Planning Policy Information
Information contained in this document
The South Kesteven Local Plan is being reviewed and will be gradually replaced by the South Kesteven Local Development Framework.
The South Kesteven Local Plan was adopted in April 1995 and was proposed to cover the period from April 1990 to April 2001. Changes brought in by the new legislation means that the 'saved' policies and proposals will remain valid until the adoption of a new Local Development Framework (LDF).
On 24th Spetember 2007 South Kesteven
District Council received confirmation from the Government Office for the East
Midlands that a number (45) of policies from the South Kesteven Local Plan
(adopted 1995) will continue to be saved in accordance with paragraph 1(3) of
Schedule 8 of the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004.
The policies contained within the schedule attached to the
Direction will be saved until they are superseded by new, adopted policies
contained within the emerging Local Development Framework (LDF). All other
policies not listed in the schedule will expire from midnight 27th September
2007.
The Council would like to make it clear that these policies
have been saved to ensure:
- continuity in the plan-led system
- a stable local planning framework
- maintain a supply of land for development.
It should be noted that the extended saved policies must be read in context. It is possible that new material considerations (particularly the emergence of a new national and regional policy) or evidence will be afforded considerable weight in planning decisions.
The Local Plan sets out detailed policies and proposals for the development and other use of land in the district. This includes the allocation of sites for specific purposes and guides most decisions on planning applications.
Click on Local Plan – Written statement to download the text of the Written Statement of the Local Plan. You will need to activate Adobe Acrobat Reader to read these files, which can be found on the Help Page at the foot of every page. Scanned versions of the Proposals Map are viewable by clicking on Local Plan - Maps.
Copies of the Local Plan are available for purchase at the price of £28.45. This includes postage and packing.
Please send a cheque for the appropriate amount, payable to South Kesteven District Council, together with your written request, to:
Planning Policy
Council Offices, St. Peter’s Hill, Grantham, Lincolnshire. NG31 6PZ
Copies may also be purchased in person from Customer Services at the Council Offices, Grantham, or by credit/debit card over the telephone from Customer Services tel: 01476 406080.
Copies of the Local Plan are available for inspection at:
- Council Offices, St. Peter’s Hill, Grantham, -
Monday-Friday, 8.45am - 5.15pm
- Grantham, Stamford, Bourne & the Deepings libraries during normal opening hours.
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Work is under way on the new South Kesteven Local Development Framework, a suite of planning documents that will set out the Council's future planning policies and eventually replace the South Kesteven Local Plan.
The major changes to the land use planning system brought about by the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004 include the replacement of Structure Plans, Local Plans and Supplementary Planning Guidance by a new system of Local Development Frameworks. The new Local Development Framework must be in conformity with the Regional Spatial Strategy (RSS), the East Midlands Regional Plan which is being prepared by the East Midlands Regional Assembly (EMRA).
The Local Development Framework (LDF) is a folder of individual Local Development Documents (LDDs). The different types of Local Development Documents that the Council will prepare are:
Local Development Scheme (LDS). This document sets out the timetable for the documents that this Council will be producing as part of the Local Development Framework. It provides a starting point for you to see what documentation will be produced and at what stage you can become involved in the Local Development Framework process.
The LDS is reviewed as necessary to take into account any changes in the process and timetable. It is currently being revised.
Statement of Community Involvement (SCI). This document sets out how and when the Council will involve the community and other interested people and organisations ('stakeholders') in the preparation of planning policy documents and in the consideration of planning applications in South Kesteven. It was adopted in April 2006.
Development Plan Documents (DPDs). These documents establish the policy framework, and identify specific sites for development and/or protection. They must be in conformity with the Regional Spatial Strategy (East Midlands Regional Plan), and each other. They will be subject to independent assessment at an Examination by an Inspector whose report will be binding.
- Core Strategy
- Site Specific Allocations
- Area Action Plans (where needed)
- The Proposals Map
Supplementary Planning Documents (SPDs). These documents will provide further details of policies and proposals set out in Development Plan Documents. These could take the form of design guides, other guidance, development briefs, or issue-based documents. They will not form part of the statutory development plan and will not be independently assessed by an Inspector.
Annual Monitoring Report (AMR). This will check progress in preparing the Local Development Framework against the timetable set out in the Local Development Scheme, and outline to what extent policies in Development Plan Documents are delivering objectives.
Sustainability Appraisal (SA) Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) ensures that the policies and proposals in the Local Development Framework contribute to the aims of sustainable development. It is a continuous and integral part of the plan making process.
