Purpose

Options
for the Dorset Council Local Plan.

Content

(a)       
That
officers be authorised to prepare for the Dorset Council Local Plan options
consultation; and approve the commencement of the consultation in mid-August
2025, to run for a period of eight weeks.

 

(b)       
That officers be authorised to prepare for the
Minerals and Waste Local Plan consultation and approve the commencement of the
consultation in mid-August for a period of eight weeks.

 

(c)       
That authority be delegated to the Service
Manager for Spatial Planning, in consultation with the Portfolio Holder for
Planning and Emergency Planning, to agree the consultation material prior to
the start of the consultation.

 

Reason for the decision

 

It was important that the Local Plan was prepared in a
positive manner that actively explored realistic opportunities for meeting
growth needs within Dorset. Following the correct process would enable a robust
Local Plan to be prepared.

 

The consultation material would include a strategy for
meeting housing, employment and other needs. It would need to explore the
reasonable deliverable development opportunities for meeting these needs.

 

Once the consultation was complete, the site opportunities
would be reviewed and where no insurmountable deliverability issues including
significant negative impacts had been identified, the sites were likely to be
taken forward for allocation.  The final
set of site opportunities for the next stage of plan making would need to be
deliverable.