The Adopted Cherwell Local Plan 2011-2031 (Part 1) contains strategic planning policies for development and the use of land. It forms part of the statutory Development Plan for Cherwell to which regard must be given in the determination of planning applications.
The Plan was formally adopted by the Council on 20 July 2015. Policy Bicester 13 was re-adopted on 19 December 2016
Local Plan 2011-2031 Part 1 Examination Archive
2022 Regulation 10A Review of the Cherwell Local Plan 2011-2031 Part 1 (February 2023)
A Regulation 10A Review of Local Plan Policies is required to be undertaken 5 years from the adoption of local plans.
In 2020, the Council undertook a 5 Year Review of the Local Plan and concluded that the majority of the policies were generally consistent with government policy and/or local circumstances. It did not indicate that the Local Plan policies needed updating. The Review was presented to and approved by the Council's Executive on 4 January 2021.
There have been two material changes in circumstance since that approval which have prompted the 2023 Local Plan Review:
- Termination of the Oxfordshire Joint Local Plan work programme; and
- New evidence in the form of the Housing and Employment Needs Assessment (HENA) 2022
The Regulation 10A Review of Local Plan Policies (February 2023) shows that nearly all policies are generally consistent with government policy and/or local circumstances. It does not indicate that the policies need updating at this time, with the exception of Policy BSC1 District-Wide Housing Distribution. Work on the Local Plan Review 2040 has commenced and recognises that there will come a point in the future at which the policies require updating. Such recognition is a normal part of the forward planning process and does not mean that the policies need updating at this time. Where policies have some inconsistencies with the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) and/or there has been a significant change in local circumstances, this is limited to the specific policy and does not lead to wider concerns that the Development Plan as a whole is out of date. A number of these are site specific policies which relate to proposals that have either been implemented or are now very unlikely to come forward.
Cherwell District Council's Executive approved the 2022 Regulation 10A Review of the Local Plan 2011-2031 Part 1 on 6 February 2023.
2022 Regulation 10A Review of the Cherwell Local Plan 2011-2031 Part 1