On 24th June, Dorset Council will consider an officer report regarding consulting on the Dorset Local Plan, which will include a strategy for meeting housing, employment and other needs. It anticipates publication of the consultation draft mid-August and consultation open for a period of eight weeks. The Plan will explore the reasonable deliverable development opportunities for meeting the identified needs. Once consultation is complete, site opportunities will be reviewed and, where ‘no insurmountable deliverability issues including significant negative impacts have been identified’, the sites are likely to be taken forward for allocation. Changes to national policy and an amended standard approach to calculating housing needs means the calculation for Dorset has increased significantly from 1,793 new homes per annum under the old approach to 3,246 new homes per annum under the new Standard Method.
With Government intent on implementing later this year is the introduction of National Development Management Policies, these will not need to be addressed in the Local Plan.
The preparation of the final draft of the Local Plan will take place up to August 2026 when a further round of consultation will take place. This publication version of the Local Plan will then be submitted to the Secretary of State by December 2026 for Examination in Public.
It is important to flag up two other important announcements in the report – The Dorset Design Code – Dorset Council plans to prepare comprehensive design code and guidance alongside the development of the local plan. The purpose of the Design Code and Guidance is to set out clear parameters for design. It will include not just the external appearance of new buildings but also seek to control a multitude of development issues such as sustainable design, the use of SuDS, and is said to be ‘landscape led’. The Council report says there may be some initial ‘light touch public engagement’ in August 2025. It is anticipated the Design Code would be adopted towards the end of 2026.
A new Minerals and Waste Local Plan is needed to replace the adopted plans. The report recommends commencing separate consultations in mid-August for a period of eight weeks. (Government has imposed a strict 30-month period for preparing the plan).
Director Brett Spiller commented: I welcome officer’s proactive approach to accommodating growth and the clarity on the timescale for production, consultation and publication of these three incredibly important documents. Without doubt, these will require careful scrutiny on behalf of our clients to ensure that those who make the Plan vision a reality are heard – aspirations are all well and good, but the Council will need to listen to the views of landowners and developers if they are going to see any of their aspirations and visions for Dorset to be achieved. We would encourage you to make your views known when the consultation starts in August. Chapman Lily will be scrutinising and commenting upon all three documents in due course. If you need advice on how these documents might affect your development proposals, please do get in touch.
