What’s new in the Local Plan Review?
April 30, 2025
Claire Tester, Planning Policy Manager, gives a useful update on the Local Plan Review.
The award-winning South Downs Local Plan is being reviewed to ensure it’s up-to-date and addresses important issues such as nature recovery, climate change, affordable housing and helping local communities thrive. The timetable for the Local Plan Review is here:
The first public consultation on the Local Plan Review closed on 17 March 2025. Thank you to the over 2,000 individuals and organisations who responded! The feedback is currently under review, and all contributions will be carefully considered as we develop the next version of the plan.
Comments submitted on the consultation platform regarding policies and evidence are now live and available to view here.
Comments made on site-specific issues are not yet live. We are checking these for personal information and other GDPR issues and all comments received will be published in due course, with all personal information redacted.
In drafting the Local Plan Review we have taken account of the 43 Parish Priorities Statements that were prepared by Parish Councils in consultation with their communities. These were particularly helpful in identifying infrastructure and facilities that should accompany any development, and where appropriate these have been incorporated into allocation policy requirements.
We would encourage all Parish Councils to consider preparing a Parish Priorities Statement, especially if they do not have an up-to-date neighbourhood plan or village design statement. Parish priority statements are a good way for local communities to say what is important to them and how they would like their places to adapt to change in the future. They are easier and quicker to prepare than neighbourhood plans, but it is important that parish councils involve their communities in their content. They can be prepared on an individual parish basis, or by a cluster of parishes.
Please see this webpage for advice and templates for parishes to follow, together with the statements already submitted.