EHDC Leader says Government rule changes mean our Local Plan may not be submitted by end of 2026
EHDC Leader, Cllr Richard Millard, believes confused and counter-productive Government changes to the planning system have made completing a new East Hampshire Local Plan by December ‘pointless and unjustifiable’.
A slew of sweeping changes to national planning rules and a shake-up of local government in Hampshire has sunk any chance of the council creating a new plan that benefits local communities.
This month, EHDC councillors will discuss whether to switch focus from a Local Plan based on outgoing rules and soon-to-be-scrapped boundaries, to a plan that uses the latest guidance and will be useful for the new unitary councils.
A Local Plan is a development blueprint that sets out future housing figures, development sites, local infrastructure and planning policies in a council’s area.
The Government has set a hard deadline on councils to produce a Local Plan by the end of this year, with the hope of having it rubber stamped by a Government-appointed inspector next summer.
But Cllr Millard, believes the Government's repeated interventions make the expense of creating a plan using the outgoing rules completely unjustifiable.
He said: “The Government’s confused and contradictory changes to planning policies, when combined with a local government restructure, have forced EHDC into a corner.
“We still believe in the value of creating strong and forward-thinking Local Plans. But even if we meet the Government’s impossibly-tight December submission deadline we will have a plan that is not worth the paper it is written on.
“The Government wants councils to have their Local Plans in place in 2027 and it wants to dissolve and reform Hampshire councils in 2028, giving their strategic planning responsibilities to a new county Mayor.
“It’s obvious to even the most casual observer that the right hand doesn’t know what the left hand is doing. They have no idea they are issuing contradictory and mutually exclusive directives.
“When the new unitaries launch there will be no such area as the ‘East Hampshire district.’ The new councils will need to make Local Plans of their own, setting out unified planning policies, development targets and infrastructure for their new geographical boundaries.”
Although a Local Plan would remain in force following local government reorganisation, there are real risks as to whether a plan prepared now could be successfully adopted before wider structural and policy changes take effect.
Devolution proposals, the potential for a Strategic Development Strategy, and ongoing reforms to the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) all create uncertainty. This raises legitimate concerns about investing significant time and public funds in a plan that may require substantial revision or could be overtaken by events before adoption.
Cllr Millard added: “It gives me no pleasure to say that we will not be able to complete a Local Plan by December.
“It has taken years of work to get a Local Plan to within six months of submission. But now we find ourselves thwarted by the muddy-thinking meddling of our Government.
“In July the Government plans to introduce new rules that will remove policies relating to climate change and house design from our plan.
“In January it plans to order all councils to start their new plans using a new set of rules. So even if we pressed ahead to meet the December deadline, we would end up with a plan that was out-of-step with the latest guidance and could be brushed aside at planning appeals from developers.
“The Government is barking out contradictory commands like a drunken drill sergeant – and it has got councils marching in circles.
“Our Planning Policy team is still working hard gathering useful evidence for the new unitaries and to support current decisions on applications – but we no longer consider it responsible to spend public money on a plan that will be obsolete within a year of its adoption.”
How the Government has scuppered our Local Plan
New planning rules
In July, the Government will be introducing sweeping changes to planning policies with its latest National Planning Policy Framework. These new rules will upend much of the work we have done in areas such as environmental performance and building design. Many of the policies already in the emerging Local Plan would have to be stripped out – but there isn’t time to do this and meet the Government’s timescales.
A new Local Plan process
The Government has introduced a brand new way for councils to create their Local Plans. It expects councils to start on these new-style plans straight away. We are permitted to complete our plan using the existing method and submit it by 31 December, but due to the tight timescales that plan would include policies that have been outdated by July’s new planning rules (see above). As a result, much of the plan could be considered obsolete by planning inspectors and may not be able to withstand challenges by developers at planning appeals. The only responsible way forward seems to be to go for a new-style plan that follows the new planning rules.
Local Government Reorganisation
Due to the Government’s recently-announced decision on Local Government Reorganisation, from 1 April 2028, East Hampshire District Council will cease to exist. That means services, including planning, will be run by new councils whose geography will be completely different and whose planning and political priorities are not yet known.
East Hampshire is set to split
Under the new Local Government Reorganisation the southern parishes in East Hampshire, (Clanfield, Horndean and Rowlands Castle) will join a different unitary council to towns like Alton and Whitehill & Bordon. Local Plans take a strategic view of planning and development with decisions for one town or village taken in relation to every other. Moving the parishes to a new authority will render that work useless.
Devolution
Proposals are being advanced for the creation of a combined strategic authority for Hampshire and the Solent, under the control of a Hampshire Mayor. This will add another new layer of governance responsible for overseeing strategic planning matters across the entire county.
Wasted public money
Preparing a Local Plan evidence base requires significant investment in specialist work. While a plan would remain in force, we cannot yet plan for the future unitary geography, and uncertainty around devolution, a potential Strategic Development Strategy and changes to the NPPF create real risks to timely adoption. It is therefore essential that any work now is adaptable and can be carried forward to support future unitary plans
Decision timetable
The decision to change the direction of our work on the Local Plan is set to be discussed by councillors at the forthcoming Overview and Scrutiny Meeting on 21 May and then Cabinet on 28 May. You can read the council papers in detail below