Lead Member: Councillor David Walker, Portfolio Holder for Planning

Lead Officer: Eddie West, Planning Policy & Strategy Manager

RESOLVED:

That Cabinet:

1.     Agreed the publication of the Plan-Making Timetable (Appendix 1) and that any subsequent changes to this timetable are delegated to the Interim Service Director for Place Shaping in consultation with the Portfolio Holder for Planning.

2.     Agreed the publication of the Notice of Intention to Commence Plan Making (Appendix 2) in May 2026.

3.     Agreed the Local Plan Project Initiation Document (PID) (Appendix 3), including the governance and decision making arrangements included in Figure 4.1 of the PID, and that any subsequent changes to the PID are delegated to the Interim Service Director for Place Shaping in consultation with the Portfolio Holder for Planning.

4.     Agreed the publication of the Local Plan Scoping Document (Appendix 4), the Draft Community Hierarchy (Appendix 5), the Draft Site Identification and Assessment Methodology (Appendix 6) and the SEA Screening Report (Appendix 7) for public consultation in line with the engagement strategy outlined in the PID, and that any minor changes to these documents ahead of publication are delegated to the Interim Service Director for Place Shaping in consultation with the Portfolio Holder for Planning.

5.     Agreed that delegated responsibility is given to the Interim Service Director for Place Shaping, in consultation with the Portfolio Holder for Planning, for the preparation and consultation of an SEA/SA Scoping document within the Local Plan ‘notification and scoping’ stage.

6.     Noted the Equalities, Social Inclusion and Health Impact Assessment (ESHIA) Stage One Screening Record (Appendix 8)

7.     Agreed, that delegated authority is given to the Interim Service Director for Place Shaping in consultation with the Portfolio Holder for Planning, to agree the completion of Gateway 1 (Self- Assessment) upon the completion of the ‘Scoping’ stage, in order to commence the formal commencement of the plan making in September 2026.