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Introduction
Hastings Borough Council is planning for the future. We are now planning how the town will look in 2028.
As part of the Government's drive to make the planning system better for everybody to use and understand, we have to follow some new procedures.
Under the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004, we have to prepare something called a 'Local Development Framework' (LDF) to replace our Local Plan.
In line with the reforms set out in the Localism Act of November 2011 and the forthcoming National Planning Policy Framework, the suite of documents formerly known as the Local Development Framework, will now be known as the new 'Local Plan'. The Core Strategy has also been renamed The Planning Strategy.
This will give us an overall framework for development in our town, which will lay out where building can take place in Hastings up to 2028, helping to encourage regeneration whilst protecting the best bits and the things that make it unique.
These pages explain in more detail about the work we will be doing to plan for the future.
As neighbouring local authorities, Hastings Borough Council and Rother District Council are both progressing their main Plan documents to a similar timetable. Visit www.rother.gov.uk for information about the Rother District Council Plan timetable.
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Planning for the Future - the New Local Plan (formerly the Hastings Local Development Framework)
The New Local Plan will be made up of a series of documents that we'll update and replace over time. Each document will cover a particular aspect of development in our town.
Some of the documents have been completed, others will not be written for a while. You can download the available documents from the Documents page. You might find it useful to read our Jargon Buster first.
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The Timetable and Position Statement
The Local Development Scheme (LDS) is a document that sets out the timetable, resources and monitoring arrangements for production of the new Hastings Local Plan.
The revised Hastings Local Development Scheme was approved by our Cabinet on 13 June 2011 and is updated every year. To accord with the Compact for East Sussex we have now decided to amend the timetable for the Hastings Planning Strategy (formerly Core Strategy), to account for a 12 week period of consultation at the 'Proposed submission' stage. This means that there will be a 6-week lead in consultation period (May to mid June 2012), followed by a further 6 weeks when formal representations can be made (mid June to July 2012). The new timetable is therefore:
- Publication of the Planning Strategy (Regulation 27): May to July 2012 (instead of December 2011 to January 2012)
- Submission to the Secretary of State: October 2012 (instead of March 2012) with Examination in Public taking place in February 2013
- Adoption of the Planning Strategy: July 2013 (instead of January 2013)
Informal consultation on the draft Site Allocations document (now incorporated into the Development Management Plan) (Regulation 25) has also been altered to take place in January to March 2012 (instead of August - October 2011). The remainder of the Development Management Plan timetable has also been amended as follows:
- Publication of the Development Management Plan (Site Allocations document) (Regulation 27): October to December 2012 (instead of (February to March 2012)
- Submission to the Secretary of State: March 2013 with the Examination in Public taking place July to August 2013 (instead of July 2012)
- Adoption of the Development Management Plan: December 2013 (instead of March 2013)
These changes apply to pages 9, 10 and 11 of the adopted LDS, and should be read alongside the document. A copy of the adopted LDS is available in our Documents area.
It's your Plan too - Statement of Community Involvement
One of the key objectives of the new Local Plan (formerly Local Development Framework) is to increase the opportunities for local people to take part in the planning system. As part of the new planning system, the Council has produced a Statement of Community Involvement (SCI) that describes how we'll help more local people get involved in the preparation of the documents.
The statement acknowledges that people like to express their opinions in different ways. Some prefer focus groups or public meetings, others prefer to read about the issues in the local paper or on the internet. The document was written following extensive consultation with local people in 2006 and updated in 2011 to reflect changes to procedures and national planning policy.
How can I obtain a copy of the Statement of Community Involvement?
You can obtain a copy of the Statement of Community Involvement from our Documents area.
The Big Issues - The Planning Strategy (formerly the Core Strategy)
This document is at the heart of the new Local Plan (formerly the Local Development Framework) and describes a vision for the kind of place we want the town to be by 2028. It will not be concerned with individual development sites or specific details. It's purpose is to set an overall framework for the future of the town. It ensures all development is consistent with our Community Strategy and provides an analysis of the challenges and opportunities facing the town.
There are 3 stages in producing the Planning Strategy.
The first stage of this document, 'Shaping Hastings - Core Strategy Issues and Options', was completed in 2006.
