Statement of Community Involvement (Draft Sept 2019)

4: Planning Policy documents

4.1 Overview

4.1.1 Harborough District Council will produce planning policy documents (i.e. Development plan documents such as the Local Plan) in accordance with its Local Development Scheme (LDS). The LDS is a project plan outlining the Council's programme for preparing planning policy documents. The LDS will be reviewed regularly and updated as necessary, to keep it up to date, and will be published on the Council's website Local Development Scheme.

4.1.2 Development plan documents are required to be examined by an independent inspector to test whether they are sound and meet legal and procedural requirements, including whether they have been prepared and consulted on in accordance with the adopted SCI.

4.1.3 Other types of policy document will also be prepared at different times and the Council is required to consult on them at different stages and in particular ways, depending on the relevant legislation. The Local Plan is also supported by an evidence base and it may, on occasion, be appropriate to undertake consultation as part of the production of this evidence.

4.1.4 The Council recognises that the ability to influence the content of policy documents, at appropriate stages, is important. The following sub-sections explain the Council's approach to when this will happen in each case.

4.2 Local Plan (and any other Development Plan Documents)

4.2.1 The Local Plan (part of the Development Plan for the District) is the main planning policy document that the Council prepares. The Harborough Local Plan 2011-2031 was adopted on the 30 April 2019. In due course the LDS will be updated and published to reflect this position. Over the coming years the next step will be a move towards a review of the Local Plan, either within 5 years as required by legislation or as and when Policy IMR1 of the Local Plan is triggered.

4.2.2 Consultation and involvement in any review of the Local Plan will be encouraged at various stages of its preparation. The Town and Country Planning (Local Planning) (England) Regulations 2012 outline statutory stages when consultation must be undertaken which are:

• Scoping^[2] - to invite representations on what the development plan document ought to contain
• Proposed Submission Plan^[3] - to invite representations on the soundness of the development plan document which the LPA would like to adopt

4.2.3 Where requirements for statutory stages of consultation are set out in legislation, the Council will treat these as the minimum necessary and undertake consultation in accordance with the legislation. However, where the Council considers it appropriate and resources allow it may exceed minimum requirements. For example the Council may choose to:

• conduct extra rounds of consultation (e.g. between the scoping and proposed submission stages to invite comment on the identification or development of options)
• provide focussed opportunities for engagement, (e.g. around a particular issue or location)

4.2.4 Regulations stipulate minimum requirements in terms of who will be consulted at the various stages of Local Plan preparation. The Council will consult those required by the regulations as a minimum. If, at any stage of plan preparation, value can be added to the process by consulting more extensively consideration may be given to:

• extending the range / number of consultation bodies more widely than required by legislation;
• using additional methods to promote consultation to the community / interested parties; or
• using different consultation techniques to increase participation, including from particular groups or underrepresented sections of the community.

4.2.5 Extra measures may be considered alone or in combination. The exceedance of minimum requirements will be subject to circumstances; the added value to the process; and resource availability at the given time.

4.3 Supplementary Planning Documents

4.3.1 The Council may also produce Supplementary Planning Documents (SPDs) to provide additional guidance and assist with the interpretation of Local Plan policies. Typically SPDs cover a specific issue, theme or are site specific.

4.3.2 SPDs do not form part of the statutory development plan and are not subject to independent examination. However, regulations require that the preparation of SPDs is subject to public consultation. The Council will consult in accordance with regulations on any SPD it prepares.

4.3.3 When preparing SPDs, where possible and beneficial to do so, the Council will undertake early engagement with relevant parties. Regulations do not prescribe exactly who should be consulted on SPDs and this will be at the Council's discretion. Usually the Council will invite representations from those bodies, parties and individuals on its consultation database, which it considers are pertinent to or would have the most interest in the subject matter of the SPD. This may vary from one SPD to another.

4.4 Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL)

4.4.1 Harborough District Council does not currently have a CIL. Should, in the future, the Council decide to progress a CIL and prepare a charging schedule, consultation will be undertaken in accordance with the requirements of the regulations governing CIL at the relevant time.

4.4.2 Methods used to consult will be as set out in Section 5, or the minimum required by relevant legislation.

4.5 Sustainability Appraisal (SA)

4.5.1 Development plan documents (DPDs) are required to be assessed in terms of their sustainability in accordance with legislation. The process of sustainability appraisal (incorporating Strategic Environmental Assessment) is integrated into the preparation process of a DPD, and produces separate reports on the sustainability performance of the plan and how it can be improved. SA has its own legislative requirements, and will be undertaken accordingly.

4.5.2 SA reports will be made available at key consultation stages for the DPDs to which they relate. As a minimum the Council will invite representations on SA reports at each statutory stage of consultation. Focussed engagement with statutory consultees, or extra consultation at other stages of the sustainability appraisal process, may also be undertaken if considered beneficial and appropriate to the progress of the Local Plan or other DPD.

4.6 Duty to Cooperate

4.6.1 In addition to the consultation requirements for the documents listed above set out in legislation, local planning authorities (LPAs) are also subject to a 'duty to co-operate'. This duty was introduced by the Localism Act 2011 and requires LPAs to cooperate with each other, and with prescribed bodies, on strategic matters that cross administrative boundaries. LPAs are required to co-operate constructively, actively and on an ongoing basis in the preparation of development plan documents and work to support these in respect of strategic matters.

4.6.2 The Council is committed to meeting this duty and will work with those relevant bodies and organisations throughout the plan-making process. Through ongoing consultation and ad hoc meetings the Council will specifically engage with all local planning authorities within Leicester and Leicestershire and neighbouring councils and other bodies relevant to identified strategic matters.

4.6.3 In accordance with national planning guidance the Council will also cooperate with and have regard to the activities, where relevant to plan-making, of Local Enterprise Partnerships and Local Nature Partnerships.