New Local Plan - Issues & Options (Regulation 18)

Strategic Policies: Spatial Strategy

4. Strategic Context

The Duty to Cooperate and Cross-Boundary Matters

4.1 The Duty to Cooperate was established through the Localism Act 2011. It places a legal duty on local planning authorities, county councils and other public bodies to engage constructively, actively and on an ongoing basis to ensure matters that affect more than one local authority area are addressed adequately within plans. Alongside the statutory duty, Government policy also sets certain requirements on joint working which we need to follow, including:

• Joint working between local authorities and relevant bodies is integral to the production of local plans
• We should collaborate to identify the relevant strategic matters which we need to address through the new Local Plan and engage with local communities and relevant bodies
• Joint working should help determine where additional infrastructure is necessary, and whether development needs that cannot be met wholly within a neighbouring authority's area could be met elsewhere
• Authorities are required to prepare and maintain one or more statements of common ground, documenting the cross-boundary matters being addressed and progress in cooperating to address them. These should be produced using the approach set out in national planning guidance.

How does Harborough District relate to neighbouring places?

4.2 Given Government's requirement for joint working and the geography of the area, Harborough District cannot be viewed in isolation from neighbouring areas. The map below shows the local authorities which neighbour Harborough District. Harborough has a particularly strong relationship with Leicester and the rest of Leicestershire. It is dependent on the Leicester urban area not only for the significant amount of employment located there, but also for higher order health, retail and cultural facilities and services. Therefore, the regeneration and economic well-being of the Leicester urban area is an important consideration in any future strategy for the District.

Figure 4 Map of Harborough District and neighbouring authorities

4.3 The District lies within the Leicester and Leicestershire Housing Market Area (HMA) and Functional Economic Market Area (FEMA), which both cover the whole of Leicester and Leicestershire. These have been defined in recognition of the central economic role of Leicester and the fact that people generally travel to work and move house across local authority boundaries within this area. The Leicester and Leicestershire HMA and FEMA are shown in the map below:

Figure 5 Map of Leicester and Leicestershire FEMA and HMA

4.4 Taking into account the above statutory and Government policy requirements for joint working as well as how the District relates to neighbouring places, the Council has published a Summary of Duty to Cooperate Engagement setting out collaboration carried out so far, ongoing joint work and potential future areas for joint working. Strategic planning matters identified to date which require cooperation with partners include the following:

• Housing requirements and distribution (including unmet need issues)
• Affordable housing, housing mix, homes for older persons and others with specialist needs
• Gypsies, Travellers and Travelling Showpeople accommodation needs
• Economy and employment requirements and distribution including strategic warehousing (strategic B8)
• Retail, leisure and other commercial development
• Highways and transport
• Water issues (supply, wastewater, water quality, flood risk)
• Other infrastructure including telecommunications, security, waste management, minerals and energy
• Community facilities (health, education, cultural infrastructure)
• Conservation of the natural environment including biodiversity net gain/local nature recovery strategy/landscape/green and blue infrastructure
• Conservation of the built and historic environment, including quality and character
• Climate change mitigation and adaptation including renewable energy
• Green wedges
• Cross boundary sites/impact of potential strategic sites.

4.5 As the new Local Plan is at a relatively early stage, cooperation on strategic matters has primarily involved the Leicester and Leicestershire authorities. The authorities have a long history of joint working and evidence gathering. As work progresses on the new Local Plan, further cooperation and dialogue with neighbouring authorities and other prescribed bodies will be needed.

Duty to Cooperate and Effective Joint Working