The Local Development Scheme for Dorset Council March 2024

Whilst work is being progressed on a new local plan for Dorset, the adopted Development Plan Documents (DPD) will continue to apply to the areas they cover. They will continue to be used for decision making purposes until they are replaced. The adopted DPD are:

• Christchurch and East Dorset Local Plan Part 1: Core Strategy (2014). A jointly produced Local Plan covering the former local planning authority areas of East Dorset and Christchurch. East Dorset forms part of the Dorset Council Unitary Authority whereas Christchurch forms part of the Bournemouth Christchurch and Poole Unitary Authority area.
• East Dorset Local Plan (2002). Some of the policies in the 2002 Local Plan were saved when the 2014 Core Strategy was adopted. These policies remain part of the development plan for the former East Dorset local planning authority area and will be used for decision making until they are superseded.
• North Dorset Local Plan Part 1 (2016). Covering the former North Dorset local planning authority area.
• North Dorset District-Wide Local Plan (2003): Some of the policies in the 2003 Local Plan were saved when the2016 Local Plan Part 1 was adopted. These policies remain part of the development plan for the former North Dorset local planning authority area and will be used for decision making until they are superseded.
• Purbeck Local Plan Part 1 (2012). Covering the former Purbeck local planning authority area.
• Swanage Local Plan (2017). This Local Plan only applies in the parish of Swanage and supplements the policies in the Purbeck Local Plan Part 1.
• West Dorset, Weymouth and Portland Local Plan (2015). This is a joint Local Plan covering the former local planning authority areas of West Dorset and Weymouth & Portland.
• Bournemouth, Dorset and Poole Minerals Strategy (2014). This is a joint plan produced by Bournemouth Borough Council, Poole Borough Council and Dorset County Council and covers the whole of the Dorset Council and Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council areas. It contains the strategy and policies for minerals development within the area.
• Bournemouth, Christchurch, Poole and Dorset Mineral Sites Plan (2019). This plan contains sites for mineral development in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council area and the Dorset Council area.
• Bournemouth, Christchurch, Poole and Dorset Waste Plan (2019). The Waste Plan provides a policy framework for waste related development across the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council area and the Dorset Council area.

These existing local plans can be viewed online.

Borough / District Local Plan Reviews

Prior to the formation of Dorset Council in 2019, each of the former local planning authorities had commenced a review of their adopted local plans. The local plan reviews for East Dorset, North Dorset, and West Dorset and Weymouth & Portland will no longer be taken forward. The work undertaken on these reviews will feed into the new Dorset Council Local Plan.

Purbeck Local Plan (2018 – 2034)

The Purbeck Local Plan will set out policies and propose allocations to meet the needs of the former Purbeck District area. The plan was submitted for examination in January 2019. The examination process is nearing completion but has taken longer than anticipated, and adoption is now expected to be in early to mid-2024.

Upon adoption, the Purbeck Local Plan (2018 – 2034) will replace the Purbeck Local Plan Part 1, but the Swanage Local Plan, which runs until 2027, will continue to apply to Swanage.

Dorset Council Local Plan

The Dorset Council Local Plan will set out planning policies and propose allocations to meet needs across the whole of the Dorset Council area. It will look ahead until at least 2042 in order to ensure provision for growth for 15 years upon adoption. The aim of the Local Plan will be to contribute to achieving sustainable development by meeting Dorset’s needs. This will include the provision of homes, commercial development, and supporting infrastructure.

The Dorset Local Plan will be a new-style local plan prepared under the proposed reforms to the plan-making system. The key stages and likely timescales are:

• Scoping and Early Engagement [September 2024]
• Sustainability Appraisal Scoping Report [November 2024]
• Project Initiation Document and Gateway 1 Assessment [November 2024]
• Visioning and Strategy Engagement (8 weeks) [May 2025]
• Gateway 2 Assessment [December 2025]
• Draft Plan Engagement (6 weeks) [March 2026]
• Gateway 3 Assessment [October 2026]
• Examination [November 2026]
• Adoption [May 2027]

Work commenced on the Dorset Council Local Plan at the point that Dorset Council was formed in 2019. A consultation on a draft of the plan was undertaken in January 2021. This information will be used to inform the new-style Dorset Council Local Plan.

The Dorset-wide Gypsy, Traveller and Travelling Showpeople Site Allocations Joint Development Plan Document (DPD) which was being prepared by the former local planning authorities in Dorset, will no longer be taken forward. Any policies relating to, and allocations needed for, Gypsies, Travellers and Travelling Showpeople in the Dorset Council area will be included within the Dorset Council Local Plan.

It is intended that the Dorset Council Local Plan will replace all adopted local plans in the Dorset Council area upon adoption.

Dorset Council Minerals and Waste Plan

The Minerals Strategy (2014) is now more than five years old and Dorset Council is of the view that it needs to be reviewed. By the end of 2024 the Mineral Sites Plan (2019) and Waste Plan (2019) will both be five years old and in need of review.

Dorset Council intend to integrate the currently separate minerals and waste plans into a single document, the Dorset Council Minerals and Waste Local Plan. This Plan will establish a strategic approach and set out the appropriate policy structure and site allocations to maintain a steady and appropriate supply of minerals to meet identified need. It will also establish the strategic approach and appropriate policy basis and site allocations to manage waste in Dorset.

