Northumberland Local Plan complete and on its way to Government

The Northumberland Local Plan, the county's key development framework, is being delivered to Government this week for independent inspection.
Coun John Riddle with the Northumberland Local Plan.Coun John Riddle with the Northumberland Local Plan.
Coun John Riddle with the Northumberland Local Plan.

Set to enable the creation of 15,000 new jobs in the county by 2036, the plan has been developed to grow and diversify the economy of Northumberland. It includes all of the main planning policies for the county and maps out where new homes will be built, new jobs created and new services provided.

Aiming to protect the green belt from major new housing development and preserving the special qualities of Northumberland, it also identifies where new services and infrastructure are needed to support communities.

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In the summer of 2017, the new Conservative administration at Northumberland County Council withdrew the previous core strategy and went back to the drawing board for a new local plan.

This led to the Government warning in March last year that the authority's timetable needed to be accelerated by three months from its original suggestion that the new plan would be in place by summer 2020.

Today (Thursday, May 30), council leader Peter Jackson said: "We said that we would deliver a local plan by March 2020 and this submission to Government is a key milestone in achieving that.

"Through the plan we will ensure that Northumberland is a great place to live, work and visit, and that we truly address the future needs of our county.

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"The plan sends a strong message that Northumberland has ambitious plans for growth, while also protecting everything that is special about the area.

"We are very optimistic about the prospects for our county and we will make sure that Northumberland works for everyone and for all of our communities.”

Coun John Riddle, cabinet member for housing, planning and resilience, added: "Through this plan we are setting out clear policies on how we will meet the future economic and housing needs of the county.

"We know that having a plan in place is important to Northumberland communities and we have put a number of measures in place to accelerate its production.

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"We want to see the right development in the right places. We want to provide homes for all and extend choice in the housing market, but are not proposing any new housing allocations in the green belt."

Examination hearings by an independent planning inspector are expected to take place this September, with full adoption of the plan scheduled for March 2020. Find out more and see the submitted plan at www.northumberland.gov.uk/localplan