Local Plan Update

On 24 January 2023, Huntingdonshire District Council's Cabinet agreed to the preparation of a full update to the adopted Local Plan which will set out a plan for how the district will grow over future decades.

So far we have consulted on the documents listed below:

• Statement of Community Involvement - which sets out how we will engage on planning-related matters.

• Sustainability Appraisal Scoping Report - which sets baseline information for Huntingdonshire to inform the development of sustainability objectives to test the Local Plan against. 

• Land Availability Assessment Methodology - this sets out how we will consider sites that have been put forward for potential allocation in the Local Plan. 

• Settlement Hierarchy Methodology - this sets out how we will assess the sustainability of settlements and will aid in the decision-making on their suitability for future growth in the next Local Plan.

• Issues Engagement Papers - which highlighted known issues in the district and asked for people's opinions on topics to inform the development and priorities of the local plan. There were 3 options to help people respond:

  • The Issues Engagement Paper - an in-depth look at the issues including detailed questions to encourage comprehensive responses.

  • The Issues Summary Paper - a quick look at the headline issues, with a few questions to get opinions.

  • The Issues Easy Read Version - a simplified document with tick box questions.

• The Call for Sites - an opportunity for people to send the council details of sites that might be suitable for allocation in the next Local Plan.

Taking account of comments from the consultation we finalised and published the following:

• Statement of Community Involvement

• Sustainability Appraisal Scoping Report [PDF, 5.5MB]

• Land Availability Assessment Methodology [PDF, 0.8MB]

• Sustainability of Settlements Report [PDF, 2MB]

We have also published an interactive map and spreadsheet of the sites that have been submitted so far.

Town and parish council information sessions were also held on the 24 May and 5 June 2023 to inform councils of the Local Plan update, and current progress and allow the opportunity to ask questions.

We listened to your comments and finalised the Land Availability Assessment Methodology [PDF, 0.8MB]. This has been used to assess the sites that have been submitted and conduct sustainability appraisals of the sites.

We have analysed comments from the Issues consultations to help formulate priorities for the Local Plan and develop options. This can be seen in our upcoming Further Issues and Options consultation document.

We analysed the comments from the Settlement Hierarchy Methodology to create a document entitled the Sustainability of Settlements Methodology and Results [PDF, 2MB], which will help to inform the development of a settlement hierarchy.

We have produced a Statement of Consultation which acts as a record of the consultation and public engagement carried out as part of the development of a Local Plan. It includes summaries of the main issues raised by the public and statutory consultees, how comments have been taken into account, and any actions the council has taken as a result. This will be published on our Evidence Library webpage.

We will be developing and commissioning other evidence to help inform the preparation of the Local Plan. So far this includes a:

• Suite of Climate Change Reports

• Level 1 Strategic Flood Risk Assessment

• Stage 1 Water Cycle Strategy

• Gypsy and Traveller, Travelling Showperson and Boatdwellers Accommodation Assessment.

The Call for Sites is a process whereby the council asks developers, landowners, agents and local communities to suggest possible sites wholly or partially within Huntingdonshire that might have potential for development.

It gives the council an idea of what land is available to help inform potential areas for growth in the district.

We asked about sites which might be suitable and available for the following:

• Housing, including specialist housing such as that for elderly people

• Commercial uses such as industry, retail, commercial leisure and logistics

• Infrastructure uses such as education, health, transport and renewable energy

• Open space uses such as parks, areas for biodiversity net gain and land to safeguard from flooding.

Submission of a site to the council does not guarantee that it will be allocated or that it will gain planning permission.

Soon. We are taking the Land Availability Assessments to our Overview and Scrutiny Panel (Performance and Growth) on 4 September 2024 and to Cabinet on 10 September 2024 for consideration and to ask to begin consultation in September 2024. View the schedule of meetings.

We have assessed the sites using our Land Availability Assessment Methodology and Sustainability Appraisal Methodology. Both documents will be open to public comment.

We assessed the sites submitted through a Land Availability Assessment and a Sustainability Appraisal. The Land Availability Assessment concludes whether the site is unsuitable or potentially suitable for development. The results of these assessments do not guarantee that a site will be allocated in the next local plan, but instead provide a selection of sites that have potential. The final selection of sites will be based on a number of additional factors such as a chosen growth strategy, a final settlement hierarchy and evidence-based documents such as transport studies, strategic flood risk assessments, water cycle studies, employment land studies, climate change reports etc. Many of these topics are covered within the Further Issues and Options Consultation document to join up this process and provide opportunity for the public to comment on the way forward, choose their preferred options and provide additional information.

