Decision details

The report seeks approval for a revised Local Development Scheme (LDS) which sets out the local plan documents the Council will consult on and the timetable for producing them.  

That the Cabinet Member for Transport and Development:-

(i) approves the revised Local Development Scheme attached as an Appendix to this report;

(ii) resolves that it is to have effect from 20 November 2019; and

(iii) agrees to the LDS being published on the Council’s website

As explained in the report the local planning authority is legally required to produce a Local Development Scheme and keep it up to date and so the recommendations in this report are made to secure compliance with that statutory requirement.  The LDS sets the timetable for delivery of a new Local Plan, which will be designed to contribute towards securing a strong economy, thriving neighbourhoods and communities, improving health and wellbeing, addressing inequalities across the city and mitigating and adapting to climate change.

The preparation, bringing into effect and revision of a Local Development Scheme are statutory requirements and in that regard there is no alternative option.  Otherwise the Secretary of State can prepare an LDS and direct the local planning authority to bring it into effect and the Council would have very little, if any, input into that.  However the time periods allocated to each stage of the process in the revised LDS have been carefully considered.  It is important that timely progress is made but it is equally important that the timetable can be adhered to.  The time periods included in the revised LDS are considered to be the most appropriate and realistic.  Some of the key points that were considered when formulating the revised LDS are summarised below.

The preparation of Local Plans must be underpinned by relevant and up-to-date evidence .  Significant work is required on the evidence base at the outset of the process to underpin any Issues and Options consultation documents.  As part of developing the vision for the city, officers intend to undertake further engagement with landowners, agents, developers and local residents about the scope for redevelopment in the central area of Sheffield (covering the City Centre and the areas fringing the centre).  This will take place later this year.  One of the main objectives of this will be to explore the potential for additional housing development in those areas.  The recent declaration of the Climate Emergency, and commitment to targeting rapid decarbonisation over the plan period, adds impetus to the need to secure sustainable sites for housing growth in the city.  A stronger focus on the central area would potentially support lower carbon living through densification of land uses, provision of more efficient buildings and encouraging sustainable travel through improved alignment of residential and employment land.  Sufficient time for this work to be carried out, before the Issues and Options documentation is prepared and subsequently consulted on,  needs to be allocated in the LDS.

In the proposed revised LDS we have allowed for additional time (when compared to the previous version of the LDS) after submission of the Plan, because experience elsewhere suggests that the process from the date of submission to adoption typically takes 18-24 months.