Crawley Borough Council are preparing a new Local Plan for the borough which will guide development in Crawley over the plan period from 2024 – 2040. The plan contains planning policies that will be used to determine planning applications, and the Council hope that it addresses issues relating to wellbeing and communities, economic growth and social mobility, housing, and environment and sustainability.
The preparation of the Local Plan has been delayed following Natural England’s Position Statement in September 2021 which stated that it could not be concluded that the abstraction of groundwater within the Sussex North Water Supply Zone was not adversely impacting on three designated sites. As a result of this position statement, Crawley Borough Council decided to delay the preparation of the Local Plan until they could demonstrate that the level of growth identified in the Local Plan would not have an adverse effect on the integrity of designated sites, either alone or in combination. Crawley Borough Council have amended the draft Local Plan in response to the above, and they have decided that its preparation can now continue.
Natural England’s Position Statement is also impacting planning applications within Crawley Borough, Chichester District, Horsham District and the South Downs National Park. Most planning applications within the Sussex North Water Supply Zone will now need to demonstrate water neutrality, meaning that development cannot result in a net increase in water consumption. For more information on water neutrality, see our News Update.
The draft Local Plan has now been approved to go out for publication, consultation with the community and subsequently submission to the Secretary of State for Examination. This is the third Regulation 19 consultation undertaken on the draft Local Plan. The consultation runs from 9 May to 20 June. The Regulation 19 Local Plan documents and the consultation are available at https://crawley.gov.uk/planning/planning-policy/local-plan/local-plan-review.
The emerging Local Plan will impact Crawley and its residents greatly. If you would like to make any comments on it, we strongly recommend you do so as it is the last opportunity to do so before the plan is submitted for examination - assuming the Reg.19 isn't re-run again at a later date...
If you’re looking to make comments on the emerging plan, or progressing a development in Crawley under the current plan, and need some expert advice on how all this effects you and how best to respond - we can help.
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