Core Strategy
What is the Core Strategy?
The Core Strategy is the part of the Local Development Framework that sets out the broad aims and objectives for sustainable development in Winchester District covering the period up until 2026.
It outlines the levels of development that will need to be accommodated across the District, the type of economy we wish to promote, and the role of the various towns and villages in providing services, housing and facilities for local people.
Recent Changes Following Election of the Coalition Government
Until recently the LDF had to fit with policies in the 'Regional Spatial Strategy', which for Winchester District was the South East Plan. That document said that the Council had to provide for a particular housing target, but on 6 July 2010 the Government revoked the South East Plan with immediate effect, meaning it no longer applies. The Council's Cabinet (LDF) Committee has considered these changes (see report CAB2040LDF) and has taken the decision that it should review housing needs in the District and consult with the community again on the amount and type of new housing, employment and infrastructure that should be provided. This will mean that the Core Strategy will be produced a little later, but it will better reflect local views.
The Local Development Scheme (LDS) will be updated as the revised programme becomes clearer, but it is expected that the programme for the Core Strategy set out in the LDS will be delayed by 6-12 months. This means that the 'Pre-Submission' version of the Core Strategy is now likely to be published in Summer 2011, rather than in October 2010 as previously planned.
Although development needs are being reviewed, the Council remains committed to the Partnership for Urban South Hampshire (PUSH) and has agreed to retain the PUSH target for housing in this part of its District (6,740 dwellings in the period 2006-2026). PUSH has now commenced a review of its Economic Development Strategy which may lead to a new housing target in due course. Taking account of the evidence and consultation undertaken on the emerging Core Strategy, the Council has decided to meet the majority of the housing requirement for the PUSH part of its District through major development at West of Waterlooville and North Whiteley. Elsewhere in the PUSH part of the District the emphasis will be on meeting local housing needs, which will be established through the review mentioned above.
At what Stage is Winchester's Core Strategy?
Preferred Option
The most recent published stage is called the 'Preferred Option'. The Preferred Option Core Strategy set out the draft 'strategic allocations' and 'core policies' for the District. These were developed following the Issues and Options consultation, various 'Live for the Future' consultation events and the information gathered as part of the evidence base.
The consultation period for the Preferred Option took place between May and July 2009. All the comments made can be viewed online and you can search the comments by respondent name or by document chapter.
Advisory visit from the Planning Inspectorate
Having reached the key Preferred Option stage, the City Council was offered an advisory visit from the Planning Inspectorate. This gave informal guidance to the Council and was not the formal examination of the Core Strategy. The Planning Inspector visited during August 2009 to consider the Preferred Option document and discussed key issues with officers. The resulting Advice Note highlighted some key concerns in terms of the evidence base and content of the Core Strategy. The Advice Note highlighted some issues which the Council knew would need attention, but also showed that more detailed work was needed on the 'strategic allocations'. The Core Strategy programme was revised as a result.
The Way Forward
All of the comments on the Preferred Option Core Strategy were reported to the Council's Cabinet (Local Development Framework) Committee between October 2009 and March 2010. The Committee agreed a series of Recommended Approaches on all the key issues, taking account of the comments made, the Planning Inspector's Advice Note, and any further evidence studies and other changes since the Preferred Option was published. See above for subsequent changes following the election of the Coalition Government.
Previous stages in the Development of the Core Strategy
The City Council has carried out extensive community and other stakeholder involvement, as well as many technical studies, in order to reach the current stage of the Core Strategy. There were two key stages before the Preferred Option: background work and Issues and Options.
Background work
A range of facts and figures about the District have been used to inform the Core Strategy and several technical studies have been commissioned and contribute to the evidence base. In addition we asked for your views on the future of the District as part of the 'Live for the Future' campaign, the results of which can be viewed on our consultation page.
Issues and Options
Using all the information gathered we prepared an 'Issues and Options' paper. This set out the key issues facing the District which the Core Strategy could help to address. It gave different options for the directions the District might take and consulted people on these.
The Issues and Options document was published in December 2007 and subject to consultation until February 2008. Nearly 3000 responses were received and these were considered by the City Council along with the other responses gathered from the workshops, and the evidence base studies.
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