The Planning Inspectorate- Wales

Local Development Plans

The Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004 introduced a new system of local development plans (LDPs) in Wales to replace Unitary Development Plans (UDPs).

The approach under the new system will be different from that by which UDPs were adopted. Each new LDP must be submitted to the Welsh Assembly Government for independent examination. The Inspector who undertakes that examination will be required to assess whether the plan overall is sound rather than simply consider individual objections.

Guidance

The ‘Examining Local Development Plans: Procedure Guidance’ deals with the procedural aspects of dealing with the examination of LDPs after submission and is aimed at all those involved in the process of producing and examining an LDP.

View ‘Examining Local Development Plans: Procedure Guidance’ (pdf 160kb)

As experiences are gained within the LDP system, we will produce additional tips and guidance from time to time which will assist others involved in the process.

LDPs: Some Early Lessons

The first LDPs have now been submitted for examination. Each is different and whilst there is some good work, there are also a number of common problems and themes we have identified and which this document presents. The purpose of publishing the lessons learnt so far is to help those local planning authorities still in the process of preparing their plans for submission or those who may be doing additional work on plans already submitted.

View 'LDPs Some Early Lessons' (pdf 11kb)

Applying lessons learnt in England to the production of Local Development Plans

In July 2009 the Planning Inspectorate published ‘Learning from Experience – 2009’ which updated the ‘Lessons Learnt’ document produced in 2007. The advice in the 2009 document is built on the Inspectorate’s experience of examining around 100 English Development Plan Documents (DPD) submitted between June 2007 and June 2009, discussions with a wide variety of interested parties and over 90 visits to local authorities as part of the Inspectorate’s Early Engagement project. Although the English system is different, many of the lessons learnt will be valuable to LPAs in Wales as they prepare their Local Development Plans (LDP).

View 'Applying lessons learnt in England to the production of Local Development Plans (pdf 92kb

Useful Documents and Links

Frequently Asked Questions (pdf 130kb)
Service Level Agreements (pdf 64kb)
A Brief Guide to Examining Local Development Plans (pdf 53kb)
Submission Check List (pdf 42kb)

Welsh Assembly Government

Development Plans
Planning
Policy Clarification Letters 2010 (1/2010)
Circular Letters – 2009 (1 & 2/2009)

Office of Public Sector Information (OPSI)

The Local Inquiries, Qualifying Inquiries and Qualifying Procedures (Standard Daily Amount) (Wales) Regulations 2007 (2007 No. 728 (W.64))
Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004
The Town and Country Planning (Local Development Plan) (Wales) Regulations 2005 (2005 No. 2839 (W.203))

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