Hertfordshire County Council are responsible for planning for waste, minerals (mostly sand and gravel quarries) and for services they provide like schools, libraries and roads. However they are working on a joint strategic plan for South West Hertfordshire together with: Dacorum Borough Council St Albans City and District Council Three Rivers District Council Watford Borough Council Hertsmere Borough Council The Joint Strategic Plan (JSP) will provide a long-term blueprint for the area to 2050. It will be able to consider and address issues that cross council boundaries and set out a strategic vision for the area. It will also help guide future plans and strategies by setting out high level policies on topics such as climate change, infrastructure, environmental protection, employment and housing. A new website has been launched to support the long term aspirations for South West Hertfordshire and views are being sought on the most important issues [...]

On the 1st April 2021 the eight existing councils in Northamptonshire were abolished and replaced by the two new councils of North Northamptonshire and West Northamptonshire. This means that Planning in Northamptonshire is now handled by the two new unitary authorities: West Northamptonshire serves the areas of Daventry District, Northampton and South Northants, and; North Northamptonshire serves Wellingborough, Kettering, Corby and East Northants. Current Local Plans in Northamptonshire include: North Northamptonshire Joint Core Strategy The North Northamptonshire Joint Core Strategy was adopted on the 14th July 2016. This is a Part 1 Local Plan for Corby, East Northamptonshire, Kettering and Wellingborough.   For more information click here. The Part 2 Local Plan for Corby was formally adopted in September 2021. The Plan and supporting documents are available here. The East Northamptonshire Local Plan Part 2 was submitted to the Secretary of State in March 2021. The Secretary of State has [...]

The Cambridgeshire & Peterborough Combined Authority is made up of eight founding members across Cambridgeshire and Peterborough. In 2016, all eight organisations agreed to pursue the devolution deal made with Central Government and the first official meeting of the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority took place in March 2017.  The Authority have prepared a non-statutory Strategic Spatial Framework which defines their immediate priorities for sustainable growth. Local government is divided between Cambridgeshire County Council and Peterborough City Council, which is a separate unitary authority. Under the county council, there are five district councils, Cambridge City Council, South Cambridgeshire District Council, East Cambridgeshire District Council, Huntingdonshire District Council and Fenland District Council. The current Strategic Planning position in Cambridgeshire is as follows: Peterborough City Council The Peterborough Local Plan was adopted on 24 July 2019. This is a statutory Local Plan which sets out the overall approach to development in Peterborough to 2036 and beyond. Cambridgeshire County Council In [...]

Planning in Buckinghamshire offers great opportunities due to its location with Greater London to the south-east, Berkshire to the south, Oxfordshire to the west, Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-east and Hertfordshire to the east, together with its position in the Oxford to Cambridge (OxCam) Arc. Buckinghamshire is one of the home counties with towns such as High Wycombe, Amersham, Chesham and the Chalfonts in the east and southeast of the county forming some of the most densely populated parts of the county. Development in this region is restricted by the Metropolitan Green Belt and the Chilterns AONB. Other large settlements include the county town of Aylesbury, Marlow in the south near the Thames and Princes Risborough in the west near Oxford. The areas around the old county town of Buckingham and near Olney in the northeast, are much less populous. The largest town is Milton Keynes in the northeast, which [...]

Suffolk County Council are responsible for planning for minerals, waste, and county council developments such as schools and fire stations. Current Local Plans in Suffolk include: Babergh and Mid Suffolk District Council Babergh and Mid Suffolk District Councils are working towards a new Joint Local Plan to replace their separately adopted Local Plan documents. The Babergh and Mid Suffolk Joint Local Plan was formally submitted to the Secretary of State for independent Examination in March 2021. Following a recommendation from the Examination Inspectors the Councils are now progressing the current Joint Local Plan (JLP) as a 'Part 1' local plan. This will be followed by the preparation and adoption of a 'Part 2' local plan as soon as possible. The Councils are currently working on the outstanding matters raised by the inspectors during the examination and  main modifications. Further details will be added here in due course. East Suffolk Council [...]

The preparation of the Bedford Borough Local Plan 2040 is underway following a requirement in the current adopted plan for an early review. The first Issues and Options consultation took place during July to September 2020 and the Council consulted on the Local Plan 2040 Draft Plan: Strategy options and draft policies  document from June to September 2021. The Councils Executive will be considering the Local Plan 2040 Plan for Submission at their meeting on 27 April 2022. The proposed spatial strategy focuses growth as follows: first in the urban area with all suitable sites within the urban area boundary being allocated at two sites just outside the urban area that will help to deliver strategic green infrastructure projects alongside development (Bedford River Valley Park with a water sports lake and a section of the Bedford to Milton Keynes Waterway Park) at new growth locations focussed on the A421 transport [...]