Consultation on Proposed Submission Local Plan now open
The consultation for Winchester City Council’s Proposed Submission Local Plan ‘Regulation 19’ is now open and will run until 23:59 hours on 13 October 2024.
The council is encouraging all residents, businesses, and organisations in the Winchester district to have their say. The draft plan sets out the council’s vision for future development across the Winchester district – outside the South Down’s National Park. It covers Winchester city, the market towns, villages, and countryside.
The council are hosting public drop-in sessions across the district and encourage residents to attend to find out more about how the Local Plan addresses some major challenges and help them have their say.
Residents can attend any of the following drop-in sessions regardless of where they live:
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Winchester: 11 September 3-6pm, The Nutshell Theatre, Kings Walk SO23 8AF
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Wickham: 17 September 3.30pm – 7.30pm, Wickham Community Centre, Mill Lane, PO17 5AL
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Sutton Scotney: 25 September 3.30pm – 7.30pm, The Victoria Hall, Wonston Road, SO213GX
Some key themes included within the Local Plan are:
The Climate Emergency and Cutting Carbon
The biggest challenge of all is Climate Change. The Plan sets amongst the highest standards possible for environmental design for homes and for commercial development – designed to cut carbon and cut bills. The draft plan’s policies also ensure development is designed to help make it attractive, safe and easy to walk, cycle and use other low-carbon methods of transport, supporting the council’s goal of being a carbon-neutral district by 2030.
Affordable Homes
It’s harder and harder for all ages, and especially younger people to find a suitable home they can afford. This plan takes a new approach to affordable housing targets – replacing an ‘expectation’ that was too often missed, with a minimum requirement that developers must achieve.
Chalk Streams and Rivers
Alongside neighbouring authorities, the district faces the challenge of protecting our district’s chalk streams and rivers alongside neighbouring authorities. The plan sets requirements for nutrient neutrality.
The Natural Environment
This local plan takes the approach of ‘brownfield first’ – both in prioritising the use of previously developed land over green fields, but also in the phasing of development. The sites proposed are those which have the best sustainability, can deliver affordable homes, and have the least environmental impact on our district. Over 90% of the sites that developers put forward have not been included in this plan.
In total, the draft Plan includes over 80 policies covering other themes including the historic environment, creating a vibrant economy and biodiversity and open space amongst others.
Cllr Jackie Porter, Cabinet Member for Place and the Local Plan says:
‘This Local Plan is the result of over three years of work and has been shaped from feedback from multiple consultations – it’s a plan that’ll protect our environment while ensuring affordable homes for the benefit of our children and grandchildren. To have this plan adopted now will mean our district’s development will be carefully managed and controlled, setting out a strong and sustainable future. As always, we encourage each and everyone of our district’s residents and businesses to share their views in what is the final stage of our plan before we submit it to government.’
The Regulation 19 consultation is the final stage of developing the Plan before it is submitted to the Secretary of State and the Planning Inspectorate for examination in public. This timetable is in line with the guidelines and timetable of submitting Local Plans before any policy changes result from the government’s current consultation into the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF).
The consultation is open from 29 August until 13 October and can be found by visiting www.localplan.winchester.gov.uk during these dates. On this site, visitors will also find the draft Regulation 19 Proposed Submission Local Plan documents and responses to the Regulation 18 Consultation.
Paper copies of the Proposed Submission Local Plan can be found in Winchester City Council's City Offices, Alresford Library, Bishops Waltham Library, Chandler’s Ford Library, Eastleigh Library, Havant Library, Hedge End Library, Martial Rose (University of Winchester) Library, Waterlooville Library, Winchester Library.