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Meeting: |
Local Plan Working Group |
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Meeting date: |
15/04/2025 |
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Report of: |
Garry Taylor, Director of City Development |
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Portfolio of: |
Councillor Pavlovic, Executive Member for Housing, Planning and Safer neighbourhoods |
Decision Report:
Local Development Scheme
Subject of
Report
1. The Council is required to prepare and regularly review a Local Development Scheme (LDS) under the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004 (as amended by the Localism Act 2011).
2. An LDS sets out a timetable for the production of new or revised Development Plan Documents (such as a Local Plan) by the local council. The Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) has asked LPAs to review and update their LDS’s in light of the revised National Planning Policy Framework released in December 2024.
3. This paper presents an interim LDS (Annex B), which supersedes all previous versions and sets out a planning work programme for the Council from March 2025.
Benefits and Challenges
4. MHCLG advise that authorities still a need to review against the new NPPF even if the plan adoption is recent or imminent. Therefore, whilst the City of York adopted a new Local Plan on 27 February 2025, we are still required to prepare and submit a new LDS.
5. The Local Development Scheme sets a clear work programme for plan-making priorities. The LDS sets out how we are supporting the implementation of the plan through the delivery of Supplementary Planning Documents and the Community Infrastructure Levy, both of which are support by Executive decisions.
6. The Government recently released an updated NPPF (December 2024) incorporating changes to meet their ambitions for higher housing delivery and economic investment. This was enacted for decision-making from its release date but comes into force for plan-making on 12 March 2025. The NPPF indicates that provisions for the revised plan-making system, provided for under the Levelling Up and Regeneration Act (LURA) 2023, will come into force in 2025. Additionally, the Secretary of State has also indicated the national policies for development management will be published for consultation in 2025.
7. Pending any further announcements and information from Government on these changes, the Planning Advisory Service (PAS) advises using the latest information in the public domain about the expected timeline for plan making under the new system. This was that set out in the July 2023 consultation on implementation of plan-making reforms. It is then expected that the plan making timetable can subsequently be updated, as and when required, to include relevant details of the new system when confirmed. Consequently, the LDS presented is an ‘interim’ timetable and will be subject to review when details of the new system are published.
8. City of York has 6 Neighbourhood Plans, which have been ‘made’ ahead of the adoption of the Local Plan. These were prepared to ensure strategic conformity to align with the emerging Local Plan and was addressed through their examination process. Now that the Local Plan is adopted, Officers intend to work with Parish Councils/ Neighbourhood Forums to ensure the policy position is clear and that their policies remain up-to-date. This may require a review of their neighbourhood plan in due course, which will inform future iterations of the LDS.
Policy Basis for Decision
9. The requirement to produce an LDS is set under the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004 (as amended by the Localism Act 2011). The LDS provides the overarching interim forward plan-making timetable.
10. Executive last approved an LDS in December 2022. This focussed on the continuation of the Local Plan Examination to adoption of the plan. The Examination of the Local Plan concluded by receipt of the Inspectors Report on 14 February 2025 and subsequently the plan was adopted by Full Council on 27 February 2025.
11. The documents produced as part of the forward plan-making will seek to support the delivery of the all relevant Council strategies and Council Plan priorities at the time of production. These will be considered in detail when presented to Council at the requisite time.
Financial Strategy Implications
12. There are no financial implications with approving this interim LDS; ongoing activity outlined in the LDS (CIL, SPDs, SCI) are to be delivered within existing capacity and resources.
13. Following the release of the updated plan-making regulations, a revised LDS will be brought before Executive to consider the implications of delivering a Local Plan against a new NPPF alongside other ongoing plan-making priorities. As part of this process, it may be necessary to identify additional resources to support the plan-making timetable and delivery of the plan within the requisite timeframe. This will be set out clearly in future reporting.
Recommendation and Reasons
14. Local Plan Working Group recommend Executive to:
i. Approve the interim Local Development Scheme (Annex B)
Reason: To ensure that the Council Complies with the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004 (as amended by the Localism Act 2011).
Background
15. The LDS must specify the documents which will comprise the development plan and plan-making activity for the area. The LDS must be made available publicly and kept up to date to ensure that local communities and interested parties can keep track of progress. Planning Practice Guidance makes clear that Local planning authorities must also publish the LDS on their websites[1]. Up-to-date and accessible reporting on the LDS is an important way in which authorities can keep communities informed of plan making activity.
16. The LDS outlines the recent stages of Local Plan examination and adoption. Aligned to the advice from PAS, an indicative timetable for a refreshed Local Plan against the revised NPPF is set out using the July 2023 consultation on implementation of plan-making reforms. The broad timetable proposed in the consultation consists of:
· a 4 month notice period before starting plan making. This would consist of a scoping and early participation stage.
· The formal plan making stage would run for months 1-23 and consist of visioning, evidence gathering, engagement and submission of the plan.
· Months 24-30 would then be examination and adoption. It is expected that the examination takes place within the 30 month period.
17. The LDS presents the work programme to adopting the Community Infrastructure Levy Charging Schedule. This indicates adoption of the schedule by the end of 2025, subject to submission and a successful Examination in Public.
18. Following a decision by Executive in September 2024, the LDS also includes a projected timetable for production of the high priority Supplementary Planning Documents, which will support the implementation of the Local Plan.
19. The Council are also required to review and update their Statement of Community Involvement, which sets out the processes by which the community will be engaged in consultation on each type of document and at every stage of its preparation. The SCI also sets out how the community will engage in the consideration of major development management decisions.
