Preparation of the New Local Plan

The Ribble Valley Local Development Framework was formally prepared and adopted by the council in two stages – The Core Strategy in December 2014; and Housing and Economic Development DPD and Proposal’s Map in Nov 2019. In order to ensure plans remain effective, they are required to be reviewed, and updated where necessary, at least every five years. 

The council resolved to prepare a new Local Plan in November 2019. 

The new Local Plan will update the adopted Local Development Framework (LDF). It will comprise a single document which sets the overall planning strategy for the borough up to 2042 alongside detailed development management policies. It will need to set a positive and deliverable strategy for addressing development needs including for housing, jobs and infrastructure over that period, and make appropriate provisions for safeguarding, enhancing and managing the borough’s built, historic and natural environments.

Work on preparing a new Local Plan for Ribble Valley has been underway since 2019 and has included developing the technical evidence base and undertaking stakeholder engagement to identify the key issues the plan should address. The first round of consultation, called Strategic Matters Consultation, took place in May 2022. During this stage, the council consulted with residents and other stakeholders on the high level issues to consider as part of the new Local Plan, providing them with the opportunity to give their views and feedback on key matters.

Since that time, national planning policy has introduced significant changes, including a new method for calculating local housing need which has resulted in a substantial increase in the amount of housing the council had been preparing to plan for. The increase in the local housing need required a different approach to growth across the borough and consequently a significant element of the evidence base is being updated to reflect this. The increase also involves the need to assess more sites for development and we have recently invited new sites for consideration through our Call for Sites update exercise.

Most recently the Government has legislated a new system for preparing Local Plans. Under the transitional arrangements, Local Plans can still be made under the old system but they must be submitted for independent examination by 31 December 2026.

The council is unable to meet the December deadline without rushing the process. This would reduce the opportunities to properly consult residents and complete the technical evidence studies and leave the plan at high risk of failing the mandatory tests of soundness and legal compliance at examination. A failed examination would generally force the council to withdraw the Local Plan in its entirety and start the entire process over again.

Current position

Instead, the council has moved to preparing the Local Plan under the new plan making system, which is designed to be faster, shorter and result in more accessible Local Plans that are easier for people to engage with and use. This means we have had to review and replace our original plan-making timetable, known as the Local Development Scheme, to ensure compliance with the new regulations.

Under the new plan making regulations, the council has published a formal commencement notice alongside the new Local Plan Timetable which sets out the key stages and timescales for preparing the Local Plan highlighting opportunities for community and stakeholder engagement. In doing so it keeps everyone informed on when to participate and provides clarity on the process and overall progress.

Although the regulations have introduced some new steps to plan making, commencing on the new system does not mean that we are starting afresh. Work is well underway and significant progress has been made particularly on the production of evidence to underpin the new plan and early engagement including the Call for Sites exercises. However, some of our work must be reviewed to ensure compliance with the new regulations, including carrying out a further early consultation exercise seeking feedback on what the plan should contain and how we should engage in further stages of plan making. 

This early consultation exercise, referred to as the Scoping Consultation stage, is scheduled to run from 3 July 2026 and 14 August 2026 and is your chance to share your views on the key issues that will shape our borough and help inform how we consult you in future plan making stages. To help you prepare, we will publish our emerging evidence base online so you can see all the facts and figures we are working with. 

Your previous feedback matters and remains an important part of this process. Responses from the 2022 Strategic Matters consultation have been reviewed and where appropriate will inform the preparation of the new Local Plan.

Evidence base

An important part of the plan-making process is the gathering of evidence and factual information to help identify the issues and needs of the area. This is referred to as the evidence base and comprises reports, studies, strategies and specific pieces of research from a wide range of sources.

As part of the plan-making process the council are preparing and updating the Local Plan’s evidence base. This will be used to inform the strategy and policies within the new plan. All new and updated documents will be published through pages or downloads in the Local Plan Hub section of the website. Evidence relating to earlier local plans will remain available in the pre-existing evidence library.

Call for Sites

The Call for Sites process is a fundamental piece of evidence gathering for the new Local Plan. It provides landowners, developers, community groups, members of the public and other interested parties to put forward land they think has the potential for development in the next 15 years for further consideration and assessment as part of the preparation stages of the new Local Plan.

The council undertook a Call for Sites exercise in 2021 and update in 2025. The information gathered will feed into the council’s Strategic Housing and Employment Land Availability Assessment (SHELAA) evidence document to provide a clearer picture of what land may be available to help meet future needs.

For further information view the Call for Sites Update 2025.

Timetable

The timetable for preparing the new Local Plan, including information about the individual key stages, is set out in the council’s Local Plan Timetable. The Local Plan Timetable is available to view in full here.

Statement of Community Involvement (SCI)

The council’s Statement of Community Involvement (SCI) sets out the approach the council will take to deliver consultation as it produces the Local Plan. The SCI is available to view at Statements of Community Involvement (SCI). We will be seeking views on how we consult communities during the Local Plan Scoping consultation.

Local Plan consultation database

If you wish to register to be individually notified of consultation stage launches and updates on the Local Plan please register for our Contacts Database.