Draft Core Strategy (incorporating Preferred Options)

The draft plan (Core Strategy) is not yet council policy. It has been shaped by evidence about the local area and by engagement with the community. It includes some 'preferred options' on which we have been seeking your views before final publication.  

 

What is this all about?  

The draft plan (known as the Core Strategy) will form part of a series of documents called the Local Development Framework, used to guide and manage new development and change across South Somerset up to 2026.

 

The latest round of public consultation ran between October and December 2010. We held 20 public display events in towns across the district which saw over 1800 people get involved.  

Villages not listed above are considered in the Rural Settlements section of the Draft Core Strategy.

 

All local authorities are required to replace their current local plans with a Local Development Framework. This is a series of documents and policies which will, when finalised, be used to help make decisions on future development, change or improvements in the district. It is an overarching plan which ultimately aims to make sure we develop the district in a sustainable way, with housing and employment in balance, with attractive places and a strong economy, and enough facilities and infrastructure for the people who live here. 

To get to this stage, a great deal of consultation and gathering of evidence has already been undertaken.  The draft Core Strategy, which now includes preferred options and suggested figures about how much development should go ahead in each town/village, can be sent out for the latest round of extensive public consultation. 

 

Following the consultation period, we will review the comments received and further develop the evidence base needed to help us decide what to plan for. Once this has been incorporated, we will draw up a 'Publication Plan' and this will go to Full Council in September 2011. There will then be another 6 week public consultation process so as you will gather, this is a long process with plenty of room for comment. 

Comments made, together with the Publication Plan, are then submitted to a Planning Inspector appointed by the Independent Planning Inspectorate for independent examination, likely in the winter of 2011/12, where invited stakeholders and objectors have an opportunity to present their views directly to the inspector.

The inspector will then publish his/her conclusions following the examination and the council will adopt the inspector's version of the document as the council's adopted plan. This is anticipated in spring summer 2012.

 

We have tried to provide a summary on this page and in this leaflet which will help give an overview. However you may be interested to see the whole document or to find out specific details, and you can do that online or by visiting any of our council offices.