Northumberland Local Plan

The Northumberland local plan is a collection of documents containing planning policies used to assess applications and guide the location of future development in the county.

A Local Plan document is currently being prepared by the Council. It will include the planning policies that will be used to guide and determine future planning applications in Northumberland, detail the scale and distribution of new development and include land allocations and designations.

Local Plan latest news
The Northumberland Local Plan was submitted to the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government on 29 May 2019 and is currently undergoing examination.

The second phase of the public hearing sessions will commence on Tuesday 20 October 2020. The Phase 2 hearings will cover the parts of the plan not considered in the Phase 1 hearings as well as matters outstanding from Phase 1.

In order to overcome the restrictions imposed as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak and to minimise the risks to those taking part or observing, the hearing sessions will take place ‘virtually’.

The hearing sessions will be available for the public to watch live on the internet via the Council’s YouTube channel - https://www.youtube.com/user/NorthumberlandTV. Those speaking at the hearing sessions will be provided with a link by the Programme Officer to allow them to join the relevant session.

Up-to-date information and documents relating to the examination can be found on the examination webpage. More information can also be found here on the programme and timings of the Phase 2 Hearings.

Local Plan Consultation Registration

Examination

The Local Plan was submitted to the Secretary of State on 29 May 2019 and is currently undergoing independent examination.

Susan Heywood is the inspector appointed by the Secretary of State to carry out the examination and Stephen Normington has been appointed to assist with the examination of Chapter 13 (Managing Natural Resources) of the Local Plan.

The inspector’s role is to determine whether or not the Local Plan is sound and complies with all the relevant legal requirements. In making this assessment, the inspector will take into account all the representations that were made on the Publication Draft of the Northumberland Local Plan.

Phase 2 examination hearings
A second phase of hearings will commence on Tuesday 20 October 2020. These hearings will cover the parts of the plan not considered in either the Phase 1 hearings or Chapter 13 hearings as well as matters outstanding from Phase 1.

The hearings will take place over four weeks as follows:

Week 1 - Tuesday 20 to Thursday 22 October 2020
Week 2 - Tuesday 27 to Thursday 29 October 2020
Week 3 - Tuesday 10 to Thursday 12 November 2020
Week 4 - Tuesday 17 to Thursday 19 November 2020

In order to overcome the restrictions imposed as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak and to minimise the risks to those taking part or observing, the hearing sessions will take place ‘virtually’. The morning sessions will generally run 10am to 11.15am and 11.45am to 1pm with the afternoon sessions generally running between 2pm and 3.30pm

The hearing sessions will be available for the public to watch live on the internet. This will allow people to watch the hearings as they would with a physical hearing. A link will be available on the Northumberland Local Plan examination webpage to the Council’s YouTube channel - https://www.youtube.com/user/NorthumberlandTV.

The Programme Officer will provide the participants (those speaking at the hearing sessions) with a link to allow them to join the relevant session.

A provisional programme for these sessions can be found on the examination website, along with the Matters, Issues and Questions, and statements submitted by the Council and other participants.

Click here to view the Examination website.

Phase 1 examination hearings
Phase 1 of the examination hearings took place in October 2019 and February 2020.

Click here for more information on the Phase 1 hearings

A consultation on the additional evidence requested by the Inspector as a result of those hearing sessions took place between 13 July 2020 and 7 September 2020. The Council are currently collating the responses submitted and these will be forwarded to the Inspector ahead of the Phase 2 Hearings. Matters raised may need to be discussed at the Phase 2 hearings. The need for further discussion on any matters raised, will however, be entirely at the discretion of the Inspector and will only take place if she considers that it will assist in her examination of the soundness of the plan.

Click here for more information on the additional evidence consultation

A further consultation will take place after the Phase 2 examination hearings on all 'Main Modifications' which the Inspector considers are required to ensure the soundness of the plan.

Chapter 13 examination hearings
The hearing sessions for Chapter 13 (Managing Natural Resources) took place in February 2020. A consultation on main modifications will take place after the completion of the Phase 2 examination hearings.

Click here for more information on the Chapter 13 hearings

Further information on the Local Plan examination
Up-to-date information and documents relating to the examination, including the programme for the hearing sessions, can be found on the dedicated examination website.

Click here to view the Examination website.

Submission - May 2019

The Northumberland Local Plan was submitted to the Secretary of State for Housing, Communites and Local Government for independent examination on 29 May 2019. Click here to view the submission notice.

The submission plan comprises the Northumberland Local Plan Publication Draft as amended by the proposed minor modifications.

