The Plymouth and South West Devon Joint Local Plan (JLP), adopted in March 2019, has been a hugely successful development plan for Plymouth, South Hams and West Devon. As one of the first joint plans in the country, it has often been regarded as an exemplar of joint strategic planning. The JLP:
- Was prepared and implemented within just 35 months, and most of this was with the Planning Inspectorate
- Contained a full suite of strategic site allocations
- Met our development needs in full for housing, employment and retail
- Allocated 115 sites for housing and over 40 sites which include provision for employment and commercial development
- Provided a robust strategic policy framework to drive growth in Plymouth, improve the vitality of our towns and support the rural economy
- Unlocked significant funding towards major infrastructure projects and investment in community facilities
- Has helped us attract other funding to support digital innovation in plan making
- Has supported various economic development and other funding bids because of the clear vision and spatial framework it set out for the long term development of the city and its surrounding area
Over the last 12 months, the JLP Partnership Board consisting of Members from each of the three authorities has been considering the impact of the government’s planning reforms for the next iteration of a local plan. When the three councils first came together to work on the JLP back in 2016, the context for preparing a plan was entirely different. There was stability in both the national planning and local government context, and the housing targets were significantly less than they are now, with the three councils able to reach consensus on how housing need is distributed across the plan area. However, we are now in a time of significant change and this has required that we carefully reflect on the implications before committing to another JLP. This has been a complex and lengthy process, and following agreement with South Hams and West Devon councils, Plymouth City Council has decided that the next local plan for the city will be a Plymouth only plan and not a joint local plan. This was considered the only sound option for the city in the current circumstances and one that enables Plymouth City Council to focus their attention on city priorities, whilst also giving the three councils resilience to further national policy and legal changes.
On 16 January 2025, the JLP Partnership Board agreed to the publication of a statement which communicates the decision on the preparation of new local plans and also a continued commitment to joint working where this makes sense, building off the successes of our partnership working over the last few years. All three JLP councils will continue to work closely on the implementation of our current local plan until it is replaced by a new local plans in each area.