If you wish to be consulted during the preparation of the Local Development Framework or would like to know more about the process, please let us know by e-mailing the Council's Planning Policy Team at planningpolicy@southkesteven.gov.uk.
Bookmark this page if you would like to keep up to date with the Council's progress in preparing the South Kesteven Local Development Framework.
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The revised South Kesteven Local Development Scheme sets out the timetable over the next three years for the preparation of the documents that will be included in the Local Development Framework.
The Local Development Scheme (LDS) was first approved on the 11th April. The LDS has recently been reviewed and recieved Government Office and Planning Inspectorate approval on the 29th January 2008.
The LDS includes details on the main steps, community involvement and
consultation stages for the preparation of each planning policy document.
The main opportunities to have your say are at the early stages of preparing planning policy documents. These are at Issues and Options stage (identifying the main issues and problems and working out different ways of addressing them) and Preferred Options stage (a statutory six-week consultation on what is generally a draft document). There is the further opportunity to comment on planning policy documents once they are submitted to the Secretary of State for approval and to take up any remaining objections with the independent Planning Inspector at the Examination stage. The Planning Inspector may require changes to be made before the Council can finally adopt the document.
The stages for each document identified in the Local Development Scheme are summarised below:
This document sets out when and how the Council will involve the community in the preparation of planning policy documents (and also in planning applications).
- Draft Version – 22nd April – 3rd June 2005
- Submission – 9th November 2005
- Examination (written representations) – February/
March 2006
- Inspector's Report - issued 27th March 2006
- Adoption - adopted 27th April 2006
This will establish the spatial strategy for the district and include a framework of policies to guide development across the whole district.
- Issues and Options – Consultation ended November 2005
- Preferred Options – May - June 2008
- Submission - Oct - Nov 2008
- Examination - May - June 2009
- Adoption - December 2009
- Site Specific Allocations and Policies
- Issues and Options – Consultation ended November
2005
- Issues and Options - May/June 2008
- Preferred Options – June/July 2009
- Submission - April/May 2010
- Examination - Nov/Dec 2010
- Adoption - June 2011
- Grantham Area Action plan
- Preferred Options – June/July 2009
- Submission - April/May 2010
- Examination - Nov/Dec 2010
- Adoption - June 2011
Affordable Housing
- Draft - March 2009
- Approval by Council – Oct/Nov 2009
- Adoption – March 2010
The progress made in the preparation of the Local Development Framework is set out in the Annual Monitoring Report. Amongst other things, the Annual Monitoring Report looks at the key stages set out in the Local Development Scheme and whether the Council has kept to the timetable.
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Adopted 27th April 2006
The Statement of Community Involvement (SCI) sets out how and when the Council will involve the community and other interested people and organisations ('stakeholders') in the preparation of its planning policies and guidance, and also in the consideration of planning applications in South Kesteven.
The Statement of Community Involvement was adopted on 27th April 2006.
The SCI incorporates the binding recommendations of the Planning Inspector contained in the Inspector's Report of 27th March 2006. The SCI was examined by the Written Representations procedure during February and March.
Early stakeholder consultation was undertaken, which led to the preparation of a draft SCI in December 2004/ January 2005.
A Draft Statement of Community Involvement was published for public consultation for a statutory six-week period between 22 April and 3 June 2005 and 121 comments were received. The Council took all these comments into account in revising the Draft SCI.
The Council submitted the SCI to the Government 9 November 2005.
The SCI will be reviewed if and when there is a need to make any changes to it.
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Development Plan Documents (DPDs), together with the Regional Spatial Strategy form the statutory Development Plan for an area.
The Development Plan Documents the Council prepares must be in conformity with the Regional Spatial Strategy. They will be subject to independent assessment at an Examination by an Inspector.
The Core Strategy will set out the key elements of the planning framework for South Kesteven. It will comprise a vision and strategic objectives for the area, a spatial strategy, core policies applicable to the whole area and a monitoring and implementation framework.
While the Core Strategy is being drawn up, the Council will be carrying out background work on more detailed documents dealing with particular issues, for example the site allocations DPD. These will not go forward to more formal public consultation until after the Core Strategy is adopted in 2009.
This will set out the allocation of land for particular uses, such as housing, employment, retail and gypsy and traveller sites to meet the identified needs of the area.
These will provide the framework for areas where significant change or conservation is needed. For example, Town Centre Action Plans may be prepared in the future.
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The Core Strategy will set out the key elements of the planning framework for South Kesteven over the next twenty years. It will comprise a vision and strategic objectives for the area, strategic planning policies that will apply to the whole of South Kesteven, and a monitoring and implementation framework. It will set the scene for more detailed policies and guidance to follow in further Local Development Documents.
