Council making sure Local Plan has firm foundations | Latest news

 

Arun District Council is making progress towards its Local Plan becoming adopted.

The Council is required by the Government to provide a number of homes that are needed in the district until 2031 and outline where they are to be built.

This information is contained in the Local Plan and the data is rigorously tested to make sure that it meets the necessary Government requirements.

Councillor Ricky Bower, Arun District Council’s Cabinet Member for Planning and Infrastructure, said: “The Local Plan is vitally important because it sets out where houses and infrastructure are to be built over the next 16 years.

“Having an up to date Local Plan will give the Council the ability to shape the future of the District and plan where and when development and infrastructure should be built.

“The Government is placing a great emphasis on increasing the number of houses that are built in order to ease the national housing shortage; this means that having a Local Plan in place has never been more important.”

Arun has commissioned further work into how many houses need to be built in the district. This report has recommended that the number is increased from 845 per year to 919 per year. This figure reflects increased population projections primarily due to an increase in the level of internal migration.

The Council will be considering the implications of this increase when finalising the main changes to the Local Plan.

Once the changes are complete they will be discussed at the Local Plan Subcommittee on Thursday 9 March and Full Council on Wednesday, 22 March.

The amended plan will then be evaluated in public by the Planning Inspector who will provide recommendations on whether the Local Plan meets all the relevant requirements. The Local Plan can then be adopted by the Council.