We consulted on the second stage called 'Shaping Hastings - Core Strategy Preferred Approaches' in 2008.
Between 27 June and 08 August 2011, due to changes in the Planning system, an informal consultation was held on the parts of the draft plan that had changed since 2008. This was called 'Shaping Hastings - Core Strategy Informal Consultation'.
Further details of all these stages can be found on our Consultation page, the documents can be viewed on our Documents page along with information about how to view the responses and comments received.
The third and more detailed document now called 'Shaping Hastings - Planning Strategy' in being prepared, incorporating comments and amendments from the previous stages where appropriate. This will be submitted to the Secretary of State for independent examination.
When will the final version of the Planning Strategy be ready?
The timetable outlines when documents will be available.
The Development Management Plan (including Site Allocations)
The Development Management Plan document is the next stage of the new Local Plan process and follows on from work already undertaken in preparing the Planning Strategy.
The Planning Strategy sets out the overall strategy for shaping the future of the town, and the site allocations plan will show in more detail on a proposals map where all the housing, offices, shops and other development will go; it will also show which green spaces will be protected. Over time, this will replace parts of the existing Hastings Local Plan 2004.
How can I take part and comment on the draft Development Management Plan?
Following on from our earlier consultation in 2010 on the 'Big Map', we are now preparing a Development Management Plan that will allocated sites for new homes and jobs, areas where you shop, open spaces, play areas and more. There will also be guidelines to help shape the design and construction of new development.
In January 2012 we held two 'introductory workshops' for residents associations and community groups. A report outlining the format of the session, questions and comments raised at these workshops is available on our documents page.
We are now launching a wider consultation which runs for 12 weeks, between 3 February and Friday 27 April 2012. This is your opportunity to shape and influence which sites are allocated or protected for different land uses, and the policies we use in deciding planning applications.
Full details are available on our consultation page and the overall timetable shows the next steps.
Proposals Map
We'll produce a map to show how the new Local Plan will affect Hastings and St Leonards. The map will show the important site for development, protection and management contained in the Development Management Plan.
The Proposals Map will be published alongside the final draft of the Development Management Plan later in 2012.
Sustainability Appraisal
It's vital that all environmental, economic and social considerations are at heart of the new Local Plan. To make sure this happens, we apply the Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) and the Sustainability Appraisal (SA) to everything we do. These assessment tools allow us to consider environmental issues in our plans, policies and projects. They're a method for checking our 'green' performance, and monitoring the impact of development on our surroundings.
Visit the Documents area to download the relevant documents produced to date. These include:
- The Sustainability Appraisal Scoping Report
- Sustainability Appraisal of the Core Strategy Issues and Options and Preferred Approaches
Supplementary Planning Documents
Supplementary Planning Documents provide additional guidance to complex planning matters. Although Supplementary Planning Documents (SPDs) cannot be enforced by law, they're still important and help us make decisions about planning applications.
The SPDs already adopted as part of the new Hastings Local Plan (formerly Local Development Framework) are available to download from our Documents page.
When will further Supplementary Planning Documents be written?
Work is scheduled to begin in summer 2012 on the Affordable Housing SPD. Informal public consultation will take place as the draft document is developed and formal consultation is scheduled for winter 2012/13. Adoption by the Council is planned for summer 2013.
How are we Doing? - Annual Monitoring Report
Review and monitoring are key aspects of the Local Development Framework. The Council is required to produce an Annual Monitoring Report (AMR) to show progress of the Local Development Scheme, and how well the planning policies are working, as well as identifying new issues to be addressed.
The Annual Monitoring Report has to report on the following core indicators:
- Business development
- Housing
- Environmental quality
The AMR is available on the Documents page.
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Background information
To make sure our documents for the new Local Plan are reliable we need a substantial evidence base. A number of documents will be produced to provide useful background information.
Please visit the Evidence Base area for the current documents and the timeline for those to be produced in the future.
You can also find information about the 2004 Local Plan and its adopted policies in our Local Plan area.
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Further information
Details about our consultations can be viewed in our Planning Policy Consultation page.
The Local Development Scheme (timetable) is amended on an annual basis. In the meantime we publish regular newsletters highlighting our progress and add news about the latest developments in Planning News.
