Local Development Framework
What is a Local Development Framework (LDF)?
It is a new development planning system which has been
brought in by the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004. It
will result in the replacement of the old system of Local Plans,
Structure Plans and Supplementary Planning Guidance with a folder
of documents to address local issues and to meet the statutory
requirement. These will collectively provide a long-term vision for
the borough.
The government requires all local
planning authorities to produce a series of documents which
together make up the Local Development Framework. The
documents are known as Local Development Documents or LDDs. The
process for producing
LDDs
is laid down in
government guidance and/or regulations and must be followed.
How is this
different from Local Plans?
Local Plans are large documents that take at least five years
to prepare, are very complex and become out of date very quickly.
Local Plans have been around since 1968 but some councils in
England have still not managed to adopt one. The new system is
meant to tackle this problem. The
LDF
will comprise smaller
policy documents that can be updated individually and much faster
than the old style local plans. Updating will only occur where
needed. Some documents will rarely change, others will be replaced
every few years. In addition the new documents must also look at
social and economic issues when proposing policies and strategies
for an area.
What is the Havant Community
Partnership's involvement?
The Community Strategy for an area (a "people" document)
needs to be reflected in the
LDF
Core Strategy (a spatial
planning document). Emerging government guidance indicates
that Community Strategies need to develop into
Sustainable
Community Strategies (SCSs), based on statistical
evidence which identifies the priorities for an
area. The
ODPM
LSP
Consultation Document, 2005, states: "Local Development
Frameworks must be a key component in the delivery of the
Sustainable Community Strategy, setting out its spatial aspects and
providing a long-term spatial view."
The current Community Strategy for Havant, "
Stronger
Together", was produced by the Havant Community Partnership and
published for a three-year period from February 2005.
During 2007 the process of reviewing/updating the current Community
Strategy will be one of the key tasks for the Havant Community
Partnership. One aspect of the review process which any
Local Strategic Partnership may wish to consider is the alignment
of the
LDF
Core Strategy and the
SCS
. For example, the
LDF
Core
Strategy could reflect key objectives in the
SCS
; and the
SCS
could
incorporate key headlines from the
LDF
Core Strategy.