Work on the new Local Plan has been underway for some time, although it would be easy not to know, since the Local Plan page on Ealing Council’s website fails to give any indication of it. Instead, all the information relating to the Local Plan is lodged under the Local Development Plan Advisory Committee page. Confused?
Ealing Matters has produced a short Guide called Ealing New Local Development Plan: Background and Process. You can find it within the Guides part of the Publications section of our website. The guide explains the role of the Local Plan, why Ealing needs a new one and how it will be produced. We have included a jargon buster and links to all the background documents that will be used as the evidence base to shape the Plan. Importantly, we have also indicated the different points in the process at which residents can have their say.
Work on the Plan is still in progress, so we will amend the Guide as and when more information becomes available.
The process of developing the Local Plan has been further complicated by Planning for the Future, the recently published Government White Paper. One feature of the White Paper of particular significance is the greater emphasis it proposes to give to Local Plans over processes further down the line, e.g. planning committees. Based on recent experiences of planning decision making in Ealing, this shift of emphasis could benefit residents – but only if we make sure as many residents as possible get involved in creating our new Local Plan.