Local Plan Final Consultation open

The latest version of the South Warwickshire Local Plan has been published. Called “The Regulation 19 Consultation Version” it is the final chance for the public to comment before the Plan is submitted to the Government Planning Inspectorate. The consultation period runs from today until Tuesday 8th September. It is called a ‘consultation’ but the only permissible responses are ones which specifically address whether the draft Plan is legally compliant and sound. A Local Plan must be ‘positively prepared’, ‘justified’, ‘effective’ and ‘consistent with national policy’ – all terms which are defined paragraph 36 of the National Planning Policy Framework which is extracted here. People can make a representation if they believe the Plan, or aspects of the Plan, fail in any of these areas. If representations are not made at this stage, it is not possible to raise them with the Planning Inspector later. The Parish Council is currently preparing its responses. We will post advice on how to respond before the end of July. Please check back here.