TrustNews Sep 20

WCC Local Plan Review 2023 - 2038

The publication at the beginning of August of the government’s planning white paper should increase public interest and involvement in the review of local plan for the district over which the City Council has jurisdiction. The review process is about to speed up with the anticipated launch in September of the issues and Options stage of the review with the City Council publishing what it believes are the issues that should be covered in the plan and setting out 4 strategic options for the allocation of all forms of development over the years up to 2038. This stage precedes the publication of a draft of the plan itself which is scheduled for the early months of 2021.

Everyone, both individuals and local community groups, is given the chance and indeed encouraged to engage with the proposals this autumn and commenting on them with a view to influencing what is in the plan. The coronavirus pandemic is going to constrain the way public engagement happens and it is likely more will take place online and there will be fewer, if any, conventional meetings.

The Trust local plan group has been monitoring the review and saw the outline of the 4 strategic development options to be published in the autumn. It is clear that one of these will be for a shift towards Winchester of the development required in the District by central government, away from the south of the District in the Whiteley area; another will be for a new settlement, so the ancient Micheldever Town idea will arise again. There will be many factors to be taken into account before any option is chosen but it is important that as many of our members as possible get involved. The Trust will endeavour to keep our members informed through email alerts.

How does the government's white paper affect the local plan review? It is too early to know, particularly as any changes are unlikely to become law before the middle of 2021, but l think it is likely to have some effect from early next year and if the changes proposed in the white paper are adopted, it means the allocation of land for any type of development will reduce or remove local influence on many features of development that we have been familiar with over the years.

John Beveridge

Update: It has now been confirmed that the Local Plan process will be delayed. This is because a second White Paper proposes a change to the method councils use to calculate the number of new homes they require. For Winchester, this would mean an increase of 6,000 new homes, far more than the council had been planning. (Ed.)