Site Allocations DPD. 

Through the partial review, we will look again at:

  • household projections
  • the role and function of the Green Belt affecting Dacorum, including long-term boundaries and the potential to identify safeguarded land beyond 2031, and, more significantly,
  • the role that effective co-operation with local planning authorities could play in meeting any housing needs arising from Dacorum. This element will include St Albans district and relevant areas lying beyond the Green Belt.

Plan timetable

For more information, please see our  New Single Local Plan (2036) timetable (PDF 12KB).

Evidence base for the Single Local Plan

Evidence gathering has already begun to help inform this process, with the publication of stage 1 of a comprehensive Green Belt review. For more details, please visit our evidence base work for the new single Local Plan page.

Sustainability Appraisal - Scoping Report (March 2017)

Our consultants TRL have prepared a Sustainability Scoping Report, which sets the framework for the future Strategic Environmental Appraisal (SEA) and Sustainability Appraisal (SA) of the new Local Plan. The SA/SEA process seeks to ensure that we take account of all appropriate social, economic and environmental considerations when drawing up our new development strategy, which looks ahead to 2036.

The recent consultation on the draft Scoping Report was carried out in accordance with the SEA Directive and the Environmental Assessment of Plans and Programmes Regulations 2004. Key consultees were contacted directly and asked for feedback on the report. Where appropriate, responses received will be incorporated into the next stage of the Sustainability Appraisal process.

For more information, please view our  Local Plan Sustainability Appraisal Scoping Report - March 2017 (PDF 3MB).

Call for sites 2015

The call for sites 2015 exercise has now closed. New sites submitted under this process will initially be appraised under the update of the 2008 Strategic Housing Land Availability Assessment (SHLAA).

Please see below for a summary list of responses received.

 Summary list of responses received to the call for sites 2015 (PDF 83.8KB)