Links to the above Local Plan documents and supporting documents can be viewed by clicking on the link below. The documents include the Sustainability Appraisal, Habitats Regulations Assessment, Statement of Consultation, evidence documents and copies of representations received in response to the Publication Draft Local Plan.

View schedule of Local Plan submission documents

Next steps
An independent examination of the Local Plan will now take place. Up-to-date information and documents relating to the examination can be found on the examination website.

View the Examination website here.

Publication Draft Local Plan - 30 January 2019 to 13 March 2019

Representations on the 'Publication Draft' Local Plan were invited from 30 January 2019 to 13 March 2019 . The period for representations has now closed. The comments submitted are in the process of being logged and processed. All comments, including those submitted by email or as a paper copy, will be added to the consultation portal website.

Click here to view Publication Draft Local Plan and comments submitted.

The representations will be reviewed prior to the proposed submission of the Local Plan for independent examination in May 2019.

Local Plan documents

How to make comments
The period for making comments (30 January 2019 to 13 March 2019) has now closed. The comments submitted are in the process of being logged and processed. All comments, including those submitted by email or as a paper copy, will be added to the consultation portal website.

Click here to view consultation portal and comments submitted.

Drop-in sessions
During February and March 2019 a number of drop-in sessions were held across Northumberland to allow people to find out more about the Local Plan and how to provide their comments. The drop-in sessions included a small exhibition aimed at providing an overview of the Local Plan with staff involved in the preparation of the Local Plan present to help answer any questions.

Click here to view the details of the dates, times and venues of the drop-in sessions.

The display material can be viewed by clicking on the links below:

Compliance documents
The Publication Draft Local Plan is accompanied by a number of 'compliance' documents, which can be viewed below.

Evidence base and other supporting documents
A number of background and research studies have been undertaken to help support and inform the preparation of the Local Plan. These studies and reports can be viewed on the following page on our website: http://www.northumberland.gov.uk/Planning/Planning-policy/Reports.aspx.

Monitoring and implementation framework

The Monitoring and Implementation Framework sets out the main indicators that will be used to monitor the delivery and effectiveness of the objectives and planning policies in the Local Plan.

Monitoring and Implementation Framework

Timetable for preparation, consultation and adoption

A summary of the main dates for the preparation of the Local Plan are summarised below:

Initial consultation - 28 March 2018 to 2 May 2018 (Complete)
Consultation on draft Local Plan - 4 July 2018 to 15 August 2018 (Complete)
Publication - 30 January 2019 to 13 March 2019 (Period for representations now closed)
Submission - May 2019 (Submitted on 29 May 2019)
Examination hearings - September 2019 (Phase 1 of the hearings took place in October 2019 and February 2020; Hearings for Chapter 13 (Managing natural resources) were held in early February 2020; and the dates and arrangements for Phase 2 of examination hearings are currently being discussed with the Inspector)
Adoption - March 2021

The full timetable for the preparation of the viewed in the Local Development Scheme document.

In addition a separate Local Plan document in relation to Gypsy, Traveller and Travelling Showpeople accommodation will be prepared. The main dates for the preparation of this document are summarised below:

Initial consultation - May 2021
Consultation on draft plan - September 2021
Publication - January 2022
Submission - May 2022
Examination hearings - October 2022
Adoption - March 2023

How to get involved

There will be opportunities to provide us with your comments at each of the key stages in the preparation of the Local Plan. If you would like to be notified of any relevant Local Plan consultations and be kept up-to-date with progress you can add your name to our database by either:

Self-registering on our Online Consultation Portal (if you are already registered you do not need to register again);
Emailing us at planningstrategy@northumberland.gov.uk with your full name, organisation/group (if applicable), full postal address and email address.

Further information on how the council will involve local people in preparing the Local Plan can be found in the Statement of Community Involvement document.

Consultation on a Draft Local Plan - 4 July 2018 to 15 August 2018

Consultation on a draft of the Northumberland Local Plan took place between 4 July 2018 and Wednesday 15 August 2018.

Click here to view the consultation document and the comments submitted [opens consultation website]
Click here to view the frequently asked questions (FAQs)

The comments received are currently being processed. We will consider all comments received in response to this consultation, and together with updated any evidence, they will be used to inform the ‘Publication Draft’ Local Plan where appropriate. This version of the Local Plan will be subject to public consultation in January 2019 before it is submitted for independent examination in May 2019.

