Plan for local development opens for public comment

A plan outlining how local development will be managed in the East Hampshire district up to 2028 is open for comment from developers, planning experts and local residents.

The Local Plan, also known as the Joint Core Strategy, has been put together by East Hampshire District Council and the South Downs National Park Authority after four years of consultation and evidence gathering across the area. 

For six weeks, from February 3 until March 16, the document will be open to the public and local people are invited to comment on its contents.

Cllr Ken Moon, EHDC Portfolio Holder for Planning, said: “We have spent four years consulting and gathering solid evidence to create a blue-print that makes the area a better place to live, work and play.

“This period offers people the chance to examine the document and test the evidence we have used to form our policies.

“Many people will be keen to speak out on local site-specific development issues. This is not the right forum for those debates but there will be a chance to discuss those as part of the Site Allocations Plan in the future.”

The Local Plan includes the numbers of new homes to be built between 2006, when work on the strategy began, and 2028. It covers both housing and the guidelines which will encourage businesses to invest in East Hampshire, bringing employment and growth to the area.

It also shows how transport and facilities such as schools will be improved and how the area’s countryside, much of which now lies within the South Downs National Park, will be protected.

Trevor Beattie, Chief Executive of the South Downs National Park Authority, said:

“We have a duty to conserve the natural environment of the South Downs National Park as well as to foster the economic and social well-being of the people who live within its boundaries. It is only by careful planning that we will be able to balance environmental, social and economic needs.”

Once the period is over the representations received by the council, together with the Local Plan, will be submitted to a Government inspector who will examine the document and make any appropriate alterations.

Contact Details:

For more information please contact the press office on:

Tel: 01730 811785, Mobile: 07557 853277

Email: press@southdowns.gov.uk