Councils ask Inspectors to think again about local plan after minister letter

A letter to Planning Inspectors from a government minister could offer an opportunity for the Joint Local Plan being developed by the district councils in South Oxfordshire and the Vale of White Horse.

The plan is currently being examined by Planning Inspectors who recently wrote to the councils recommending they withdraw the plan from the process.

The Inspectors said the councils had failed in a “duty to co-operate” with Oxford City Council on the single issue of how many homes South and Vale should plan in their districts to help Oxford with its unmet needs. The councils wrote back to the Inspectors setting out concerns they had with the Inspectors’ recommendation.

And now Matthew Pennycook MP, Minister of State for Housing and Planning has written to the Planning Inspectorate, the organisation that oversees all Planning Inspectors, to request that they “be proportionate” in how they apply the guidelines related to the duty to co-operate, and to consider the context.

The Minister’s letter also welcomed Inspectors providing more opportunities during the examination process for councils to clarify how they’ve met the duty to co-operate.

This would avoid the need for plans, that have been several years in the making and cost significant public money as well as the time taken by parish councils and the public in responding to consultations, failing over a single issue without any opportunity to seek resolution over that issue.

The Minister’s letter came days after the Inspectors’ letter. Now the two councils have written to the Inspectors again requesting that they reconsider their initial conclusions in light of the Minister’s letter, along with legal points the councils have raised, and Oxford’s latest published housing figures.

These figures, published after the Inspectors had adjourned the Joint Local Plan hearings in June, show how much housing is needed in Oxford and how much capacity there is within the city. Based on these new figures, together Oxfordshire’s rural districts have already planned enough to cover those Oxford unmet needs.

Cllr David Rouane, Leader of South Oxfordshire District Council, said: “This new steer from the government seems quite clear to me – Inspectors should provide a degree of flexibility during the examination process to give good local plans like ours every chance to be adopted.”

Cllr Bethia Thomas, Leader of Vale of White Horse District Council said: “It’s vital that local development continues to be plan-led so that it is sustainable, appropriate and well planned for our existing and future residents. The Minister’s letter describes local plans as the cornerstone of our planning system and clearly wants good local plans in place as efficiently as possible. With this in mind I call on our Inspectors to heed the advice from the Minister and our feedback while taking another look at their conclusions.”

ENDS

NOTES FOR EDITORS

Timeline of recent events, including links to the relevant letters.