Developing our new Local Plan

We are currently preparing a new Local Plan for the Forest of Dean District which will replace the existing plan. The local plan will:

set out how the Forest of Dean will develop over the next 20 years to 2041
help deliver new homes and jobs
safeguard the environmental assets we value

The Local Plan will allocate land for new housing and employment, to provide for the future needs of local communities. It also sets limits to the extent which towns and villages can grow into the surrounding countryside.

It provides strategies on how to protect the places we care about, like historical buildings, parks and town centres. It also guides the design of new places so that they are pleasant, attractive and respond to local needs.

Stages of Local Plan development

The Local Plan preparation must follow a number of stages to ensure the local community and stakeholders are fully engaged in the process. A sustainability appraisal accompanies the local plan, it examines how the emerging Local Plan performs against stated environmental, social and economic objectives.

Issues and options

The development of issues and options in 2019 was the first opportunity for residents, businesses and other interested parties to be involved in planning for our future.

Preferred Option

We have taken into account the feedback from the issues and options stage and in 2020 we developed a preferred option.

Second Preferred Option

Taking into account feedback received from the Issues and Options and Preferred Option consultations, we developed and consulted on a Second Preferred Option strategy, which supersedes the first. It is, however, still subject to evaluation including possible alternatives, potential sites and policies. At this stage specific sites are not identified although general areas considered appropriate for development are referred to. The consultation ran from August 2022 to October 2022.

A revised Local Plan strategy has been agreed which will now be the subject of a draft plan for consultation in 2024.

Draft Local Plan

Your views at the previous stages, along with the evidence that supports the Local Plan and the outcome of the Sustainability Appraisal have been used to develop our new Draft Local Plan. The Draft Local Plan 2041 was endorsed by Full Council in May 2024 for public consultation, the subsequent statutory engagement/consultation ended on 19 August 2024. We will then look to update the draft plan based on your comments and agree a publication version.

Publication draft of the Local plan

The publication version of the plan is the final version that will be submitted to the Secretary of State. This is a stage where we request more formal comments and the comments made form part of the evidence used in the public inquiry and examination of the plan which follows. Only comments received at this stage will be considered by the Inspector during the examination.

The publication version of the plan will be made available for formal representations in spring 2025.

Submission and Examination stage

The plan will be submitted for examination in summer 2025, so it can be examined and formally adopted by the council.

Adoption

The Inspector may direct that a plan be withdrawn, but will generally guide the examination to a point where he or she can recommend changes to the plan needed to make it sound (able to become part of the development plan). The plan will be adopted and given full weight in planning decisions.

National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF)

Local Plan Update

The Council has been progressing work on a new local plan. A strategy focused on dispersal of development around the existing and established settlements was agreed by Council in October 2023 to deliver 330 new dwellings per annum for the duration of the Local Plan period (2021– 2041).

This strategy was subject to a Draft Local Plan (Reg 18) consultation which ended in August 2024 and it was envisaged that the publication (Reg 19) version of the plan would be made available for formal representations in Spring 2025.

However, the recent Government consultation on the proposed changes to the NPPF included a new standard methodology for housing requirements. These proposed changes have now been confirmed (Dec 2024) and command a significant uplift in the housing requirement to 600 new dwellings per annum.

In consideration of the updated NPPF and the introduction of these changes, the Council will now have to consider whether the agreed strategy will be capable of delivering the new increased number (amounting to an increase of approximately 82% on top of the delivery currently planned for) and a decision made regarding the need to review the strategy and all potential options for delivery.

Until a decision has been made in relation to the direction of the new local plan, no commitments will be made by elected members or officers to any change to the strategy. New sites may be submitted though the strategic housing and economic land availability assessment (SHLAA) process, all discussions with site promoters or developers will be held without prejudice.

Proposed reforms to the National Planning Policy Framework and other changes to the planning system

In July 2024 The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government MHCLG sought views on proposals to revise national planning policy. FODDC submitted the following response to the consultation.

PDF Icon Forest of Dean District Council formal response - Proposed reforms to the National Planning Policy Framework and other changes to the planning system - pdf - 114 Kb

PDF Icon NPPF 2024 Consultation - FODDC Response - pdf - 334 Kb