Local Development Framework - Examinations Begin

An inspector begins considering more than 800 comments about proposals for District-wide planning policies this week, in the latest phase of the creation of a Local Development Framework (LDF) for North Norfolk.

Public hearings start tomorrow [Tuesday, 4 December] in the Committee Room at North Norfolk District Council's office at Cromer, when Philip Goodman, an independent inspector appointed by the Planning Inspectorate, will review the Core Strategy proposed by NNDC and the hundreds of submissions received during a consultation earlier this year.

The Core Strategy is the part of the LDF that outlines the vision for development in North Norfolk up to the year 2021, looking at key issues such as housing needs and other land use, and sets out the policies that will affect planning applications across the whole District. (More detailed policies, specifying actual sites for new development, are contained in the Site Specific Proposals which will go through a final consultation in 2008, and will be subject to a new examination process at a later date.)

Mr Goodman will study NNDC's proposals and documentation, and consider the consultation comments and the evidence supplied with them, before deciding whether NNDC's Core Strategy is sound and suitable, or whether any changes ought to be made.

The hearings will take place over the next two weeks, then for a further two weeks from 8 January. Key objectors (who made objections in the last round of consultation) have been invited to voice their concerns, and specialists will be called upon to give the inspector a greater understanding of North Norfolk's particular needs and issues. The timetable and speakers have been agreed and can be seen at: www.northnorfolk.org/ldf

The hearings are open to the public to listen to the debate. All the documents used by NNDC's Planning Policy Team in developing the Core Strategy, including the consultation responses, are available for viewing at the Council's Cromer office during office hours. Call the LDF Programme Officer on 01263 516355 to arrange an appointment to see them.

ENDS