Uttlesford Local Plan: Draft is submitted to Secretary of State in latest bid to adopt planning blueprint

The latest attempt at a Local Plan for Uttlesford moved a step closer this week as the final draft document was submitted to the Government.

Uttlesford District Council’s (UDC) planning blueprint was handed over to Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, Angela Rayner, on Wednesday (Dec 18) in what councillors described as a “major milestone”.

It has been almost 20 years since the authority last had an approved Local Plan in place and has had numerous failed attempts since then.

Deputy Prime Minister, Ms Rayner will now appoint a planning inspector to review the plan and decide whether or not it meets legal requirements and national policy in order for it to be adopted.

The draft includes supporting evidence documents and more than 500 responses received from the latest round of public consultation held in the autumn.

Cllr John Evans, UDC’s Portfolio Holder for Planning, said “This is a major milestone in the district’s journey towards taking back development control locally and preventing more speculative developments that do not deliver the services and infrastructure that we need.

“This draft plan provides a clear, sustainable and forward-thinking vision for our area whilst recognising and valuing its important landscape and heritage.

“The submission of the local plan for independent examination is the culmination of many years of work by the council and follows several stages of public input as well as the detailed regulatory public consultations.

“I would like to thank everyone involved in helping get the plan to this point, including the officers for preparing this critical piece of work and all those who took the time to take part in the consultation process and to give us their opinions.”