A FORMER Dorset Council leader has warned that discipline will be needed to deliver the county's Local Plan on time.

His comments came as the council agreed to change tack for the current Dorset Local Plan and use a new procedure which will add delay, and extra cost, to the process.

Cllr Spencer Flower (Verwood, Con) said Local Plans took "far, far too long" to prepare telling the July Cabinet meeting that the East Dorset Plan had taken nine years and would have taken ten had he not made a fuss.

He said that current Dorset Plan had already been underway for three and a half years – but said that despite that, and the time which would be 'lost' he supported moving to the Government's new plan-making framework.

He said that since 2024 there had been a doubling of the number of houses needed in Dorset, according to Government calculations.

"I hope that we introduce some really strong project management to make sure that we meet the commitment that we put ourselves to, otherwise it will drift," he said…

"Local Plans take far, far too long. It's not a criticism of officers, it's just the way it is… if it's 30 months plus 4 let's make it that so we get the best outcomes for the people we serve," he said.

Portfolio holder for planning, Cllr Shane Bartlett (Wimborne Lib Dem) said that February 2029 for completion was a target date, but warned that it might drift, not necessarily because of Dorset Council delays.

The previous deadline for the Local Plan had been December 2026 – with more than 9,000 public comments made about the proposals, which will be considered for the new plan.

Wyke Regis councillor Kate Wheller (Labour) said that taking on consultants and 'throwing money' at the plan was not a solution.

"Don't throw money at it willy-nilly, we can do it, and hopefully submit it way before February 2029… this is a dreadful chore but it's so necessary," she said.

Cllr Bartlett told the meeting that planning officers had been 'playing catch-up' because of all the changes made to planning targets and rules.

"Had there not been a change of Government (in 2024) we might have been over the line by now," he said.

Council leader Nick Ireland said that the council would be giving everything it had to achieve the Plan but also warned that despite best efforts it still might not achieve the target.

The report to Cabinet (28 July 2026) said the council is unable to produce a "sound" Local Plan by the Government's deadline of December 2026 under the old ("legacy") system.

Dorset Council said continuing under the old system carried a significant risk of failure or immediate obsolescence.

Dorset's calculated housing target need has risen from around 1,793 homes a year to more than 3,200 homes a year, fundamentally changing the scale of development the plan need to accommodate.

Dorset Council has not publicly stated a specific additional cost resulting directly from the latest delay, although says that funding has been set aside for continued plan preparation and seeks approval to use that funding for the new process. The council says that much of the work already undertaken can still be reused rather than completely written off. A decision on the finances is likely to be made in February.

The decision to move to the new 'Gateway' process is likely to result in a further consultation exercise.

The absence of an up to date plan, with the exception of the Purbeck area, leaves the county more exposed to speculative planning applications.

A completed Local Plan would give the council stronger control over where homes, employment land and infrastructure are located.