'Time is running out for the Council to deliver a Local Plan' say Medway Liberal Democrats

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Medway Council acknowledged in October that they required more time to consider the draft Local Plan, taking the decision to defer the submission of plan. The Council now faces time constraints to publish the Local Plan and whether the Plan meets legal requirements, and positively prepared and consistent with national policy.

Liberal Democrats now say that time is running out for the Local Plan. We say that preparing a plan with further work, even before it can progress to Regulation 19 consultation, and stand up to examination in public, is now a matter of urgency.

John Castle, Chair of Medway Liberal Democrats said " There is now a need and urgency to bring the plan forward. Time is now running on progressing the Local Plan. The public should never have been presented with an incomplete plan - which includes plans to redevelop Chatham Docks, decide how to spend the £170 million HIF (Housing Infrastructure Fund) for rail and road improvements to support 12,000 homes on the Hoo Peninsula."

"The Council has throughout this process failed on promises about timescales, and now faces the prospect of not been able to deliver on a very tight timescale presented by Government and to have one in place by the end of 2023. The next council meeting is in January, it would go out to consultation for eight weeks after that, and then go to examination in public which can take up to a year or longer"

"The Council's position on the Local Plan is that of continued delays with not only January looking unlikely, but April starting to look in doubt as well, and risks leaving insufficient time to get through Regulation 19 and examination in public before the deadline for the government to impose a plan passes."

John added "What is needed is a local, democratic and political consensus to allow it to pass, or the Government will intervene, with Medway not getting a say with imposed housing targets. Given the Council's track record of persistent failure in plan-making, we could face the intervention of Central Government to ensuring that a Local Plan will be produced in accordance with the Local Development Scheme timetable.

The Plan is already in a weak position, as it's not up to date with a five-year land supply and draft Local Plan, if turned down, it will go to appeal and Medway risks losing the ability to plan and decide what is built for our town's."

The previous draft of the Local Plan provided no such protection and leaves unnecessary ambiguity in areas where further development would be inappropriate. Part of that bid was to deliver 10,200 homes in the Hoo and the infrastructure to facilitate the housing puts the Local Plan into jeopardy. The housing is not dependent on the infrastructure because the housing will come forward anyway.

Liberal Democrats say that what is needed is to facilitate infrastructure in place - to do that we need a coherent plan and a planning blueprint for Medway for the next 16 years.

ENDS

NOTES FOR EDITORS:

www.gov.uk/government/publications/examining-local-plans-procedural-practice/procedure-guide-for-local-plan-examinations

Government Local Plan Guidance - https://www.gov.uk/guidance/local-plans

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