Legacy Plans and New Local Plans: The State of Play

In March this year, regulations governing the new regime came into force, paving the way for councils to start work on new-style local plans for the first time. Councils preparing them will be required to complete their plans within a condensed 30-month period, conduct three public consultations rather than the two currently required and complete three mandatory gateway checks. The transitional arrangements for the new local plan system require that any “legacy” plans, meaning plans submitted under the existing system, must be submitted to the Planning Inspectorate (PINS) for examination before 31 December 2026. This means authorities that are part-way through their plan preparation process must decide whether to push ahead with a legacy plan that must be submitted before December, or switch to the new system and start from scratch. In this free lunchtime webinar for local planning authorities, Suzanne Ornsby KC and Brendan Brett will provide an overview of the new regulations and discuss the current state of play.