Local Plan

Background

Winchester’s Local Plan provides the blueprint for development in the district and includes policies on housing, the economy, transport, the environment, infrastructure and the countryside. The current Local Plan covers the period 2011-2031 and was adopted in two parts, in 2013 and then in 2017. Government guidance requires local authorities to review their local plans every five years, and Winchester City Council began its review in 2018. The new Local Plan will guide development in Winchester District until 2039.

Winchester City Council paused the review last year to address two government planning White Paper consultations proposing radical reforms to the planning system (click here for the Trust’s response to the White Paper). It restarted the process, and on 15 February 2021 it launched a public consultation on the strategic issues and priorities for the new Local Plan.

Strategic Issues and Priorities consultation

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The Strategic Issues and Priorities document set out and asked questions about nine different topics which should be addressed by the new Plan, including the natural environment, housing, climate change, the historic environment and transport. There were also some broader questions such as how development should be allocated across the District, excluding 40% of the area which falls within the South Downs National Park (which has its own local plan). It is good to see that the effects of climate change are highlighted and run through the whole document.

The consultation did not extend to individual development sites; sites will be considered later, and speculation on where major housing development might be located in the District is likely to continue for months to come.

You can read the Trust’s response to the consultation by clicking here.

Click here for more information from the City Council's website, where you can download the consultation document and which also gives you access to their new Local Plan consultation website.

Regulation 18 draft of the Local Plan

The first formal draft of the Local Plan is known as the Regulation 18 draft. A six week public consultation on the draft was held from 2 November to 14 December 2022.

The Trust made a detailed response to the Regulation 18 draft which you can download by clicking here. You can find out more information on the Local Plan process from the City Council’s website by clicking here.