The Further Issues and Options consultation is also being taken to our Overview and Scrutiny Panel (Performance and Growth) on 4 September 2024 and to Cabinet on 10 September 2024 for consideration and to ask to begin consultation in September 2024. View the schedule of meetings.

You can also view the sites that have been submitted so far by looking at our interactive map and spreadsheet. We may receive more sites throughout 2024, so you may want to revisit this site to see if any new sites have been added.

Although the main Call for Sites has closed, we recognise that circumstances change and some people may still wish to put sites forward for consideration as allocations in the Local Plan Update. A link has been provided so that further sites can be submitted.

Depending upon the date of the submission we do not guarantee that your site will be assessed in time for inclusion in the Further Issues and Options consultation scheduled for September 2024.

Sites not included in this will be taken into account in the preparation of the Preferred Options consultation scheduled for summer/autumn 2025.

If you want to progress a site ahead of the Local Plan you will need to do so by way of a planning application.

The planning application will be subject to consultation and will be considered on its own merits against the current development plan and material considerations. It should be noted that submitting your site through the call for sites does not guarantee that it will be allocated, or that it will gain planning permission.

To find out more about the pre-application process or submitting a planning application visit our planning webpages.

Our next consultations will be on:

• Further Issues and Options 2024 engagement paper – presents topic-based options and questions to shape the development of the next local plan helping us to develop some preferred option. The document is split into 11 subject areas including:

  • Local Plan Vision and Objectives

  • A Settlement Hierarchy for Huntingdonshire

  • Approach to Economy and Employment

  • Housing Figures and Requirement

  • Achieving Well-Designed Places

  • Growth Strategy Options

  • Green and Blue Infrastructure

  • Climate Change

  • Flooding and Water

  • Housing Tenures and Housing Mix and

  • Transport and Connectivity

• Land Availability Assessment – presents assessments of all the sites put forward for consideration for development

• Sustainability Appraisal – presents the consideration against sustainability objectives of all options and sites

We are taking these documents to our Overview and Scrutiny Panel (Performance and Growth) on 4 September 2024 and to Cabinet on 10 September 2024 for consideration and to ask to begin consultation in September 2024. View the schedule of meetings.

• Register on our online consultation portal to receive updates

• View our Local Plan Update webpage

• Read our Local Development Scheme which provides a summary of the plan-making process and an indicative timetable highlighting engagement opportunities to be offered during preparation of the Local Plan Update.

• The next consultation is scheduled for September 2024. We are taking the consultation documents to our Overview and Scrutiny Panel (Performance and Growth) on 4 September 2024 and to Cabinet on 10 September 2024 for consideration and to ask to begin consultation in September 2024. View the schedule of meetings.

If you have any further questions, please contact us at local.plan@huntingdonshire.gov.uk

Our Statement of Community Involvement (SCI) sets out how we will engage with the community on planning matters.

We will provide updates via our social media accounts.

We will inform town, parish and district councillors in the district so that they can cascade information to their local community where this may be possible. Other methods may include, posters, leaflets, exhibitions and press releases.

It must be noted that the actual methods used may differ depending on the purpose of the engagement exercise and the target audience. We will ensure that government regulation is complied with as an absolute minimum. In the first instance, electronic methods of consultation and engagement will be used.

Yes, Neighbourhood Plans add valuable local scale policy to help with decision-making on planning applications.

All Neighbourhood Plans are required to broadly align with the Development Plan. The Local Plan is still considered up to date and is the Development Plan Document that parish and town councils are advised to comply with. If there is a conflict between policies in the Local Plan or the Neighbourhood Plan the most recently adopted one will take precedence.

Approval to commence an update to the Local Plan was granted on 24 January 2023. The plan is at a very early stage of production - evidence gathering/survey phase and issues consultations concluded on 5 July. As such no development strategy or policy formation has yet to take place and therefore cannot be taken into consideration in the development of Neighbourhood Plans at this time.

If a new Neighbourhood Plan is approved before the Local Plan Update is completed, the town or parish council may wish to consider updating their Neighbourhood Plan afterwards.