The consultation on the draft Dorset Council Local Plan has finished, so what happens next?

The first consultation took place earlier this year and received more than 60,000 comments and around 7,000 individuals responded with residents ranging from 11-years-old to 85.

The comments are being considered within the framework set by National Planning Policy, which informs all planning decisions. Dorset Council aims to publish the comments on the consultation in July.

The Dorset Council Local Plan contains strategies to shape the area over a 17-year period. These include development, protecting the local environment, boosting the local economy and more.

Without a plan, and an ability to show that it has a five-year supply of land for development, the council is open to challenge from developers who would then be able to build homes in unplanned locations.

Dorset Council is currently reviewing responses, gathering the necessary evidence and reviewing the local plan, which is likely to take until January 2022.

The next stage will involve preparing the submission version of the plan and supporting material to submit to the Secretary of State for examination in public - this will take place from May to October 2022.

There will then be a public examination by a planning inspector with the view for the plan to be adopted and used in 2023.

Councillor David Walsh, Dorset Council portfolio holder for planning, said: "There has been a lot of criticism about our local plan, but we are making a robust plan for the future of Dorset. It will protect us from unplanned 'pepper pot' developments and make sure that the developments are planned with the infrastructure that our residents deserve.

"We are looking at every comment that has been made and looking at whether we can accommodate them within the plan, while still providing an environment for Dorset's economy to grow to its potential."

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