Dorset Council Local Plan evidence and background papers

An important part of the planning process is gathering evidence and factual information to help identify the issues and needs of the area.

Evidence can come from reports, strategies, specific pieces of research and from a wide range of sources including organisations that operate at a local level or organisations that operate on a wider level but have specialist knowledge or expertise.

Pieces of supporting evidence which help inform the Dorset Council Local Plan are set out in the table on this page. In addition to these, there are a number of existing reports that have formed part of our evidence base for previous reviews of the adopted former district and borough Local Plans. Where appropriate, these pieces of evidence have also helped inform the production of the Plan, and can be accessed using the links below.

Supporting evidence

The following section lists evidence that has been produced to help develop the Dorset Council Local Plan. Some of the evidence listed was produced separately to support the reviews of the adopted former district and borough Local Plans, but together covers the Dorset Council area as a whole.

Development Strategy and Viability

This table contains links to evidence gathered by Dorset Council on topics related to the strategy for development, and viability, to inform the production of the Dorset Council Local Plan.
Topic	Sub-topic	Publication date	Document title
Development Strategy	Green belt	January 2021	Strategic Green Belt Review (Dorset Council and Bournemouth, Christchurch, & Poole Council)
Viability	Viability assessment	December 2022	Dorset Council area viability assessment

Settlements

This table contains links to evidence gathered by Dorset Council on topics related to specific settlements, to inform the production of the Dorset Council Local Plan.
Topic	Sub-topic	Publication date	Document title
Alderholt	Transport	May 2021/September 2021	Alderholt Traffic Modelling Report Alderholt Traffic Forecasting Report
Dorchester	Heritage	January 2021	North of Dorchester Heritage Impact Assessment
Dorchester	Garden Communities	In progress	North of Dorchester Garden Community

Housing

This table contains links to evidence gathered by Dorset Council on topics related to housing, to inform the production of the Dorset Council Local Plan.
Sub-topic	Publication date	Document title
Land availability	September 2020/September 2023	Strategic Housing Land Availability Assessment and Gypsy and Traveller Land Availability Assessment
Housing needs	January 2022	Housing Needs Assessment Sensitivity report Impact report
Gypsy and Traveller Accommodation Assessment Update	October 2022	Gypsy and Traveller Accommodation Assessment Update

Environment

This table contains links to evidence gathered by Dorset Council on topics related to the environment, to inform the production of the Dorset Council Local Plan.
Sub-topic	Publication date	Document title
Ecology	2021/2022	Extended Phase 1 ecological surveys
Landscape and Heritage	Various	Landscape and Heritage Studies
Flood Risk	March 2024	Dorset Council Level 1 Strategic Flood Risk Assessment
Flood Risk	February 2024	Weymouth Level 2 Strategic Flood Risk Assessment

Economy

This table contains links to evidence gathered by Dorset Council on topics related to the economy, to inform the production of the Dorset Council Local Plan.
Sub-topic	Publication date	Document title
Employment	October 2016	Bournemouth, Dorset, and Poole Workspace Strategy
Employment	January 2020	Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and Dorset Council Workspace Strategy update
Town Centres and Retail Development	January 2023	Dorset Retail and Leisure Study - 2022 Update

Community needs and infrastructure

This table contains links to evidence gathered by Dorset Council on topics related to community needs and infrastructure, to inform the production of the Dorset Council Local Plan.
Sub-topic	Publication date	Document title
Recreation and open space	Various	Playing Pitch Strategy, and Sport and Leisure Facilities Needs Assessments
Renewable energy	December 2020	Strategic Identification of Wind Farm Sites - Report Strategic Identification of Wind Farm Sites - Figure 1.1 Strategic Identification of Wind Farm Sites - Figure 1.2 Strategic Identification of Wind Farm Sites - Figure 1.3
Electricity Grid Capacity	November 2023	Grid Capacity Assessment - Constraint Analysis

Sustainability appraisal

This table contains links to evidence gathered by Dorset Council on topics related to the sustainability appraisal, to inform the production of the Dorset Council Local Plan.
Sub-topic	Publication date	Document title
N/A	September 2019	Sustainability Appraisal: Scoping Report

There are several pieces of work that are ongoing to inform the development of the Dorset Council Local Plan. They will be used to inform the final draft of the plan which will be consulted on in 2024. These assessments, and their anticipated dates of publication, are as follows:

Economic Needs Assessment

Please note this is not a comprehensive list, and anticipated dates may change.

Background papers

Please find below background papers produced to inform the Dorset Council Local Plan.

Functional areas background paper
Settlement hierarchy background paper
Second homes background paper
Green belt background paper

Please be aware that more background papers will be added to this page as they become available.

If you use assistive technology (such as a screen reader) and need versions of the above documents in a more accessible format, please contact the planning policy team using the details below. Please tell us what format you need. It will help us if you say what assistive technology you use.

Previous Adopted Local Plan Reviews

Where appropriate, evidence that informed previous reviews of the adopted former district and borough Local Plans has helped inform the Dorset Council Local Plan. This evidence can be found using the following links.

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