Click here to review the Guildford Local Plan.

 

The Parish Council have been heavily involved in responding to the GBC Local Plan: Strategy and Sites, which was adopted in April 2019.

July 2020 - WHPC draft response to Local Plan consultation

Please click here to read WHPC's draft response to the Local Plan: development management policies - Issues and preferred options consultation. This draft will be discussed at our Parish Council meeting on 21 July 2020 and the approved version will be submitted to GBC.  

GBC latest communication on the Local Plan - 30 October 2018 

Local Plan – latest household figures could mean fewer homes with no extra greenbelt sites

WHPC Local Plan JR Statement - 22 May 2019

Latest household projection figures could have major implications for our emerging Local Plan and potentially reduce the number of homes needed in the borough each year.

Cllr Paul Spooner, Leader of the Council says “We are very pleased that the Planning Inspector managing the independent examination of our Local Plan gave the Council an opportunity to comment on the implications of the latest household figures.

“We reviewed the new 2016-based projections, published by the Office of National Statistics(ONS) last month, and consider that they will have a significant impact on the number of homes needed across our borough. This could potentially reduce the total number of new homes each year to 562, compared with the total of 630 using the evidence available when we submitted our Local Plan.

Cllr Spooner adds: “Getting the right balance of sustainable places, jobs and growth that create opportunities for all our communities is essential. We think that the potential reduction in homes means that it is now possible to meet our borough’s housing need, without having to allocate any of the new greenbelt sites proposed in the recent main modifications and consultation.

“Our plan aims to achieve the best future for everyone, wherever they live or work in Guildford, supported by a great environment and the vital infrastructure we need. The new figures also have an impact on Woking’s unmet need and we consider it unjustified that our borough should have to accommodate any of Woking’s currently stated housing need.

“The Inspector has indicated that he will consider our latest documents and comments about the new ONS figures alongside the comments from the recent consultation. He also intends to hold a further public hearing to discuss the housing requirement and the possible implications arising from the latest household projections. We welcome this opportunity to help make sure we move forward to adopting the best Local Plan for our borough as soon as possible.”

Dates for the public hearing have not been finalised and more information will follow when arrangements are agreed with the Planning Inspector.

Our full response to the Inspector and his initial comment about these new household figures are available on our website.

The latest Local Plan public consultation, from 11 September to 23 October 2018, was targeted on just the main updates that we made at the Inspector's request, following this summer’s public hearings. The Inspector will review the comments before completing his examination and final recommendations to the Council.

WHPC Response to Latest Local Plan Consultation

Please find attached WHPC's response to the main modifications consultation to Guildford Borough Council's Local Plan. Since the latest version of the LP was published, the ONS has released new housing figures that are 40% lower than those used to calculate housing requirements in the Local Plan. 

WHPC LP Response October 2018 

The proposed version of the Local Plan, for submission to an Inspector, is on the GBC website. This contains only minor changes from the previous version. 

WHPC Written Representation in Response to the Local Plan Examining Inspector's Matters and Issues Document

Please see attached two documents

WHPC's Response to Local Plan Consultation

WHPC Response to Local Plan Consultation July 2017

2017 Update - GBC has announced that they will be conducting a smaller consultation in 2017 limited to the proposed changes to the DLP. The Parish Council understands that this will start in June and will last 6 weeks. 

Responses to Draft Local Plan 2016 Consultation Published 

GBC has now published the 32,174 comments to the DLP online which you can view here. 

Cllr Paul Spooner, Leader of the Council, said: "We received over 32,000 comments during last summer's public consultation and it's vital that we took the time needed to review the latest feedback. We have now published these comments online for everyone to see. They will also go forward to the Planning Inspector when we submit our new Local Plan, scheduled for December 2017.

"Our new Local Plan must tackle local issues as well as balance community needs across the whole borough. The next important step is this summer's 'targeted' public consultation, which will focus just on the proposed changes to the Draft Local Plan. These comments will also be submitted to the Planning Inspector as we continue with progress to support local homes and jobs and address transport, infrastructure and other challenges."

All comments received in last year's regulation 19 consultation about any unchanged aspects of the plan will remain valid, and will not be subject to further consultation. We will submit these comments to the independent Planning Inspector. Responses to this year's targeted regulation 19 consultation, which focuses on specific changes to the latest version of the plan, will also be published and submitted to the Inspector. 

To view the Executive meeting agenda for the 21st February, including the item with the new Local Development Scheme visit the GBC website. 

We will publish the new Draft Local Plan and any updated evidence nearer to the targeted public consultation.