Friends of the Lake District is now in receipt of a draft timetable of the Local Plan hearings. Preliminary hearings are currently scheduled to take place over two weeks commencing 25 November, probably sitting Tuesday to Thursday each week. We have also received a list of the main issues and questions that Inspectors have raised about the content of the Lake District National Park Authority's 'Local Plan' document.

The Local Plan document is a set of policies used to inform decisions on planning applications and appeals, and a local planning authority should review its Local Plan at regular intervals to assess whether some or all of it may need updating. In the case of the Lake District, the planning authority is the Lake District National Park Authority and this update will be the key document informing and influencing its planning decisions for many years to come.

The Secretary of State has appointed Sarah Housden BA(Hons) MRTPI and Kelly Ford MSc, MRTPI to undertake the independent examination into whether the Lake District National Park Local Plan is sound and complies with all the legal requirements. The criteria for soundness are whether the Plan’s policies are positively prepared, justified, effective and consistent with national policy.

Key points are: 

• We have received a draft timetable for the Local Plan hearings – it can change and we advise you to keep checking the LDNPA website to ensure you have the latest version (they can change a lot, and can change even during the hearings as the Inspectors have to do their best accommodate those who have the right to speak). Members of the public can attend the hearings but only those who commented on the Publication version of the Plan and seek changes to it have the right to speak – see the Examination Information Note for more details.
• A list of the main issues and questions that the inspectors have about the plan has also been issued – these indicate what areas/aspects of the Local Plan the Inspectors feel it is necessary to focus on in the hearings.
• Everyone who commented on the Publication version of the Plan should have received this information directly

You'll find further documentation relating to this hearing on the LDNPA website at the following locations:

https://www.lakedistrict.gov.uk/planning/local-plan-review/examination/core-document-library 

https://www.lakedistrict.gov.uk/planning/local-plan-review/examination