20. Whilst a decision was made at Executive on 14 March 2024 to update the SCI and take the updated SCI out for consultation, consultation activity has been pending the adoption of the Local Plan. Adoption of the SCI is anticipated to be summer 2025, which should allow all consultation processes to align to this statutory consultation framework.
Consultation Analysis
21. As documents in the LDS come forward and progress towards adoption, they will each be subject to separate consultation activities. These will be undertaken in accordance with the revised Statement of Community Involvement wherein a bespoke consultation strategy will be devised and released through a delegated decision by the Director of City Development.
Options Analysis and Evidential Basis
22. Options for Local Plan Working Group to consider in their recommendation to Executive are:
i. Approving the interim Local Development Scheme for publishing as the forward plan-making schedule (Annex B)
ii. Amending the interim Local Development Scheme
23. Officers recommend option (i) to allow an interim LDS to be published in accordance with the statutory requirements. As an interim LDS, it is recognised that this will need to be refreshed following the release of the Government’s new planning regulations.
24. Option (ii) allows Executive to recommend modifications to the interim LDS. This option could be endorsed should Members seek amendments to the timetables and/or priorities contained within (Annex B).
Organisational Impact and
Implications
25. Financial: There are no known financial implications in approving the interim Local Development Scheme (LDS) as existing resources will be used in this process. No additional resources are envisaged to be needed at this time.
For the next phase of progressing the LDS a plan will be drawn up to address additional resource needs (estimate is a 36 month time scale). No Government funding is currently available for this next stage, Government funding has only been released for authorities in the mid stage of the process, rather than at the start as the case for CYC.
26. Human Resources: No implications as a result of this interim LDS. It is noted that resourcing requirements will be reviewed in a future LDS.
27. Legal: The Council as the local planning authority is required to prepare and maintain a Local Development Scheme under section 15 of the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004 (as amended by the Localism Act 2011). The Local Development Scheme must be made available publicly and kept up-to-date. The proposals within this report will enable the Council to meet the statutory requirements and recently updated national planning policy detailed in the main body of the report. The Local Development Scheme is not part of the Development Plan.
28. Procurement: No implications as a result of this interim LDS. It is noted that resourcing requirements will be reviewed in a future LDS and procurement implications will considered in detail at that point.
29. Health and Wellbeing: Public health support the recommendation to allow an interim LDS to be published in accordance with the statutory requirements and that this will need to be refreshed following the release of the Government’s new planning regulations.
30. Local Development Schemes are key documents through which we can influence the design and function of places to create and maintain positive health outcomes for York residents. We recommend that the LDS is developed and published in line with Healthy Places Design Guides and Supplementary Planning Documents as they are developed and adopted to ensure that they maximise the health benefits and minimise health harms and this should include the use of S106 /CIL funding to reduce health inequalities.
31. Environment and Climate action: Continuation of the production of SPDs relevant to environmental and climate matters is clearly set out as part of the ongoing work programme. At this stage there is no direct implications. Each will be considered in detail in future reports.
32. Affordability: The production of the housing SPD is noted; implications of this will be considered in future reports. No further implications for communities and affordability at this stage.
33. Equalities and Human Rights: An EIA has been produced and is attached at Annex A. No implications as a result of this interim LDS is anticipated.
34. Data Protection and Privacy: The data protection impact assessment (DPIAs) screening questions were completed for the recommendations and options in this report and as there is no personal, special categories or criminal offence data being processed to set these out, there is no requirement to complete a DPIA at this time. However, this will be reviewed following the approved recommendations and options from this report and a DPIA completed if required.
35. Communications: Communications, consultation and engagement is a statutory stage of plan-making which will help to ensure partners, businesses, communities and residents are given the opportunity to provide feedback on all documents outlined and to be involved in the development of the plans set out in this LDS.
36. Economy: The production of the Local Plan and SPDs is noted; implications of this will be considered in future reports. The production of planning policy guidance is considered to support the economic ambitions for the city and quality decision-making relevant to employment opportunities.
Risks and
Mitigations
37. The last LDS to be published was in December 2022. This focussed on progressing a Local Plan to adoption. Now that the new Local Plan is adopted, the published LDS is out-of-date and must be updated to provide a timetable for plan-making aligned to regulatory requirements.
Wards Impacted
38. No direct implication for Wards. Documents outlined in the timetable will be applicable to all Wards.
Contact details
For further information please contact the authors of this Decision Report.
Author
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Name: |
Alison Cooke |
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Job Title: |
Head of Strategic Planning Policy |
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Service Area: |
Strategic Planning Policy, City Development |
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Telephone: |
01904 551467 |
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Report approved: |
Yes |
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Date: |
04/04/2025 |
Co-author
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Name: |
Alison Stockdale |
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Job Title: |
Strategic Planning Policy Manager |
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Service Area: |
Strategic Planning Policy, City Development |
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Telephone: |
01904 552255 |
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Report approved: |
Yes |
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Date: |
04/04/2025 |
Background
papers
Executive Decision 15/12/2022 - City of York Planning Policy Housing Delivery Action Plan (HDAP) Update and Local Development Scheme (LDS) Update
Executive Decision 12/09/2024 – Prioritising Supplementary Planning Documents
Annexes
· Annex A: Equalities Impact Assessment (EIA)
· Annex B: Interim Local Development Scheme (LDS)