Consultation document

Drop-in sessions
During the consultation a number of drop-in sessions were held across Northumberland to allow people to find out more about the consultation and how to provide their comments. The drop-in sessions included a small exhibition with staff involved in the preparation of the Local Plan present to help answer any questions.

Click here to view the details of the dates, times and venues of drop-in sessions for this consultation.

The display material can be viewed by clicking on the links below:

Sustainability Appraisal and Habitats Regulations Assessment
The draft Local Plan is accompanied by a Sustainability Appraisal Report and a Habitats Regulations Assessment and can be viewed below.

Evidence base and other supporting documents
A number of background and research studies have been undertaken to help support and inform the preparation of the Local Plan. These studies and reports can be viewed on the following page on our main website: http://www.northumberland.gov.uk/Planning/Planning-policy/Reports.aspx.

Spring consultation - 28 March to 2 May 2018

A consultation to capture views on preferred strategic locations for housing and employment development and the big issues that the new Local Plan for Northumberland should seek to address took place between 28 March 2018 and 2 May 2018. The consultation took the form of an Online Spatial Survey.

Consultation feedback

This consultation provided some initial feedback on the key issues the Local Plan should consider and captured views on the broad strategic locations for both housing development and employment development. Along with the findings from various evidence base studies, the responses from this consultation have helped to inform a draft of the Local Plan.

A feedback report has been prepared to provide an overview of the consultation and a summary of the responses received in reply. View the Spring 2018 Consultation Feedback Report.

'Call for sites' 2018

To help inform preparation of the new Northumberland Local Plan, residents, landowners, developers, agents and other interested parties were invited to put forward sites for potential development allocations in the Plan as part of a 'call for sites' consultation.

The consultation closed on 12 March 2018 and all of the submissions received have been assessed. This has informed the site selection process for site allocations in the emerging Local Plan and the updated Strategic Housing Land Availability Assessment (SHLAA) and five year housing land supply analysis. Updated SHLAA and five year housing land supply analysis was published in December 2018, which can be found on the studies and evidence page our website - https://www.northumberland.gov.uk/Planning/Reports.aspx.

Sustainability Appraisal of the Local Plan

Sustainability Appriasal (SA) and Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) are processes that must be carried out alongside the preparation of the Northumberland Local Plan. The purpose is to promote sustainable development by appraising the extent to which the policies and proposals in the emerging Local Plan would achieve environmental, social and economic objectives.

SA Report for Local Plan Submission
This SA Report has been prepared to accompany the submission of the Local Plan for examination. It is an updated version of the SA Report that was published and consulted upon alongside the Publication Draft Local Plan. The revised version takes account of the responses received and also appraises the proposed minor modifications.

SA Report for Regulation 19 Publication Draft Local Plan
This SA Report has been prepared to accompany the Publication Draft Local Plan (Regulation 19). It appraises the likely effects of the Local Plan and the reasonable alternatives as well as giving consideration to mitigating adverse effects.

SA Report for Regulation 18 Draft Local Plan
An Interim SA report was prepared alongside the Regulation 18 Draft Local Plan. It appraises the likely effects of the policies and proposal in the Draft Local Plan and the reasonable alternatives as well as giving consideration to mitigating adverse effects. Comments on the Interim SA REport were invited between 4 July 2018 and 15 August 2018.

Click here to view the Interim SA Report (June 2018)

Scoping stage
The preparation of a Scoping Report was the first stage in the SA/SEA process. This stage involved collecting baseline information on the environmental, social and economic conditions in the Local Plan area and developing the sustainability objectives that will provide the basis of appraising the emerging Local Plan.

Click here to view the draft SA Scoping Report

Comments were invited on a draft of the SA Scoping Report between 28 March 2018 and 2 May 2018 and the comments received were used to inform the SA objectives and SA framework used to appraise the emerging Northumberland Local Plan as well as establishing whether the baseline information and issues identified were relevant.

Habitats Regulations Assessment for the Local Plan

The purpose of the Habitats Regulations Assessment (HRA) is to assess the possible effects of the Local Plan on the nature conservation interests of sites designated as Special Areas of Conservation, Special Protection Areas and Ramsar sites.

Northumberland Coastal Mitigation Service Strategy Document
We have been working with Natural England to review the approach to the assessment and management of impacts arising from new development on specially protected sites on the Northumberland Coast. This document introduces a strategic scheme funded by developers, and implemented by the Council, that will enable mitigation to be provided within the designated sites themselves, in a consistent manner along the whole of the Northumberland Coast.

