Chapter 2: Progress on development plan documents and other non- statutory documents
Chapter 2: Contnets
The Local Development Scheme
2.1. The Local Development Scheme (LDS) is a project plan that sets out timescales for the preparation and revision of documents in Oxford’s Local Plan (OLP) and other planning policy documents. The latest LDS for Oxford was published in January 2023 and covers the period 2023-2028. It is viewable on our LDS page. Table 1 below sets out progress against the LDS during the monitoring period.
| Document title | LDS timescale (as relevant to the monitoring period) | Progress during the 2023/24 monitoring year |
|---|---|---|
| Oxford Local Plan 2036 | Adopted June 2020 | Policies in use in decision making on planning applications and being considered ahead of the Local Plan 2040 draft submission. |
|
Adopted Policies Map |
Adopted June 2020 |
Reflects the adopted policies in the OLP 2036. |
|
Oxford Local Plan 2040 |
Submission for examination expected by end of March 2024. |
The Proposed Submission Draft consultation (Regulation 19) of the OLP 2040 was carried out between November 2023 and early January 2024. This Plan was submitted for examination on Thursday 28 March 2024. |
Duty to Co-operate
2.2. The Duty to Co-operate, introduced by the Localism Act 2011, requires on-going, constructive collaboration and active engagement with neighbouring authorities and other statutory bodies when preparing Local Plan documents.
2.3. The City Council has also been actively involved in several on-going joint-working and partnership relationships, which help to provide a shared evidence base for plan making and addressing strategic and cross-boundary issues. This includes the Future Oxfordshire Partnership (formally known as the Oxfordshire Growth Board); and the Oxfordshire Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP); Engagement with other stakeholders about Duty to Co-operate matters is very important in the development of the Oxford Local Plan 2040, and commentary about these processes is provided in more detail in the General Statement of Common Ground for Duty to Co-operate - download the General Statement of Common Ground for Duty to Co-operate – live document (August 2023).
2.4. This detailed Duty to Co-operate Statement is a live document kept updated as the Local Plan continues, as discussions progress and evidence is produced. It forms part of the evidence base published for the Local Plan submission. In addition to this general statement, Statements of Common Ground (SoCG) have been produced with individual district authorities, the County Council and other statutory bodies, all published on the Council’s website - download the Statements of Common Ground.
Neighbourhood plans
2.5. The 2011 Localism Act introduced new powers for communities that enable them to be directly involved in planning for their areas. Neighbourhood planning allows communities to come together through a parish council or neighbourhood forum to produce a Neighbourhood Plan.
2.6. No Neighbourhood Plans were formally made during the 2023/24 monitoring year.
Consultations
2.7. During the monitoring year the following consultations took place:
2.8. Oxford Local Plan 2040 Proposed Submission Draft Consultation
Consultation dates: 10 November 2023 – 4 January 2024
Summary of what we did: A statutory consultation exercise (Regulation 19) was undertaken in late 2023 on the Local Plan Proposed Submission draft document. This document had been developed as a result of the two Preferred Options (Regulation 18) consultations – Part 1 undertaken in autumn 2022 and Part 2 which focused on housing need in early 2023.
This consultation offered the opportunity for potential respondents to express views on the soundness of the plan, as defined by the tests of soundness set out in paragraph 35 of the National Planning Policy Framework (GOV.UK website). Guidance notes were also prepared to explain what is meant by soundness and legal compliance.
All statutory bodies as listed in the Regulations were directly notified of the consultation as was anyone on the Council’s consultation database who had previously expressed that they wished to be notified of Planning and Regeneration issues.
To make the consultation as accessible as possible, responses could be completed on the online portal, which also allowed respondents to focus on particular topics or matters that were of interest to them. Comments could also be submitted in writing via email or letter.
The comments received were used to inform a final draft of the Local Plan. As the Plan could not be amended at this stage, any proposed modifications have been included in a table and submitted for the Planning Inspector to consider. A summary of the consultation responses received along with Officer responses can be found in Appendix 4 of the Regulation 22 Consultation Statement - download the Regulation 22 Consultation Statement, Appendix 4 (2024).
