What is a Local Development Framework?

The new planning policy system

The Government introduced wide-ranging changes to the planning policy system in England and Wales through two pieces of legislation:

• Planning & Compulsory Purchase Act 2004 (new window)
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• Town & Country Planning (Local Development) (England) Regulations 2004 (new window).

The changes mean that local planning authorities in England and Wales are replacing their existing Local Plans with a new set of planning policy guidelines called Local Development Frameworks.

The new planning policy system has three tiers:

• Planning Policy Statements, Planning Policy Guidance Notes, National policy circulars - produced by the Department for Communities and Local Government (new window).
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• Regional Spatial Strategies - in our region this is the East of England Plan (new window), produced by the East of England Regional Assembly.
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• Local Development Frameworks - produced by district & borough councils except in relation to minerals and waste which are county council responsibilities. In Suffolk, the Minerals & Waste Development Plan is produced by Suffolk County Council (new window).

More detailed information about Local Development Frameworks (new window) can be found on the Communities and Local Government website.

The Local Development Framework

The Local Development Framework is like a 'folder' which will hold a number of documents - see the diagram below. These documents will contain the policies, proposals and actions that affect the future of the district.

Also included in the 'folder' are the:

• Local Development Scheme - which sets out the timetable for producing each document.
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• Statement of Community Involvement - which explains how the community and stakeholders will be involved in the preparation of the Local Development Framework.
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• Annual Monitoring Report - which assesses how effective the policies and proposals of the Local Development Framework have been.

Development Plan Documents

There will be five Development Plan Documents as shown below. The most significant of these will be the Core Strategy, as this will establish the context for the remainder. The timetable for the preparation of each document can be found in the Local Development Scheme.

• Core Strategy and Development Management Policies - document setting out the vision, objectives and spatial strategy for the district as well as containing the policies that will be used to determine planning applications.
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• Site Specific Allocations & Policies - document containing policies that apply to specific sites, locations or areas.
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• Felixstowe Area Action Plan - document containing a planning framework for the future development and regeneration of the town centre, employment area and the resort of Felixstowe.
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• Leiston and Saxmundham Area Action Plan - document containing planning frameworks for the future development and regeneration of the towns as retail and employment centres.
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• Proposals Map - map giving geographical expression to adopted policies.

Supplementary Planning Documents

These elaborate upon the policies and proposals in Local Development Documents without having the same status. A number of Supplementary Planning Documents are scheduled as set out in the Local Development Scheme.

Sustainability Appraisal

Local Development Frameworks place a greater emphasis on the environment and sustainable development. As a result, all Local Development Documents will be subject to a Sustainability Appraisal to assess their predicted impact upon social, environmental and economic issues.

Consultation

The Government requires that local authorities undertake a series of consultation stages as each Development Plan Document progresses. The methods by which the Council will consult with the community is contained in the Statement of Community Involvement and the timetable for the stages of consultation for each Local Development Framework document is set out in the Local Development Scheme.

Each Development Plan Document may subject to a number of the stages shown below:

• Early document production.
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• Stage 1 - Issues & Options consultation (Regulation 25).
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• Stage 2 - Preferred Options consultation (Regulation 26).
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• Stage 3 - Formal Submission consultation (Regulation 28).
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• Examination in Public (Regulation 34).
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• Formal adoption of Development Plan Document (Regulation 36).

The Regulation number in brackets indicates the section of the Town & Country Planning (Local Development) (England) Regulations 2004 (new window) that applies. The timetable for the preparation of each document can be found in the Local Development Scheme.

Local Development Framework evidence base

The Council has created an evidence base for the production of the Local Development Framework which includes published and newly commissioned studies on housing, employment and other issues, agendas and minutes of Council task group meetings, summaries of workshops and annual monitoring reports.

What happens in the mean time?

Until their replacement with new documents the current Suffolk Coastal Local Plan will contain 'saved policies' that will be used for the purposes of development control. Supplementary Planning Guidance, adopted by the Council and currently in operation, will also continue to be used in the determination of planning applications.

Parish plans

Parish plans enable local communities to work together discussing and addressing issues which are of particular importance to that community. The plans can be submitted to the Council to inform the production of the Local Development Framework where practical and possible. This represents a ‘bottom up’ approach to the development plan making process. Suffolk ACRE (new window) is the principle organisation promoting and supporting parishes across Suffolk to produce their parish plans.