The planning system is complicated and the process for preparing a new Local Plan is no exception. However, the Local Plan can provide the opportunity to secure development on your land through an approach known as ‘land promotion’

The opportunity to promote your site through the Local Plan doesn’t come round very often. As Plans typically cover a 15 year period, they don’t need to be replaced more often than that. If you want to secure development on your site, it is therefore crucial that you take the opportunity when it arises.

Hestia Town Planning monitor each Councils Local Development Framework and know when it is the right time to put forward your land. 

Get in touch today to ask for a tailor-made proposal for your site – with absolutely no obligation.

What is a Local Plan?

Every council in England and Wales will have a Local Plan to guide development over a 10 to 15 year period.

The Plan consists of a number of policies which set out how much development is needed and where it should be located. When you submit a planning application, the council compare it against the policies in the Local Plan. If the application meets all those policy requirements it will normally be approved; if it doesn’t comply with policy then the application would usually be refused.

That Local Plan will identify specific sites for a particular use, such as new housing or employment. usually includes identifying specific sites for particular uses, such as new housing or employment development. It is this element of the Local Plan that we use to promote land for development.

How is a new Local Plan prepared?

As Local Plans only cover a set period of time, councils frequently replace them with new, more up-to-date Plans.

Government guidance sets out a strict process for preparing a new Local Plan. Essentially though, the process is quite straightforward and involves 5 key stages:

1. Gather evidence on the challenges the council faces and the level of development needed.
2. Consider the various ways in which those challenges could be addressed.
3. Settle on a preferred solution and turn it into a draft Local Plan.
4. Revise the Plan based on comments and suggestions from the public.
5. Ask the Planning Inspectorate to confirm that the Plan has been prepared properly and can be used for deciding planning applications.

How we can help you use the Local Plan to your advantage

Each stage involves consulting local residents, land owners and developers for their views. This can include submitting your own evidence to the council.

If you would like a particular type of development on your site, this provides an opportunity to influence the policies in the new Plan. The aim is to make sure that those new policies allow your development to take place, even if it would be prevented by policies in the ‘old’ Plan.

Land promotion is a really powerful approach as it can work on sites of all types including Green Belt and even sites where planning permission has been refused in the past.

There are two key elements to land promotion:

1. Submit evidence to the council showing why the development you are proposing is actually needed. For example, we might submit evidence to show that the council needs to deliver a significant number of new homes in a particular town.
2. Demonstrate why your site is suitable for the type of development that is needed. This requires specialist evidence relating to traffic, ground conditions, ecology, landscape and heritage. It is important that evidence should show that your site is better than the alternatives.

If your land promotion is successful the new Plan will confirm that the development you have been promoting can take place.

Hestia Town Planning can help you secure planning permission on your land in this way. We specialise in promoting sites through the Local Plan process to secure permission for development.