What is the Portsmouth Local Plan?
The Local Plan is the statutory development plan for Portsmouth that will guide development in the City up to 2040. The Local Plan allocates sites for development and sets targets for new homes and jobs up until 2040. It also introduces City-wide policies on design, greening and the climate emergency.
The Portsmouth Local Plan is made up of the Regulation 19 Pre-Submission Portsmouth Local Plan 2024 and the Regulation 19 Pre-Submission Portsmouth Local Plan Addendum 2025 combined. It also includes the Policies Map which illustrates where the policies in the development plan will apply. For further detail about which policies and/or parts of the Portsmouth Local Plan 2024 are replaced by the Portsmouth Local Plan Addendum 2025, including the Policies Map, please refer to the Preface of the Portsmouth Local Plan Addendum 2025 (paragraphs 0.6-0.7 and 0.17).
What is a Local Plan Examination?
The purpose of a Local Plan examination is for an independent Planning Inspector, appointed by the Secretary of State, to assess the submitted Plan and determine whether they consider the Plan to be ‘sound’ in terms of national planning policy, and compliant with the relevant legislation.
Most of the examination process is done by written representations. However, it will also involve public hearings which are conducted by the Inspector, with relevant respondents invited to speak on a range of matters, issues and questions, as specified by the Inspector. After the hearings, the examination remains open until the Inspector has competed their report.
For further information please refer to the Examination Overview.
Who is the Programme Officer and what do they do?
The Programme Officer for the examination of the Portsmouth Local Plan is as follows:
- Kerry Trueman
- Programme Officer Solutions Ltd
- Email: programmeofficer@portsmouthcc.gov.uk
- Phone: 07582 310364
- Post: Pendragon House, 1 Bertram Drive, Meols, Wirral, CH47 0LG
The role of the Programme Officer is to independently undertake the administration of the examination under the direction of the appointed Planning Inspector(s). The Programme Officer will liaise between the Planning Inspector(s), Portsmouth City Council and the interested parties for the duration of the Local Plan examination. All communications are handled by the Programme Officer.
What is meant by the term ‘sound’?
Local Plans must be prepared in accordance with the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF).
The NPPF states that a Plan is ‘sound’ if it meets the following tests:
- Positively prepared – providing a strategy which, as a minimum, seeks to meet the area’s objectively assessed needs; and is informed by agreements with other authorities, so that unmet need from neighbouring areas is accommodated where it is practical to do so and is consistent with achieving sustainable development
- Justified – an appropriate strategy, taking into account the reasonable alternatives, and based on proportionate evidence
- Effective – deliverable over the plan period, and based on effective joint working on cross-boundary strategic matters that have been dealt with rather than deferred, as evidenced by the statement of common ground
- Consistent with National Policy – enabling the delivery of sustainable development in accordance with the policies in the National Planning Policy Framework and other statements of national planning policy, where relevant
What is meant by ‘legal compliance’?
There are several legal requirements that the Council must comply with when preparing a Local Plan.
These include:
- Whether the process of community involvement for the Plan is in general accordance with the adopted Statement of Community Involvement.
- Whether the Plan complies with all other relevant requirements of the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act (as amended) and the Town and Country Planning (Local Planning) (England) Regulations 2012, as amended.
- Whether the Plan meets other legislative requirements such as the Conservation of Habitats and Species Regulations 2017 (to which the Habitat Regulations Assessment relates).
What information was submitted to the Secretary of State?
Please refer to the Local Plan Submission Notice.
Where can I view the Regulation 19 representations?
Submission Consultation Statement
How can I speak at the Examination hearings?
The right to appear and make your evidence heard by the Inspector is usually restricted to those persons who made representations seeking a change to the Plan within the representation period of the Regulation 19 stage. If you are unsure whether you will be permitted to speak, please contact the Programme Officer.
Everyone has the right to attend the hearing sessions as an observer. It is helpful to inform the Programme Officer in advance if so.
At the hearings, the Inspector considers all evidence submitted in formal representations, hearing statements and given verbally at the hearings themselves. Once the dates of the hearings have been confirmed, the Hearing Sessions webpage will provide the programme of hearings, agendas and hearing statements.
How long will the Examination take and when will the Inspector issue their report?
The examination of the Local Plan is a continuous process, running from the date of submission through to the receipt of the appointed Planning Inspector’s Report. The duration of an examination is dependent on the nature of any soundness issues or legal compliance issues that arise and the steps that are needed to resolve them.
Generally, the examination timetable of a Local Plan containing both strategic and non-strategic policies tend to last around a year. Please do be aware that this is an approximation only, as provided within the Procedure Guide for Local Plan Examinations, and therefore the process make take longer, or indeed a shorter timescale.
The examination latest news will be updated, and participants kept updated as necessary.
Is there any national guidance in relation to Local Plan examinations?
Local Plans: the examination process – Guidance in relation to the Local Plan examination process and the role the Planning Inspectorate plays.
Procedure Guide for Local Plan Examinations – Guide aimed at all those involved in the process and concerned with the procedural aspects of examining a Local Plan.
Local Plans: taking part in examinations – A short guide for those who might be participating in a Local Plan examination for the first time.
What happens if I sent in comments on one of the Pre-Submission Local Plan consultations?
Your comments were sent on to the Inspector when we submitted the Local Plan for examination. In addition, the main issues raised on all the comments received on the Pre-Submission consultations were summarised and responded to by the City Council. The summaries and responses are included in Appendix 3 and 4 of the Consultation Statement.
What happens if I sent in comments on the Local Plan based on the Don’t Cross the Line campaign by the Hampshire & Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust and the RSPB?
Your comments were sent to the Inspector along with all the other representations on the Pre-Submission Local Plan. The main issues raised in the comments based on the Don’t Cross the Line campaign were summarised under Policy PLP3: Tipner West & Horsea Island East in Appendix 3 of the Consultation Statement.