Purpose

The purpose of the decision is to authorise
the formal commencement of a new local plan for Plymouth by 30 June
2026, to set out a proposed timetable and programme, and to put in
place appropriate delegated authorities for the programme moving
forward.
The primary reason for the decision is to satisfy the
Council’s legal requirement to prepare a new local plan and
to do so on a timetable which supports wider strategic initiatives
(including the transformation of the City Centre and Team Plymouth)
and enables the Council to benefit from government funding for
local planning authorities that commit to start their local plans
by 30 June 2026.

Decision

Decision:
 
Cabinet:
 

1.    
Approved the publication of the Plymouth Local Plan timetable;
 

2.    
Approved the publication of the Council’s formal
‘Notice of Intention to Commence’ the Plymouth Local
Plan before 30 June 2026;
 

3.    
Delegated authority to approve updates to the Local Plan timetable
to the Service Director for Strategic Planning &
Infrastructure, in consultation with the Cabinet Member for
Strategic Planning & Transport;
 

4.    
Delegated authority to approve, publish and submit the required
documents and statements for statutory Gateways 1, 2 and 3 to the
Service Director for Strategic Planning & Infrastructure, in
consultation with the Cabinet Member for Strategic Planning &
Transport.
 

5.    
Delegated authority to approve all evidence documents, reports and
supporting data and analysis for publication to the Service
Director for Strategic Planning & Infrastructure, in
consultation with the Cabinet Member for Strategic Planning &
Transport.
 

6.    
Delegated authority to deliver the statutory ‘scoping
stage’ consultation to the Service Director for Strategic
Planning & Infrastructure, in consultation with the Cabinet
Member for Strategic Planning & Transport;
 

7.    
Instructed Officers to report to Cabinet for approval for the
statutory consultation on the proposed local plan content and
evidence;
 

8.    
Instructs Officers to report to Cabinet for approval for the
statutory consultation on the proposed Plymouth Local Plan;
 

9.    
Instructed officers to report to Cabinet to approve any further
changes to the Plymouth Local Plan following the statutory
consultation;
 

10. 
Delegated authority to formally submit the proposed Plymouth Local
Plan for Independent Examination once Gateway 3 is successfully
completed;
 

11. 
Authorised officers to agree a dedicated work programme with the
Scrutiny Management Board on the emerging Plymouth Local Plan;
 

12. 
Authorised officers to explore with Devon County Council, and any
future successor authorities arising from local government
reorganisation, the opportunity of fulfilling the City
Council’s statutory responsibilities in relation to minerals
and waste planning through the preparation of a Joint Minerals and
Waste Plan rather than by incorporating waste and minerals policies
into the Plymouth Local Plan;
 

13. 
Agreed to the cancellation of the Plymouth and South West Devon
Statement of Community Involvement for the purposes of community
engagement in planning in Plymouth, with community engagement being
undertaken in accordance with the Council’s Engagement and
Consultation Framework and the statutory requirements of the Local
Plan Regulations.
 
Alternative
options
As the preparation of the new Local Plan is a
statutory requirement, the only alternative relates to the timing
of when the Local Plan is commenced. The latest which we could
formally commence the Local Plan is 6 months later than proposed in
the preferred option. This is because the government has set a
backstop date for commencement of 31 December 2026, with the first
statutory Gateway point being reached by 30 April 2027. From that
point is locked into a statutory timetable. Were the plan
commencement to be delayed to the latest possible time, the Local
Government Reorganisation (LGR) process and the Spatial Development
Strategy (SDS) process would be further advanced. However, this
option was rejected for a number of reasons, including:
 

·      
The pressing need for the Local Plan to be in place to support
wider strategic initiatives, deliver much needed housing given the
city’s absence of a Five Year Housing Land Supply.

·      
The opportunity to seek government grant funding by committing to
commencement by 30 June 2026, having regard to the fact that we
would have been legally required to start by December in any
case.

·      
The fact that our current published local plan timetable identified
our start date as January 2026, and we are only later because of
the government’s delay in publishing the new Local Plan
Regulations.

·      
With regard to the LGR process, the government has been clear that
this should not delay the preparation of local plans and during the
early stages of the process we should know what the
government’s LGR proposal is and be able to adapt
accordingly. The new local plan process requires regular updates to
the timetable to enable adjustments to be made when needed.

·      
With regard to SDS process, there is no proposal in place for our
part of the south-west region, but as for LGR we will have the
opportunity to adapt if and when needed. · To
improve our resilience for LGR and SDS, and because it is good
strategic planning practice, our evidence base work is considering
the broader sub-regional context that Plymouth fits within as well
as the city itself. We will therefore be in a good place to expand
the scope of the local plan during the process if need be.
 
Reasons
 

1.    
To meet the requirements for the new plan-making system for local
plans prepared and adopted under the Planning and Compulsory
Purchase Act 2004, as amended by the Levelling-Up and Regeneration
Act 2023, and to comply with proposed plan-making regulations that
are described in the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local
Government’s Plan-making Regulations Explainer, published on
27 November 2025;
 

2.    
To comply with the requirements set out in the Written Ministerial
Statement and proposed plan-making regulations that are described
in the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local
Government’s Plan-making Regulations Explainer, published on
27 November 2025, and to enable the City Council to benefit from
potential government funding for local planning authorities that
commit to start their local plans by 30 June 2026 and complete
Gateway 1 by 31 October 2026;
 

3.    
To reflect the need for possible amendments to the timetable,
including where set out in the proposed plan-making regulations as
described in the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local
Government’s Plan-making Regulations Explainer, published on
27 November 2025, and to be able to respond to any issues arising
from the local government reorganisation and spatial development
strategy processes;
 

4.    
In order to ensure that the Plymouth Local Plan can be adopted
within a 30-month period, as required by the Ministry of Housing,
Communities and Local Government’s ‘30-month local plan
process: an overview’, published on 27 November 2025;
 

5.    
To ensure the effective and efficient preparation of supporting
evidence and material for the Plymouth Local Plan to ensure the
overall timetable to adoption can be met;
 

6.    
To ensure that statutory Gateway 1 can be completed 31 October 2026
which is a conditional date for potential government grant funding,
and to support the efficient delivery of the local plan
programme;
 

7.    
To ensure that there is appropriate political oversight of the
proposed content and evidence of the Plymouth Local Plan prior to
the statutory consultation stage;
 

8.    
To ensure that there is appropriate political oversight of the
proposed Plymouth Local Plan prior to the statutory consultation
stage;
 

9.    
To ensure that Cabinet has oversight of any further changes to the
content of the Plymouth Local Plan in response to representations
received during the period of statutory consultation prior to
submission for Independent Examination;
 

10. 
To ensure that the Local Plan is promptly submitted for examination
once Gateway 3 is successfully completed in order for the overall
30-month local plan timetable to be achieved;
 

11. 
To ensure detailed scrutiny oversight and consideration at key
stages of the local plan programme;
 

12. 
To simplify the preparation of the Plymouth Local Plan in order
that it can comply with the mandatory 30-month plan preparation
period and to explore opportunities for joint working recognising
that minerals and waste issues are more effectively and efficiently
planned at a strategic level given that these often transcend
current and potentially new local government boundaries;
 

13. 
To ensure that the preparation of the new Plymouth Local Plan
reflects the philosophy and approach to community engagement set
out in the City Council’s Engagement and Consultation
Framework and also complies with the emerging new local plan
regulations.