Local Development Framework consultation

The Government requires every Council to involve local communities and stakeholders from the beginning and throughout the preparation of local development documents.

The aim of this is to strengthen community involvement in the development of plans that will eventually shape the borough.

Three key stages of consultation

The consultation process has been broken down into the following stages:

1. The issues and options consultation stage requires the Council to consult on the findings from the evidence base, the Council’s awareness of local issues and the views of stakeholders and the local community. The Council carried out public consultation in 4 parts which lasted from the 25 July until 30 November 2005.
   
   
2. The preferred options consultation stage requires the Council to consult on the findings from the issues and options stage and enable a detailed discussion of the options most likely to be taken forward. This stage also allows the opportunity to identify potential development sites early in the process. This consultation stage will also allow for comments on the Sustainability Appraisal. We carried out public consultation from July until October 2007.
   
   NOTE: The government amended the LDF plan making process in 2008 and combined the issues and options stage with the preferred options stage. In order to address issues raised by the Government Office for London following the preferred options consultation, and meet the new LDF plan making requirements, the Council will reconsult on its ‘options’ for each LDF DPD currently under preparation.
   
   
3. Following the options consultation mentioned above, the next step will be Published Plan consultation (draft version of the plan). This will show the draft strategy, policies, justification, and monitoring and implementation framework to ensure each plan is deliverable.
   
   
4. The submission consultation stage will be the final stage when the Council will prepare the document according to consultation on the Published Plan stage and submit to the Secretary of State where an independent examination will take place. A further round of consultation will take place but we will invite representations based on whether any of the development plans are sound or unsound. For further information on when the submission stage is likely to take place, please have a look at our Local Development Scheme page.

For further information on our consultation process, have a look at our statement of community involvement.