West Dorset, Weymouth and Portland Local Plan Amendments: 775 Houses Per Annum; Revised Plan Examination in Public Period

Read about the revised plan examination

The final summary (last sentence and blue link) below is of special interest

Examination - Important Update
"The Hearings relating to the West Dorset, Weymouth and Portland Local Plan Examination are due to commence on Tuesday 25 November 2014 and will last for three weeks. The Hearings will take place in Committee Rooms A and B, West Dorset District Council Offices, South Walks Road, Dorchester, Dorset, DT1 1UZ. The sitting times are Tuesday to Thursday from 10am-1pm and from 2pm-5pm and on Friday 10am-1pm.

The Draft Examination Programme (pdf, 219kb)(opens in a new window) shows the Matters and Issues identified for discussion by the Inspector although it is important to note that the draft programme is subject to change. An Examination Guidance Note (pdf, 80kb)(opens in a new window) explains the Examination process in more detail. If you expect to be informed of the Examination Hearings by email please check all incoming email folders carefully as the notification has been sent from an external source and may not automatically appear in your inbox.
Consultation on Further Proposed Changes - Summer 2014

Additional evidence on housing was prepared during the suspension of the Local Plan, this can be found in the Examination Library. The results of this additional evidence required Further Proposed Changes (pdf, 99kb)(opens in a new window) to be made to the Local Plan. The majority of changes relate to chapter 3 (pdf, 749kb)(opens in a new window) (Sustainable Pattern of Development).

The councils consulted on these further proposed changes and an accompanying Sustainability Appraisal Update (pdf, 168kb)(opens in a new window) between 31 July and 11 September 2014 and the individual Further Proposed Changes Consultation Responses were sent to the Inspector for his consideration. The Further Proposed Changes Consultation Summary (pdf, 512kb)(opens in a new window) provides an overview of all the individual issues raised during the consultation period".


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"Residents and stakeholders across West Dorset, Weymouth and Portland were asked for their
views on further proposed changes to the draft joint Local Plan. The changes were in response to
new housing evidence prepared to address matters highlighted by the Local Plan Inspector Paul
Crysell at an exploratory meeting held in January 2014. The changes were agreed by West Dorset
Full Council on 3rd July and Weymouth and Portland Management Committee on 1 July 2014. The
following table summarises the changes proposed.

FPC1-3 An independent review looking at the relationship between houses and jobs has
recommended an increase in the rate of housing development using a single target for
the plan area. As a result, it is proposed that the housing requirement will increase to
775 units per annum (FPC1), across the whole plan area (FPC2), and that the plan refers
to an estimated increase to the resident labour force of 2,300 (FPC3) between 2011 and
2031.

FPC4 Reducing the plan period by 3 years from 2031 to 2028 will help us meet this increased
level of housing provision without the need to identify and consult on additional development sites at this stage, which could further delay the delivery of those sites already identified in the plan. Additional development sites would be identified and consulted on in a future review.

FPC5-7 Revised housing land supply evidence has been prepared to help inform the Local Plan
and ensure that the understanding of land supply is consistent and fully up-to-date
across the plan area. As a result, some changes are proposed to the components of the
supply to take account of the most recent information available.

The consultation period ran for a 6 week period from 31 July to 11 September 2014".

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Plans to build on school fields (Dorset Echo) in Dorchester