New Forest District Council is the latest to consider moving to a new plan-making system
Another council looks set to move to the new way of making local plans ahead of local government reorganisation.
New Forest District Council’s Cabinet agreed today that it will recommend a transition to a new plan-making system when its councillors meet in September.
In May, EHDC announced that we would not submit a local plan by the Government’s deadline of 31 December 2026, and instead, we would move to the new system.
The announcement came after sweeping government changes to how local plans are made - and ahead of a reorganisation of local government that will make new councils covering new areas.
We said that persisting with a local plan using old rules and outgoing boundaries was unjustifiable. Since then, Winchester City Council and Test Valley Borough Council have both announced that they will focus their plan making on the new system.
Now, New Forest District Council has announced its Full Council will consider a similar recommendation on Monday 14 September.
If approved, all four of the partner councils comprising the new Mid-Hampshire unitary authority will be in a position to work collaboratively on future plans.
Cllr Richard Millard, EHDC Leader, said: “We believe it is right to focus our planning work on the new planning system, while preparing for the new council areas that will be introduced in 2028, rather than continue spending money on plans that will soon become redundant.
“Without clear Government guidance on how reorganising councils should prepare plans for areas that will soon disappear, it makes sense to look ahead and work collaboratively on arrangements for the future. We are still waiting for the Government’s promised guidance.
"It is pleasing to see other councils taking a similar approach and focusing on the future.”