On Thursday 22nd October 2015 West Dorset District Council followed Weymouth and Portland Borough Council in moving to formally adopt the new Joint Local Plan.
The new Joint Local Plan will now form the basis for all decision making on current and future planning applications made within the Councils area, covering the period to 2031.
However, the Local Plan Inspector, in his report, set out a requirement for the Councils to undertake an early review of the new Joint Local Plan by no later than 2021 to ensure that sufficient housing land is identified and provided to meet the needs over the entire plan period. At present, it has been demonstrated that the Councils collectively have a marginal 5.1 year housing land supply, taking account of the need to provide a 20% buffer for competition and choice.
If you need any help or advice in respect of the new Local Plan and how the policies contained therein could effect your current or future projects, or you are considering how best to promote new sites through the review of the Joint Local Plan, then please contact a member of our team now and we would be happy to assist.