The formal requirements of the 'duty to co-operate' will no longer apply to the council’s new local plan. 

In November 2025, the Government made clear its view that the legal aspects of the 'duty to co-operate' have unnecessarily delayed some local plans, and instead it will focus on ‘maintaining effective co-operation’, especially with regards to unmet needs.  

The work undertaken to date for the purposes of the duty to co-operate remains relevant and necessary to achieving a sound local plan.   

To assist with this, the duty to co-operate framework 2025 identifies the cross-boundary issues and how we have engaged with other bodies in relation to them.  

During the preparation of the Local Plan, to assist with demonstrating engagement, we have signed Statements of Common Ground (SCG) with other Councils.  These are all available to view.  

SCGs since the draft local plan 2024 consultation; 

The following SCGs supported the consultation on the draft local plan 2024. 

A background paper on the 'duty to cooperate' was prepared to support the draft local plan reg.18 consultation in 2019, but this is now dated. It is available for reference, as part of the progress of the local plan to date.