Weight of Rogate and Rake Neighbourhood Plan in Planning Decisions
I just wanted to clarify the weight given in planning decisions to Rogate and Rake Neighbourhood Plan, which was made part of the statutory development plan in August 2021.
The Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004 section 38 (6) says: “If regard is to be had to the development plan for the purpose of any determination to be made under the planning Acts the determination must be made in accordance with the plan unless material considerations indicate otherwise”.
Part (5) of the same section says: “If to any extent a policy contained in a development plan for an area conflicts with another policy in the development plan the conflict must be resolved in favour of the policy which is contained in the last document to become part of the development plan”.
In effect part (6) means that full weight will be given to the Neighbourhood Plan when determining current planning applications. However, part (5) means that, when reviewing part of the development plan (such as through the South Downs Local Plan Review) this may result in conflicts between the new Plan and any existing ones, and that the new Plan once adopted will take precedence.
The Neighbourhood Plan was required to be in general conformity with the existing South Downs Local Plan (adopted in 2019) which planned for housing until 2033 and allocated a number of 11 homes to Rogate in SD26. This was the basis of the allocation of Rogate Garage in the Neighbourhood Plan, which was considered the best of the potential sites at
the time.
With the South Downs Local Plan Review we are extending the plan period to 2042 and reviewing the amount of housing to be delivered each year within the National Park. This means that we need to look again at all potential sites including those previously rejected in Neighbourhood Plans. We are also looking at sites across the National Park to meet the housing needs of the whole Park, rather than giving each parish a specific target to meet.
I hope this clarifies the situation, but please let me know if you have any further questions.
Comments on the merits or otherwise of the proposed site allocation at land west of the Village Hall, Rogate or any other part of the South Downs Local Plan Review or its evidence base should be formally submitted as part of the current consultation by 17th March – details at The South Downs Local Plan Review – South Downs National Park Authority
