Learn how to comment on Development Plans
Area plans are under constant review and revision. This provides an opportunity for consultation and comment by all those sections of the community that have an interest in them. If you want to get involved in shaping the community you live or work in you can do this by yourself or as part of a local organisation or residents' group.
The procedures followed in preparing and revising Development Plans are in the main the same across the country, whether an authority is preparing a plan for the first time or reviewing and altering an existing plan.
At present the main stages to get involved are:
- Preparing the Plan - The Council will start consulting different bodies about its draft plan at an early stage. The amount of consultation will depend on how much of the existing plan is being changed but comments will be taken into account before the next stage
- The "deposit" stage – when the council has had the chance to consider comments made, it will place the plan on deposit for a 6 week period. The plan can be seen at Council offices and local libraries, and more comments can be made which have to be taken into account. If there are objections to the plan that cannot be resolved, then these will be considered at the next stage. The outstanding objections will be considered by an independent Inspector at a public inquiry (for a Local Plan or UDP) or a panel at an Examination in Public (EIP) for a Structure Plan.
After the Inquiry or EIP
After the Inquiry or EIP, the Inspector or Panel will send a report to the Council. This report will be considered and the council may make changes in the light of the objections made before adopting the Plan.
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