The long-awaited Inspector’s Report on the Examination of the Babergh and Mid Suffolk Joint Local Plan has been published which concludes that the Joint Local Plan is sound and capable for adoption.
The Babergh and Mid Suffolk Joint Local Plan provides a framework for shaping communities and guiding future development over the period to 2037. It provides an understanding of where growth is directed to go and how development will be encouraged. The Local Plan sets out planning policies to set the context for protecting the District’s valuable natural and built environment to ensure that new development is delivered in a sustainable way.
The Joint Local Plan was submitted to the Secretary of Statement for Examination on the 31st March 2021. An independent examination of the Local Plan commenced, and Examination Hearing sessions were held between June and October 2021. A consultation on proposed modifications was then held between March and May 2023 where the Councils invited responses on their proposed modifications. Further Hearing Sessions were then held between the 26th and 28th June 2023 to determine whether the duty to cooperate had been met.
The Inspector’s Report was published on the 20th September 2023 which confirmed that the duty to cooperate had been met and that with the recommended Main Modifications as set out in the Appendix to the report, the Babergh and Mid Suffolk Joint Local Plan satisfied the requirement referred to in Section 20(5)(a) of the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004 (as amended) as being sound and capable of adoption.
The Full Council meetings to consider the adoption of the Babergh and Mid Suffolk Joint Local Plan will take place in November 2023. Once adopted, the Babergh and Mid Suffolk Joint Local Plan would replace the currently adopted Babergh Local Plan and Mid Suffolk Core Strategy in the development plan, and its policies would be used in the determination of planning applications.
If you have a project in either the Babergh or Mid Suffolk Districts, get in touch with Squires Planning to see how we can help you to navigate the changes in local planning policy.
