Purpose

To approve the Fareham Borough Local Development Scheme
(2025).

 

Local
Planning Authorities are required to prepare and maintain a Local Development
Scheme (LDS).  The LDS provides a timetable for the preparation of local
plans and other related planning documents and sets out the planning strategy
work programme for the year ahead including the production of any supporting
documents.

 

In
December 2024, the Deputy Prime Minister requested that all local planning
authorities produce an updated Local Plan timetable (LDS) by the 6 March 2025
and submit it to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government.

 

National Planning
Policy specifies that policies in local plans should be reviewed at least once
every five years and updated as necessary. The Fareham Local Plan 2037 was adopted in April 2023 and is
therefore considered up to date until April 2028. The Levelling Up and
Regeneration Act 2023 and the revised National Planning Policy Framework
(December 2024) have significantly changed the national planning policy
context. The method for calculating housing requirement has been changed
resulting in a much higher requirement for most authorities, and significant
changes are to be made to the content of Local Plans with the forthcoming
introduction of a national set of Development Management policies, removing the
need for such policies to be included in local plans

 

Therefore,
to ensure that the Local Plan remains consistent with national policy and to
ensure continued coverage of the Borough by an up to date Local Plan, it is
justified for this Council to set out the programme for ensuring a replacement
of the Local Plan is in place by April 2028.

 

The
timeline for future Local Plan production is proposed in line with the new plan
making system which sets out a 30-month timeframe from commencement to
adoption.

 

The proposed LDS
attached at Appendix A sets out a local plan preparation timetable that is
considered realistic in terms of enabling this Council to develop and undertake
the necessary work to produce a replacement local plan, whilst providing
flexibility to respond to changes in planning legislation and guidance expected
during 2025. As increased clarity is provided by the Government regarding the
new plan making system, elements of the LDS may be required to be updated.

Decision

RESOLVED that the Executive:

 

(a)   
approves
the Fareham Borough Local Development Scheme (2025) as set out in Appendix A to
the report;

 

(b)   
authorises
the Director of Planning and Regeneration, following consultation with the
Executive Member for Planning and Development, to make any necessary minor
changes to the Local Development Scheme, providing that these do not change the
overall direction, shape or emphasis of the document; and

 

(c)   
resolves
that the Fareham Borough Local Development Scheme (March 2025), subject to any
changes arising from (b) above, shall have effect from 1 April 2025