Core Strategy
The Preferred Option Consultation closed at 5pm 3 July
***STOP PRESS***
On 22 April Full Council gave approval for the Core Strategy Preferred Option to go out for consultation. The consultation period will take place between Thursday 14th May - Friday 3rd July 2009. Click here for more details.
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 the Winchester District covering the period up until 2026.
It outlines the levels of development that will be needed 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.
What Stage is Winchester's Core Strategy at?
The next consultation stage is the 'Preferred Option'. The preferred option will set out the policies for the Core Strategy. This has been developed following both the Issues and Options consultation and the information gathered as part of the evidence base.
A draft Preferred Option has been prepared and was considered by the LDF Cabinet Committee on 25th March, and given final approval for consultation by Council on 22nd April. The consultation period will take place between 14th May and 3rd July 2009. More details are availabe on the Preferred Option page.
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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 this current stage in the development of the Core strategy. This work can be broken down into two stages; background work and Issues and options.
Background work
The City Council began work on the Core Strategy in the summer of 2006. We have gathered a whole range of facts and figures about the District which are being used to inform the content of the Core Strategy and other parts of the LDF. Several technical studies have been commissioned and are available to view in the evidence base and others will be added as soon as they are completed. 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 we have gathered we prepared an 'Issues and Options' paper. This set out the key issues facing the District in the next 20 years, which the Core Strategy can 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 agreed at the LDF Cabinet on 6th December 2007 and was open to consultation until 15th February 2008. Nearly 3000 responses were received and these are currently being considered by the City Council along with the other responses gathered from the workshops, and the evidence base studies. More information on the Issues and Options.