Northumberland Coastal Mitigation Service Strategy Document (December 2018)

Local Plan Consultation Registration - Privacy Notice

Planning Policy Team aims to be transparent and provide accessible information to individuals about how their personal data will be used through a privacy notice. A copy of our privacy notice is available HERE.

Duty to Cooperate Statement

A Duty to Cooperate Statement of Common Ground has been prepared to accompany the Regulation 19 Publication Draft Local Plan. It sets out the strategic issues relevant to Northumberland and details the ongoing engagement that has, and continues, to take place between Northumberland County Council (NCC), neighbouring authorities and prescribed bodies. The statement is a live document reflecting the progress of discussions that have taken place up to December 2018 and will be updated for the submission of the Local Plan for examination in May 2019.

Stage 1 Duty to Cooperate Statement of Common Ground (December 2018)

Links to the Duty to Cooperate Statement that was prepared to accompany the Regulation 18 Draft Local Plan consultation are provided below:

Information on the withdrawal of the Core Strategy

The Northumberland Core Strategy was submitted to the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government for independent examination on 7 April 2017.

At the Council meeting on 5 July 2017, Northumberland County Council agreed to formally withdraw the Core Strategy from the independent examination process. A Statement of Withdrawal, Frequently Asked Questions and Papers from the Council Meeting can be viewed accordingly.

Following a review, the Council has agreed that a full Local Plan document will be prepared and the Council will no longer be proceeding with the Core Strategy as well as the proposed Delivery Document.

Information on potential Government intervention

In November 2017 the Council received a letter from the then Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government regarding the potential for Government intervention in the process to prepare the Northumberland Local Plan.

View the letter from Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (16 November 2017)

The Council made a full response in line with the deadline set by Government. The response letter and related correspondence can be viewed below:

The Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government wrote to the council on 23 March 2017 to confirm there are no plans intervene or take further action at the present time. This is subject to the timetable in the Local Development Scheme being amended to produce the plan earlier and to be clearer about the dates for the key milestones by identifying specific months.

Letter from the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government (23 March 2018)

The council is currently reviewing the Local Development Scheme to take into account the recommendations of the Secretary of State. A revised Local Development Scheme will be published in due course.

The Statement of Community Involvement (SCI) sets out the Council’s commitments on involving local people and businesses in preparing the Local Plan and informing and consulting them on planning applications.

Click here to view the Statement of Community Involvement document.

Some of the restrictions that have been put in place as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic have meant that we have had to review how we engage with local people and businesses. An addendum to be read in conjunction with the SCI has been prepared to reflect the temporary approaches put in place to reflect the current circumstances.

Click here to view the addendum to the Statement of Community Involvement (updated 6 August 2020).

The Local Development Scheme (LDS) sets out the broad timetable for the preparation of the Northumberland Local Plan, including the dates for key consultations and the adoption of the final document.

Click here to view Local Development Scheme 2020-2023 (June 2020)

This version of the Local Development Scheme supersedes the version published in April 2018. It has been amended to recognise that the Council are now going to prepare a separate Local Plan document on Gypsy, Traveller and Travelling Showpeople accommodation. The adoption date for the Local Plan has also been amended to take account of its ongoing examination.

The Council is proposing to prepare the following Supplementary Planning Documents (SPDs) to provide additional guidance on the proposed policies in the Northumberland Local Plan and advice to assist in considering and determining planning applications:

Affordable Housing
Design
Highways and Transportation Design and Delivery
Hot Food Takeaway
Planning Obligations
Renewable Energy

Existing adopted Supplementary Planning Documents
There are also existing adopted Supplementary Planning Documents, which can be viewed using the links in the Consolidated Planning Policy Framework.

Consultation on Affordable Housing and Planning Obligations SPD scoping documents

Consultation on scoping documents for a proposed Affordable Housing Supplementary Planning Document (SPD) and a proposed Planning Obligations SPD is taking place until 5pm on 6 November 2019. Further information can be found using the links below:

Consultation on Scoping Documents for Design Guide SPD and a Highways and Transportation Design and Delivery SPD

Comments were invited on scoping documents for a Northumberland Design Guide SPD and a Highways and Transportation Design and Delivery SPD from 30 January 2019 to 13 March 2019. The consultation documents can be viewed by clicking on the links below.

Renewable Energy SPD

Renewable Energy SPD Scoping Document (June 2016)

The Council carries out regular monitoring to help understand how well the current planning policies are working. Monitoring is important to help inform the preparation of the planning policies and decisions on planning applications.

Click here to view more information on monitoring .