Position Statement March 2024
On 4 March 2024, Rother District Council’s Cabinet agreed to a 12-week public consultation on the draft new Rother Local Plan (Regulation 18 version), starting in mid-April 2024. Further details on the dates and format of this consultation, including how to review it, how to find out more and how to respond will be published on this website shortly. If you would like to be notified of the consultation, please register to our consultation mailing list.
Please note: in order to be notified of the consultation, you will need to select, under Topics, ‘Planning Policy Documents’ when you register. In addition, you will be emailed a verification code as part of the registration process. Please check your spam folder if you cannot see the email.
The Council will issue a new Local Development Scheme (LDS) to reflect the updated timeframe for the delivery of the Rother Local Plan alongside the Regulation 18 consultation.
Background
Rother District Council’s current Core Strategy Local Plan is now more than 5 years old, having been adopted on 29 September 2014, while the Development and Site Allocations Plan was adopted on 16 December 2019. In line with the requirements of the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) and Planning Practice Guidance (PPG), the Council must review Local Plans at least once every five years to ensure that policies remain relevant.
The delivery of the new Local Plan is a key priority for Rother District Council as it will set out our policy response to the climate emergency and biodiversity crisis as well as plan for sustainable development up to 2040. Given the significance of these challenges, the evidence gathering stage must be as thorough as possible.
The Council published a Local Plan Early Engagement Document along with an Engagement Strategy in April 2021. Since this time, the Council has prioritised the development of its evidence base and has continued with its ‘duty to cooperate’ by working with government agencies, East Sussex County Council, neighbouring authorities across East Sussex and into Kent and our own councillors and officers to shape the Plan.
A new Statement of Community Involvement (SCI) was adopted by the Council in January 2022 and this document provides a clear indication of the methods of engagement it will use as the Local Plan progresses.
Emerging Evidence Base
All documents that have been prepared as part of the evidence base work are available on our Emerging Evidence Base page. They will be subject to further review and potential refresh as the local plan progresses.
Early Targeted Engagement on the Local Plan
The Council undertook targeted engagement at an early stage in the production of the local plan, in advance of proposed public consultation that will form the first public consultation stage later in 2022/23.
Two documents regarding this targeted engagement can be found below.
Sustainability Appraisal (SA)
Rother District Council worked jointly with Hastings Borough Council to prepare joint SA/SEA Scoping Report for the respective Local Plans. This document presents the SA framework which will be used to assess the development of policy options as the Local Plan progresses. The Scoping Report and is its supporting appendices can be found below:
- SA/SEA Scoping Report
- Appendix A – Summary of Responses and Actions
- Appendix B – SA Framework
- Appendix C – Indicator Tables
- Appendix D – Contextual Indicators and Assessment Matrix
Call for Sites
To inform our evidence base for the new Local Plan we have invited landowners, agents, developers and other interested parties to put forward sites for consideration for housing and economic development, and also sites for Gypsy and Traveller pitches. Our initial assessment of those sites that have been submitted will be published as part of the public consultation on the draft Local Plan (Regulation 18 version). However, for the time being we are still accepting site submissions. Sites not included within this first version of the evidence will still be assessed, and conclusions detailed in a later version
For further information or to submit a site, please visit the Call for Sites and Gypsy, Traveller and Travelling Showpeople Accommodation Needs pages.
