Gateway 1 | Self Assessment

Gateway 1 Readiness Assessment (September 2026)

The Council of the Isles of Scilly is preparing a new Local Plan covering the period 2026-2041.

Under the Government's reformed plan-making system, local planning authorities are required to complete a series of Gateway assessments at key stages in the preparation of a Local Plan. Gateway 1 is the first of these stages and focuses on whether the foundations are in place to support the preparation of a new Local Plan. These foundations include governance arrangements, community engagement, evidence gathering, environmental assessment and project planning. 

The Council completed its Gateway 1 Readiness Self-Assessment in September 2026. The assessment provides a snapshot of progress at that point in time and identifies areas where the Council has already made the recommended progress, alongside areas that will continue to be developed as plan preparation progresses. 

The assessment demonstrates that the Council has:

• Published a Local Plan Timetable and Notice of Commencement; 
• Established governance, project management and risk management arrangements through the approved Project Initiation Document (PID) 2026; 
• Prepared an Engagement Strategy and undertaken early engagement with communities, stakeholders and statutory consultees; 
• Commissioned and progressed the key evidence studies required to support the Local Plan Review; and 
• Commenced the Integrated Impact Assessment and Strategic Environmental Assessment process.

Some aspects of plan-making, including the emerging plan vision, monitoring framework and development of high-level options, will continue to evolve as evidence gathering and engagement progresses. These areas are reflected within the self-assessment and will be developed through subsequent stages of Local Plan preparation. 

Documents

The following documents are available to download:

• Gateway 1 Readiness Self-Assessment (September 2026) and CSV File
• Gateway 1 Supporting Notes and Commentary (September 2026)
• Local Plan Project Initiation Document (PID)
• Local Plan Engagement Strategy
• Summary of Early Engagement and Scoping Consultation
• Local Plan Timetable
• Local Plan Notice of Commencement
• Integrated Impact Assessment (IIA) Scoping Report