The 'Local Plan' will guide how the borough will develop up until 2029. This blueprint provides the basis for future planning decisions and replaces the 'Local Development Framework' following major changes to national planning policies.
The Borough Council looked again at all land put forward by landowners and developers to decide which should be earmarked for housing in the future. Previous decisions about which housing sites should be developed were ruled out by a high court judge as land at Manydown, west of Basingstoke, had not been considered.
One of the first decisions that was taken was the annual number of houses that need to be built in the borough up to 2029. Over the last 10 years, the borough has seen an average of 900 homes a year built, although this rate has slowed recently due to the economic downturn. A figure of 748 homes per year was agreed by the Borough Council.
On 27 March 2014 the Borough Council considered a revised version of the Pre-Submission Local Plan which had been amended in relation to some of the representations received during their earlier consultation, along with an updated Sustainability Appraisal and changes to the Infrastructure Delivery Plan.
Chineham Parish Council fed back during each of the public consultations.
The Draft Local Plan was submitted to the Planning Inspector in October 2014. An initial follow up meeting between the Planning Inspector and the Borough Council took place on 11th December 2014 and Chineham Parish Council spoke at this meeting to raise some concerns about aspects of the Draft Local Plan. As a result of the feedback from the Planning Inspector, the Borough Council made some modifications to the Draft Local Plan and a further public consultation took place.
The inspection of the Draft Local Plan took place during the Autumn of 2015 and Chineham Parish Council was represented at a number of the sessions.
The Local Plan was formally adopted on 26th May, 2016.
Local Plan Update 2019
In May 2019, the Borough Council published its Local Development Scheme (LDS) detailing the timetable for the Local Plan Update.
In order to keep residents, businesses and other interested parties up to date on progress with the Local Plan Update, the Borough Council will be publishing a series of newsletters at regular intervals. The newsletters will particularly highlight how everyone can get involved in the process at key stages.
The first Local Plan Update newsletter for winter 2019 is available to view on the Borough Council's website via:
https://www.basingstoke.gov.uk/lpu-newsletters.