Central Bedfordshire Local Plan examination process – Where have we been and where are we going?

The emerging Local Plan for Central Bedfordshire has been in the making for a considerable amount of time. It can be easy to lose track of what happened when, and what the next steps are. We have created this helpful infographic to breakdown the stages of the Local Plans progression and where we are at to date.

The Local Plan was submitted for examination in April 2019, the hearing Sessions ran from 21 May 2019 to 25 July 2019, during these sessions the Inspectors raised concerns regarding the soundness and legal compliance of the Local Plan. Due to the scale and significance of the issues identified, a significant amount of further evidence was requested by the examining Inspectors.

To date, a significant amount of additional evidence has been submitted, but due to current circumstance, this doesn’t look to be all publicly available as of yet. Modifications to the Plan will need to be subject to a statutory 6-week consultation period, followed by additional hearing sessions.

Covid-19 has understandably altered the timeline for consultation with hearing sessions scheduled for June and early July no longer possible. Parties are currently working towards hearing sessions in September at the earliest, but dates have not been published at this time.

Due to the uncertainty surrounding the emerging Local Plan, there may be an opportunity to bring forward suitable sustainable sites that have not been allocated. As a practical and commercially minded planning and development consultancy, Optimis Consulting can give advice on the potential of your land for development.

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