Written Statement submitted in response to the Examination of the BCP Local
Earlier this year, BCP Council consulted on the draft BCP Local Plan which closed on 3rd May 2024. Our Planning Group worked hard on drafting the response to the Regulation 19 consultation. On 27th June, BCP Council submitted the draft Local Plan to the Secretary of State for examination, together with the consultation responses. Dorset CPRE will participate in the examination hearing which starts on 21st January 2025.
In November the Planning Inspectorate released the dates for Part 1 of the examination of the BCP Draft Local Plan (starting on 21st January 2025) together with Matters, Issues and Questions (MIQs) that the Inspectors would like to explore during the examination. Should the Inspectors be satisfied with the Part 1 of the examination, a Part 2 hearing sessions will be held and further MIQs published.
There are two Matters raised in the Part 1 MIQs, Matter 1 focuses on compliance with statutory procedures and legal matters, which include the Duty to Co-operate, Sustainability Appraisal, Habitats Regulation Assessment etc. Matter 2 focuses on Housing Need and Housing Requirement.
On 17th December, our Poole and Purbeck Group submitted a detailed Written Statement on behalf of Dorset CPRE focussing on Matter 2, Question 26, which asks, “Are there any ‘exceptional circumstances’ that justify an alternative approach to the standard method in assessing housing need, as per paragraph 61 of the framework? Is a constraints-based approach justified in this case?”.
On 18th December, we received confirmation and are delighted that Dorset CPRE has been invited to participate in the Examination Hearing for Part 1, Matter 2 ‘Housing Need and Requirement’ on the 22nd & 23rd January 2025 at the BCP Civic Centre.