Government Guidance in Planning Implementation
Case reference FOI2019/00727
Published 29 July 2019
Request
Several statements have been made by the Council (officers and Councillors) to the effect that there is no choice available to the Council in determining its housing numbers, in defining its green belt boundaries, in adopting the local plan with (in my view) indecent haste, because "the Council is merely following government guidelines" on the implementation of local planning. Would you be so kind as to provide copies or point me in the direction of the government guidelines that the Council has been relying on in respect of the matters referred to above, ie: Setting housing numbers Deciding to amend Green Belt Boundaries (including insetting villages) Adopting the Local Plan (with particular reference to the speed of adoption)
Response
We have considered your request for information regarding the government guidelines that the Council has been relying on in respect of determining its housing numbers, in defining its green belt boundaries, in adopting the local plan.
In respect of -
- Setting housing numbers - the guidance relied upon was that contained in the national planning practice guidance ('Housing and Economic needs assessment'). Please note this guidance has now been replaced by the Standard Method.
- Deciding to amend Green Belt Boundaries (including insetting villages) Adopting the Local Plan (with particular reference to the speed of adoption) - the Council relied upon the national planning practice guidance ('plan making'). This contains an expectation that 'the authority will proceed quickly with adopting a plan that has been found sound'.
Documents
This is Guildford Council's response to a freedom of information (FOI) or environmental information regulations (EIR) request.
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