New Wealden local plan might not be in place until 2023

The new timetable is set out in proposals which are expected to be discussed by Wealden District Council’s local plan sub-committee next Tuesday (July 7).

According to documents for that meeting, a submission local plan is unlikely to go out to public examination until summer 2023 and – if accepted by the planning inspector – be formally adopted sometime the following winter.

In a report, council officers described this timetable as “focused and very challenging”, warning it could be subject to change as the local plan process gets underway.

A Wealden District Council spokesman said: “To produce a Local Plan which will guide development in the District until 2038, it is important we have a robust evidence base and allow time to consult widely with the public, our partners and neighbouring authorities.

“We intend to have a draft plan ready within 18 months which will carry weight when planning applications are being decided.”

An important document guiding how and where development takes place within the district, Wealden’s current local plan – adopted in 1998 –  is considered to be out of date. 

Over the past few years Wealden District Council had been in the process of drawing up a replacement local plan, getting as far as the first stage of public examinations last year. 

Following these examinations, however, a planning inspector concluded that the local plan could not proceed. This was largely because Wealden had failed in its statutory duty to constructively engage with neighbouring local authorities, particularly Eastbourne Borough Council on its unmet housing need.

The planning inspector also took issue with the council using its own emissions model – used to predict the impact of potential development on the Ashdown Forest – rather than an existing model used by Natural England. 

After hearing the inspector’s conclusion, the council voted to withdraw the plan in February this year.

The council is now in the process of drawing up a new local plan. It has already put out a call for development sites, a process which will run until August 10.

The council is then expected to begin early consultation later this year, with further consultation on a draft version of the plan currently slated to take place in spring 2022.

Alongside this the council will need to carry out  both a sustainability appraisal and a Habitats Regulations Assessment (HRA). The latter looks at the environmental impact on protected sites (including the Ashdown Forest), while the former looks at the broader social, economic and environmental effects of the local plan’s policies.

While adoption would not be expected until 2023 at the earliest, it is also important to note that an emerging local plan can be given weight when council’s determine planning applications.

This means a new local plan could begin to have an impact on the shape of the district’s development before its final adoption.

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