The Core Strategy must be in accordance with national and regional planning policy and guidance issued respectively by the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) and the East Midlands Regional Assembly (EMRA). The examination in public for the draft East Midlands Regional Plan commenced on 22nd May 2007, the Panel Report was published 28th
Novemeber 2007. Proposed changes to the draft plan will be published in Spring
2008. A final version is expected to be issued in Autumn 2008.
In September, October and November 2005 the Council sought the views and comments of the community on Issues and Options for Future Development in South Kesteven. This consultation stage was important for gaining consensus about the key issues facing the district and on the possible options for the policy approaches to be taken in the Core Strategy and site allocation.
In June 2006 the Council sought the views and comments of the community on its Core Strategy Preferred Options Development Plan Document, and received many representations from the community. In the light of Government advice, and Inspectors reports about early Core strategies produced elsewhere, it has been decided that this stage of the process should be repeated.
We used the feedback from the Core Strategy Issues and Options consultation to help us develop the Preferred Options.
The Preferred Options have also been influenced by a number of key studies that the Council has now published:
The process of sustainability appraisal has also influenced the Council's choice of preferred options. The Sustainability Appraisal Report documenting this will be published for public consultation in April 2007. The Sustainability Appraisal Report and its appendices will be available by clicking on the appropriate pdfs.
The process of sustainability appraisal involves testing the emerging options to see how they would perform against social, economic and environmental criteria. This can help to choose options or improve them to better embody the principles of sustainable development. 'Sustainable development' is development that meets the needs of the present generation without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.
For further information on Sustainability Appraisal please see the Sustainability Appraisal page.
The Council will take into account the comments received on the Preferred Options and the Sustainability Appraisal Report in developing strategic policies to help deliver the preferred strategy. These will be published for public consultation in the final document towards the end of this year, when the Core Strategy is submitted to the Government. After that, the Core Strategy will be independently examined by a Planning Inspector before it can be adopted towards the end of 2009.
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(incorporating the Strategic Environmental Assessment)
Sustainability Appraisal is the process of looking at Local Development Framework policies as they are being developed, and examining how they contribute to sustainable development. The aim is to identify and address problems early on and to improve the sustainability of spatial planning policies. Sustainability Appraisal is a requirement of the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004 and it incorporates Strategic Environment Assessment, the requirements for which are set out in the Environmental Assessment of Plans and Programmes Regulations 2004.
The Council prepared a Scoping Report for the Core Strategy of the South Kesteven Local Development Framework in September 2005. This was the first step in undertaking a Sustainability Appraisal of the Core Strategy. It set out:
- The context for the Sustainability Appraisal;
- The baseline information for South Kesteven that has
been collated so far;
- The key sustainability issues in the District;
- The sustainability objectives and indicators that
have been developed;
- How the Sustainability Appraisal of policies will be undertaken.
The main text of the Scoping Report can be viewed by downloading the appropriate pdf.
The Scoping Report was sent to statutory and specific consultation bodies and other appropriate organisations on 21 September 2005. The aim was to ensure that the scope and level of detail of the Sustainability Appraisal is appropriate, and to identify and fill gaps in information.
A draft Sustainability Appraisal Report will be published for public consultation alongside the Core Strategy Preferred Options in April 2007. This will set out how the Council has evaluated the likely social, environmental and economic impact of different policy options and how this has influenced the development of the preferred policy options.
After consultation on the preferred options the Council will take into account all the comments received and use them to revise and update the Sustainability Appraisal Report and framework. A revised Final Sustainability Appraisal Report will then be submitted to the Secretary of State alongside the Core Strategy towards the end of this year.
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The Council is required to monitor the progress made on the preparation and implementation of the Local Development Framework through an Annual Monitoring Report (AMR).
A report covering the period April 2006 to March 2007 has been submitted to the Department for Communities and Local Government.
The report comments on:
- Progress on the production of documents in the
original Local Development Scheme;
- The monitoring of a framework of Core Output Indicators including the net number of dwellings completed in the period covered by the AMR.
If you would like a paper copy of any of the LDF documents or any other documents or would like to have a copy in any other format, such as large print, Braille, audio tape or in another language, please let us know by visiting the Council's main reception in Grantham, by e-mailing communications@southkesteven.gov.uk or please visit the homepage on this website.
Alternatively, and if you require further information please telephone a member of the planning policy team on 01476 406080, or email the Council's Planning Policy Team at planningpolicy@southkesteven.gov.uk.