New Local Plan - Issues & Options (Regulation 18)

2. Background

2.1 Local plans are not prepared in isolation, they need to take into account a range of national, regional and local policies and strategies.

National Planning Policy and Guidance

2.2 The Local Plan must take into account the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) and Planning Practice Guidance (PPG). This requires local plans to set out an overall strategy for the pattern, scale and quality of development, and make sufficient provision for: Housing (including affordable housing), employment, retail, leisure and other commercial development; Infrastructure for transport, telecommunications, security, waste management, water supply, wastewater, flood risk and coastal management, and the provision of materials and energy (including heat); Community facilities (such as health, education and cultural infrastructure); and Conservation and enhancement of the natural, built and historic environment, including landscapes and green infrastructure, and planning measures to address climate change mitigation and adaptation.

2.3 Government has made clear its intention to reform the planning system through the Levelling Up and Regeneration Act which sets out parameters for the process and content of new-style local plans. To this end Government has set a deadline for local plans produced under the current system to be submitted for examination by June 2025.

2.4 Plans submitted after this deadline will need to follow the new system. Under the new system plans take 30 months to prepare from start to finish and Government intends to have in place regulations, policy and guidance by autumn 2024 to enable the preparation of the first new-style local plans to start.

2.5 To ensure a smooth transition to the new system, Government has sought views on options for a phased roll out. The Harborough Local Plan was adopted in 2019 so we are unlikely to be in an early phase which means it will take several years to get a new plan in place under the new system (taking into account potential start dates for the new system and the 30-month timescale for plan preparation).

2.6 This Issues and Options consultation has been prepared in the context of the current legislation, policy (including the NPPF published in September 2023) and guidance which provides the legal basis for plan making. In progressing the preparation of the Local Plan, the Council will carefully follow national developments and ensure any new national requirements are incorporated into the plan making process as appropriate. All the proposed options in this document must therefore be accompanied by a clear caveat that they are proposed in the context of the current situation and may need to be amended as the new Local Plan progresses.

Strategic Growth Plan

2.7 The Leicester & Leicestershire Strategic Growth Plan was prepared by the 9 local authorities in Leicester and Leicestershire and published in 2018. It is a non-statutory strategic plan that provides a framework to help guide individual local plans. It focuses on four key matters: delivering new housing, supporting the economy, identifying essential infrastructure, and protecting the environment and built heritage.

2.8 The Strategic Growth Plan recognises that significant new development cannot be accommodated within Leicester and Leicestershire without significant investment in infrastructure and services.

2.9 It proposes:

• Focusing growth in areas close to existing employment clusters and opportunities and new infrastructure proposals

• Focusing growth in major strategic locations and reducing the amount that takes place in existing towns, villages and rural areas

• Five key growth areas are identified. Those relevant to Harborough District are Leicester Our Central City, the A46 Priority Growth Corridor and the A5 Improvement Corridor

• Delivery of the strategic growth areas will be as 21st century garden towns, villages and suburbs. New housing and employment will be planned together with new and improved roads, public transport, schools, health services, local shops and open space.

Neighbourhood Plans

2.10 Neighbourhood planning gives communities direct power to develop a shared vision for their neighbourhood and shape the development and growth of their local area. It provides tools for local people to plan for the types of development to meet their community's needs.

2.11 All neighbourhood plans need to be produced in broad conformity with the strategic policies set out within the District Council's Local Plan.

2.12 There are currently 29 made Neighbourhood Plans in the District and a significant number being prepared or updated.

2.13 Neighbourhood plans should be kept up to date if circumstances change and some may need updating to align with strategic policies in the new Local Plan. This is because Government policy requires neighbourhood plans to support the delivery of strategic policies in local plans.

2.14 We are required to set out a housing requirement for neighbourhood areas which reflects the overall strategy for the pattern and scale of development in the new Local Plan. The current Local Plan (2019) does this for the plan period to 2031 and the new Local Plan is likely to do it for the period up to 2041 (to meet Government requirements for plans to cover a 15-year period from the date of adoption).

2.15 Some neighbourhood areas currently working on new plans or updating existing plans have been given indicative requirements to 2036 as required by Government policy to enable them to progress. These figures may need to be updated as the new Local Plan progresses.