The Dorset Council Minerals and Waste Plan will be taken forward as a new-style local plan and will follow a similar timetable to that for the Dorset Council Local Plan. Once adopted, it is anticipated that the Minerals and Waste Plan will supersede the Minerals Strategy (2014), the Bournemouth, Christchurch, Poole and Dorset Mineral Sites Plan (2019) and the Bournemouth, Christchurch, Poole and Dorset Waste Plan (2019).

The key stages and likely timescales are:

• Scoping and Early Engagement [September 2024]
• Sustainability Appraisal Scoping Report [November 2024]
• Project Initiation Document and Gateway 1 Assessment [November 2024]
• Visioning and Strategy Engagement (8 weeks) [May 2025]
• Gateway 2 Assessment [December 2025]
• Draft Plan Engagement (6 weeks) [March 2026]
• Gateway 3 Assessment [October 2026]
• Examination [November 2026]
• Adoption [May 2027]

The National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) requires all local planning authorities to prepare design guides or codes consistent with the principles set out in the National Model Design code and which reflect local character and design preferences. Dorset Council intends to prepare a Design Guide to apply to the whole of the authority area, which will support the preparation of detailed design codes at a neighbourhood or site-specific level. The status of the design guide will be kept under review in anticipation of changes to the national planning system.

It is anticipated that work on the Design Guide will be completed towards the end of 2025.

When neighbourhood plans are ‘made’ they form part of the statutory development plan.  By March 2024, 33 neighbourhood plans in the Dorset Council area had been made and a large number of others were in production including reviews of existing plans. Up-to-date information on neighbourhood plans can be viewed online.

The Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) provides a mechanism for collecting financial contributions from developers towards the provision of infrastructure to support development. On 1st April 2019, Dorset Council became the Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) Charging Authority and began administering the charging schedules adopted by the former district and borough councils.

Charging schedules have been adopted for all the former district and borough councils, except North Dorset, where CIL is not charged. Links to the relevant charging schedules are available online. 

The CIL charging schedule for the former Purbeck District Council area is being reviewed alongside the review of the Purbeck Local Plan.

The Government amended the CIL Regulations in 2019. These changes are intended to complement the assessment of viability in the National Planning Policy Framework and aim to make the system of developer contributions more transparent and accountable. Key changes include measures to ensure that consultation on preparing charging schedules is proportionate; and operational reforms, which aim to provide a more transparent approach to reporting on the use of developer contributions to fund infrastructure. The Council is now required to prepare and publish an ‘Infrastructure Funding Statement’ each year, details of which can be found via the link in this section.

The Government requires that local plans should set out the contributions expected from development and that the viability of all relevant policies including the cost implications of CIL and S106 should be taken into account at plan making stage.  Development of the proposed Dorset Council Local Plan will require the review of evidence relating to infrastructure needs and viability and presents an opportunity to prepare a single replacement CIL charging schedule for the new plan area. This will be undertaken alongside or ahead of the preparation of the Local Plan.

Looking further forward, part 4 of the Levelling Up and Regeneration Act introduces the Infrastructure Levy (IL) – described as a non-negotiable levy which enables local authorities to raise money from development to regenerate their areas through infrastructure. Rather than calculated as a charge per square metre, IL would be levied as a percentage of the end value of a scheme. Unlike CIL, IL would also directly fund affordable housing, and it would be mandatory for all local authorities.

The Government has yet to publish its response to the technical consultation on IL which took place in 2023. In addition, secondary legislation on IL is required before it comes into force, so the precise detail of how IL will work in practice is awaited.

Adopted Supplementary Planning Documents (SPD) and Guidance (SPG) will continue to apply to the areas they covered prior to April 2019.

The proposed changes to the planning system suggest that SPD will not form part of the new plan framework with the detail in SPD being incorporated into Local Plans. As such, SPD will only be updated or produced where there is a pressing need to do so to cover the short period to the new Dorset Council Local Plan being put in place.

SPD relating to internationally important wildlife sites will be the priority for any review or production. The Dorset Heathlands Planning Framework has been updated with the new version being adopted in 2020 and running to 2026. Other priorities for review include:

• Nitrogen Reduction in Poole Harbour
• The Poole Harbour Recreation Planning Framework 2019 – 2034

These three SPDs also relate to areas within Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and any reviews will be carried out jointly with BCP Council.

A further SPD relating to the impact of recreation on the Chesil and the Fleet SAC / SPA will be considered for production alongside the Dorset Council Local Plan. Further SPD may be necessary to cover nutrient neutrality within the catchments of the Somerset Levels and Moors, the River Avon, Chesil & The Fleet and the River Axe.

Further SPDs relating to Mineral Safeguarding and/or Minerals and Waste Site Restoration will be considered for production alongside the Dorset Council Minerals and Waste Local Plan.

A single Statement of Community Involvement (SCI) for the Dorset Council area, which also relates to minerals and waste policy, has been adopted. This sets out how Dorset Council will involve the community in the preparation and review of planning policy documents and in making planning decisions.

The Statement of Community Involvement is available online.

This section outlines the key programme milestones for the production of Development Plan Documents (2).  All timescales are indicative and may be subject to change.

Dorset Council Local Development Scheme Archive

View previously adopted Local Development Schemes

• Local Development Scheme adopted October 2022
• Local Development Scheme adopted July 2021
• Local Development Scheme adopted June 2019

Stakeholder Engagement

Public and stakeholder engagement is an important part of the plan making process. Involving residents, businesses, organisations, experts, infrastructure providers and town and parish councils allows local knowledge and expertise to be gathered from a wide range of perspectives. Our Statement of Community Involvement shows how we will consult with our stakeholders during the local plan development process.