Have your say on Local Plan for the Dales

RESIDENTS are being invited to have their say on key aspects of a review of the Derbyshire Dales Local Plan in a consultation.

Derbyshire Dales District Council is taking a fresh approach to its Local Plan - adopted in 2017 - with the emphasis on supporting towns and villages across the district.

Councillor Peter O’Brien, chair of the all-party Local Plan Sub-Committee said: “We want to maintain the character, vitality and sustainability of our towns and villages, while ensuring housing is available to meet the needs of local families.

“Importantly, we want local people to give us their views on how much new housing is needed and where it is located. And we want our residents to be fully involved in this process.”

The council has a legal requirement to prepare a Local Plan to use when assessing planning applications.

An adopted Local Plan provides certainty both for local communities and developers about what type and scale of development is needed, and where it will go.

This initial consultation will help to inform the full version of the Plan later this year, ahead of a further round of consultation before it is submitted to the Secretary of State next Summer.

Since the Derbyshire Dales Local Plan was adopted in 2017, 1,935 homes have been built in the Local Plan area with 198 homes inside the National Park. Planning permission also exists for 1,375 new homes.

The District Council is currently reviewing the Local Plan and looking at how the local population is likely to change in the remaining period of the current Plan up to 2040.