Local plan news
Winchester District Local Plan - submitted to the Secretary of State
We’ve submitted the draft Local Plan to the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government for examination.
We’d like to thank each and every person and organisation for your time taken to comment on the district’s Local Plan.
Following the most recent consultation, we’ve prepared a summary of the main issues arising from this consultation and all the feedback is available for both the inspector and wider public to be able to view on the website.
What the Local Plan is and how it’s developed
The Local Plan sets out the city council’s vision and objectives for the future development of the district outside of the South Downs National Park (which has its own Local Plan) – Winchester city, the market towns, villages and countryside.
The Local Plan making process started in 2018 and it has undergone four separate stages of public consultation: Launch of the Local Plan (2018), Strategic Issues and Priorities (2021), Regulation 18 Local Plan (2022) and the Regulation 19 Proposed Submission Local Plan (2024).
The Local Plan contains key themes including addressing climate change and cutting carbon, new and robust approaches to providing affordable housing, ensuring we use brownfield sites first, measures to protect chalk streams and rivers and natural environment and ensuring we get the infrastructure we need.
What happens next?
Now that the plan has been submitted, a planning inspector will be appointed to review and assess it.
They will consider whether the plan has met the legal requirements; whether it has been positively prepared and is justified, effective and consistent with national policy; and if the council has engaged and worked effectively with the local community, neighbouring authorities and statutory bodies.
Once appointed, the Planning Inspector will set out the next steps in the examination process, which will be published on the dedicated Local Plan website. Here, everyone who visits the website will also be able to view and search for their feedback and comments from the most recent consultation.
Want further information?
This helpful video produced by The Planning Inspectorate, may also answer some of your questions on this stage in the Local Plan development process.