Under regulation 15, Part 2 of the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004 (P&CPA), every Local Planning Authority must prepare and maintain a scheme to be known as a Local Development Scheme (LDS). The LDS must specify:
- The documents which are to be local development documents (that is Local Plans, neighbourhood plans and other supplementary planning documents);
- The subject matter and geographical area to which each document is to relate;
- Which documents are to be development plan documents;
- Which documents (if any) are to be prepared jointly with one or more other local planning authorities;
- Any matter or area in respect of which the authority have agreed (or proposed to agree) to the constitution of a joint committee under section 29;
- The timetable for the preparation and revision of the documents;
- Such matters as are prescribed.
The Localism Act 2011 allows Local Planning Authorities to adopt their own LDS without approval from the Secretary of State, as originally required in the 2004 P&CPA. However, it makes provisions for certain interventions by the Secretary of State. It also maintains the requirements to produce an LDS and keep it up to date as set out by the 2004 P&CPA.
The latest LDS was approved at Full Council on 22nd February 2024 and is now available:
Until Local Plan was adopted in March 2021, the Local Planning Authority (LPA) had prepared a LDS annually, to reflect the progress made on developing a new Local Plan:
- The first LDS (LDS1) was adopted by the Council in June 2015
- LDS2 was adopted in November 2016.
- LDS3 was updated and adopted in March 2017
- LDS4 was further updated and adopted in July 2017.
- LDS5 was updated and approved in May 2018
- LDS6 being further revised and adopted in August 2018.
- In December 2018 members approved a further revision with LDS7.
- June 2019 LDS9 was approved
- In June 2022, the first post-adoption Local Plan timetable was prepared and formed part of the Annual Monitoring Report (AMR).
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