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/or successor bodies) 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  ...  view the full decision text for item 11.