As we plough into 2023, the most important matter ahead of us is an Issues & Options Public Consultation for the next iteration of the Basildon Local Plan.
This is a formal part of the plan making process and will give residents to the opportunity to comment on high level themes and ideas at an early stage before the Local Plan is put together. We therefore have the ability to influence the outcome.
We won’t see any details at this stage, such as site allocations. That will come with the first draft of the Local Plan due next year. The council continues to work towards the new plan being adopted in 2027. There will be further public consultations along the way.
We expect the Issues & Options Consultation to be signed off by the council’s Cabinet and by Full council by the end or March. The consultation is scheduled to take place for 8 weeks starting this June.
In the meantime members of the BAG team will be taking part in a Local Plan Residents Focus Group being run by the council. We’re not sure how this will pan out but we are keen to embrace this new initiative. There was no such resident engagement with the last, now withdrawn, Local Plan so see this as a positive step in the right direction.
Finally, the Government is currently consulting on proposed changes to the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) which informs planning matters and Local Plans. Some of the changes, if finally set down in legislation, could have a beneficial effect on the Basildon Local Plan in terms of limiting house numbers (but still meeting local need) and the amount of Green Belt that could be lost as a result. We are watching this very carefully and will provide more information in due course.
This is a formal part of the plan making process and will give residents to the opportunity to comment on high level themes and ideas at an early stage before the Local Plan is put together. We therefore have the ability to influence the outcome.
We won’t see any details at this stage, such as site allocations. That will come with the first draft of the Local Plan due next year. The council continues to work towards the new plan being adopted in 2027. There will be further public consultations along the way.
We expect the Issues & Options Consultation to be signed off by the council’s Cabinet and by Full council by the end or March. The consultation is scheduled to take place for 8 weeks starting this June.
In the meantime members of the BAG team will be taking part in a Local Plan Residents Focus Group being run by the council. We’re not sure how this will pan out but we are keen to embrace this new initiative. There was no such resident engagement with the last, now withdrawn, Local Plan so see this as a positive step in the right direction.
Finally, the Government is currently consulting on proposed changes to the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) which informs planning matters and Local Plans. Some of the changes, if finally set down in legislation, could have a beneficial effect on the Basildon Local Plan in terms of limiting house numbers (but still meeting local need) and the amount of Green Belt that could be lost as a result. We are watching this very carefully and will provide more information in due course.
