An updated timetable and details on how the Local Plan Review will be prepared have been agreed by Chichester District Councillors.
The details have been published in the revised Local Development Scheme (LDS), a statutory document which provides a timetable and details of evidence base documents prepared for the Local Plan Review.
The decision was made at Chichester District Council’s Full Council meeting on Friday 12 March following a recommendation to approve by the council’s Cabinet.
The LDS covers the next three years and is published to help the local community and stakeholders keep up-to-date with the timescales for when various key planning policy documents will be produced. It includes a profile for each of the documents, and a timetable for their production, including dates for when the public will be consulted on them. The LDS also contains information on other documents, including Neighbourhood Plans and the Community Infrastructure Levy.
The documents being produced will form the evidence base for the Local Plan Review. These will be considered by the Planning Inspector when they review the plan at the Local Plan examination.
“The biggest issues affecting the Local Plan Review are around transport and the A27, and also the extra infrastructure needed for treating waste water,” says Councillor Susan Taylor, Cabinet Member for Planning at Chichester District Council. “I recently explained that although we have carried out huge amounts of work in preparation for the Local Plan Review, feasibility work will now need to be carried out into the Stockbridge Link Road, which would run from the Fishbourne roundabout to the Manhood Peninsula.
“The link road is a vital piece of infrastructure and our partners have agreed that the evidence points to the need for this if we are to meet the level of growth the Government expects, and that this approach is needed while we wait for a long term decision from the Government on the A27. The proposed link road would cross over land owned by West Sussex County Council, and in their role as local highways authority, they have now asked us to carry out a much more detailed assessment on this so that the full benefits and impacts can be understood. This would be one of several improvements required to the junctions along the A27.
“We are also working with Southern Water on the issues around the capacity of waste water treatment infrastructure and whether this can be expanded to serve new growth.
“As I’ve said before, these are extremely complex issues and require extra detailed work to be carried out before the review can be finalised. This is reflected in the timetable that has been set out in the revised Local Development Scheme.
“As well as publishing the documents on our website, we will of course keep people updated on a regular basis through our Local Plan Review email newsletter, which you can sign up to by visiting www.chichester.gov.uk/localplannewsletter”
The Local Development Scheme can be viewed by going to: www.chichester.gov.uk/planningpolicy
