Help shape the new Local Plan for County Durham
A Local Plan is a statutory document prepared by local planning authorities. 'The County Durham Plan' is our version of a Local Plan. It sets out the framework which determines future development sites and planning applications for housing, jobs and the environment, as well as the transport, schools and healthcare needed to support it. Reviewed regularly, it plays a key role in the planning system and sets out a framework for how future development in the county should be managed.
In this folder you will find all projects and consultation activities related to the development of the new plan.
Preparing a new Local Plan
The current plan was adopted in October 2020. National guidelines require that the policies contained in local plans should be reviewed at least once every 5 years to assess whether they need updating. We are, therefore, starting the process to prepare a new plan and your involvement is essential to ensure it reflects the needs and opportunities across the County. You can find details of the current County Durham Plan on our website.
The new plan will be prepared under regulations introduced through the Levelling Up and Regeneration Act 2023 and the draft National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) which requires us to focus on locally specific issues, place-based priorities and evidence-led local challenges. The new plan will also reflect wider regional planning activity, including the North East Mayoral Strategic Authority's Spatial Development Strategy (SDS), to ensure alignment on issues that span local authority boundaries.
The new plan will be supported by a number of evidence studies, including assessments of housing needs, employment land requirements, infrastructure capacity, environmental constraints, and demographic trends. These studies form a critical foundation for policy development, ensuring that emerging policies are robust, deliverable, and aligned with national planning objectives. A number of studies are underway and, where possible, we have worked jointly with neighbouring authorities to produce shared evidence where cross-boundary issues or common priorities make a collaborative approach beneficial.
How long will it take to prepare the new Local Plan?
We expect it will take around two and a half years to develop the new Local Plan. It follows a clear timetable of development, beginning with the eight week scoping consultation. Following review and analysis of all the feedback from the scoping consultation, we will undertake a formal self-assessment during September 2026.
Further public consultation will take place in March 2027, focused on proposed content for the Local Plan, followed by consultation on the proposed Local Plan document in Autumn 2027.
For the Local Plan to be adopted formally, we will undertake a further assessment and examination. It is hoped the new plan would then be adopted from March 2029.
Follow this page (button top right) to be kept informed of the development of the new plan and the stages you can get involved in.
