This page contains the following information about the Local Development Framework:
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Hastings Borough Council is planning for the future.
We are now starting the process of planning how the town will look in 2026. Your views are important.
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 by 2011.
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 2026, 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 LDF documents to a similar timetable. If you want to find out about the Rother LDF, please visit Rother District Council's LDF page.
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The Hastings Local Development Framework 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.
The various documents are shown in the diagram and text below. Clicking on the folders in the diagram will take you to a more detailed explanations of each document.
Some of the documents have been completed, others will not be written for a while. You can download the available douments from the LDF Resources page. You may find it useful to read our Help before downloading information. Like many local authority documents, they're quite complex so you might find it helpful to read our Jargon Buster first.
The Local Development Scheme (LDS) is a document that sets out the timetable, resources and monitoring arrangements for production of the Hastings LDF.
The revised Hastings Local Development Scheme was approved by our Cabinet on 2 April 2007 and will be updated every year. You can obtain a copy from our LDF Resources page.
One of the key objectives of the 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 Local Development Framework.
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.
You can obtain a copy of the Statement of Community Involvement from our LDF Resources page.
This document is at the heart of the Local Development Framework and describes a vision for the kind of place we want the town to be by 2026. It ensures all development is consistent with our Community Strategy and provides an analysis of the challenges and opportunities facing the town.
We have completed the first stage of this document called 'Shaping Hastings - Core Strategy Issues and Options'. A summary of the consultation responses received is now available in the LDF Resources area.
We have considered the responses made and used them to prepare a more detailed version of the Core Strategy called the 'Preferred Approaches'.
Consultation on the Preferred Approaches will being on 12 May and run for 8 weeks. During this time we will be holding a series of exhibitions showing the main changes proposed in the town up to 2026.
These exhibitions will be held at:
The Core Strategy preferred approaches document, with details on how to comment, will be available from 12 May on our LDF Resources page.
Following this consultation, we will consider responses to the document and use them to prepare a third and more detailed version called 'Shaping Hastings - Core Strategy' which we'll submit to the government for independent examination.
January 2010
The ‘Site Specific Allocations’ document will identify the sites proposed for development to meet the vision identified in the Core Strategy. It will set out some clear rules and standards for the sites and include a Proposals Map showing their locations. It will also show areas to be conserved or protected.
Residents are encouraged to comment on this document as it will lay out where development can take place in the town over the next 15 years. We plan to start work on it in 2008 and will carry out consultation later during the same year. Once the draft document is ready, we'll carry out a more detailed consultation exercise to make sure as many people comment as possible.
October 2011
We'll produce a map to show how the Local Development Framework will affect Hastings and St Leonards. The map will show the important sites for devlopment contained in the Area Action Plan and the Site Specific Allocations.
We plan to start work on it in 2008 and will carry out consultation later during the same year. Further information on the Hastings Town Centre Area Action Plan will be posted when available.
Further information on the Hastings Town Centre Area Action Plan will be posted when available.
October 2011
Different areas of Hastings & St Leonards have different development requirements. Some areas are in need of major change and regeneration, while others may need protection from excessive change. Areas with specific needs will have Area Action Plans written especially for them. Hastings town centre is one area that will have an action plan to show how we can make the most of its assets, creating a sustainable heart for our town.
We plan to start work on the Town Centre Area Action Plan documents in early 2008, and will consult later in the same year. Further information on the Hastings Town Centre Area Action Plan will be posted when available.
October 2011
It's vital that all environmental, economic and social considerations are at heart of the Local Development Framework. To make sure this happens, we apply the Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) and the Sustainability Appraisal (SA) to everything we do. These assesment 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.
You can download our Sustainability Appraisal Scoping Report from the LDF Resources page.
We will be consulting on the Sustainability Appraisal of the Core Strategy Issues and Options and Preferred Approaches between 12 May and 8 July 2008. Details of how to comment, and copies of the document will be available from the 12 May from the LDF Resources page.
Supplementary Planning Documents provide additional guidance to complex planning matters, and help to explain the Core Strategy, Site Specific Allocations and Area Action Plans. Although Supplementary Planning Documents (SPDs) cannot be enforced by law, they're still important and help us make decisions about planning applications.
There are already three SPDs available for the Hastings Local Development Framework. These are available to download from our LDF Resources page.
SPDs are planned for Affordable Housing, Open Spaces and Children's Play Areas and Developer Contributions. We plan to complete these SPDs by January 2010. Consultations on these SPDs will be posted on our consultation bulletin.
Consultation on the Guidance on Shop Fronts and Adverts SPD ended on 04 June 2007, but you can still view the documents on the LDF Resources page.
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:
You can obtain a copy of our latest AMR, covering the period 01 April 2005 to 31 March 2006 from our LDF Resources page.
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To make sure our documents for the Local Development Framework are reliable we need a substantial evidence base. A number of documents will be produced to provide useful background information.
Documents currently available:
You can also find additional background information in our Local Plan section.
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The following page on the Planning Portal Web Site offers a visual tool for explaining the Local Development Framework in further detail: www.planningportal.gov.uk
We regularly add news about the latest developments in our Planning News articles.
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This page last updated: 18/04/2008