Consultation has opened today, Wednesday October 23, on a revised Statement of Community Involvement (SCI) from New Forest District Council.

This document sets out how the authority will engage with the public, businesses, statutory bodies, charities, community groups and individuals during the planning process.

It covers the New Forest district, outside of the National Park, and relates to such matters as planning applications, allocation of Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) funds, planning guidance and the preparation of planning policies – including the local plan.

It represents the first stage in the preparation of a new local plan for the New Forest District Council (NFDC) area that had been put on hold until after July’s general election had passed.

When the council first decided to move ahead with a review of its local plan in February of this year, it set out a ‘several significant changes’ which needed to be addressed.

These included ‘lower than expected housing delivery’, climate change, a nature emergency declaration in 2021 and opportunities from the designation of sites across the Waterside as part of the Solent Freeport.

The council already cannot meet housing supply requirements, and these are set to increase under new methods of calculation being introduced by the new government although there are proposals that certain requirements will not take effect if local authorities can get to an advanced stage of local plan preparation.

The new SCI will replace the previous SCI adopted in 2020. Consultation is open until December 6, 2024 with the final document due to be considered by the council for adoption in early 2025.  

You can see the SCI and make comments here.

We will keep you updated about developments. Please don’t hesitate to contact us to find out more about what this means for your site, plans or project.