Local Plan: Update on response to MHCLG

Following the Council decision on Thursday 18 January not to approve the Local Plan for publication, Thanet District Council is today (Wednesday 31 January) submitting its response to the Secretary of State (SoS) for Housing, Communities and Local Government on its exceptional circumstances and proposals for progressing with the plan. Further independent expert planning advice has been sought, which confirmed that the draft Local Plan recommended to Full Council would have met the required tests of ‘soundness’.

Political group leaders of the council were briefed on the details of the response at a meeting yesterday (Tuesday 30 January), and the council will be seeking permission to publish the response in full once it has been considered by the SoS.

As a result of the rejection of the plan by Councillors, the council will be putting out a fresh “call for sites”, as there is now a requirement to identify additional locations for housing across the district in order to achieve required land supply.