Pan Parish Planning Forum - Update on the Draft Local Plan

Update on the Draft Local Plan

Test Valley Borough Council (TVBC) is continuing work on its emerging Local Plan, following last summer’s public consultation. A staggering 1,860 responses were received, and officers are still working through the feedback. According to TVBC, one message is coming through loud and clear: residents are deeply worried about a lack of infrastructure to support the large‑scale housing targets being imposed by central government.

Several proposed sites in Weyhill, Appleshaw and, notably, Danebury School sports pitches were withdrawn during last summer’s public consultation, requiring TVBC to rethink parts of its strategy. As a consequence, and given the sheer volume of responses, there will be a further ‘supplementary’ Regulation 18 consultation in summer 2026, offering residents another opportunity to have their say.

The timetable is extremely tight. TVBC must submit their finalised plan to the Planning Inspectorate by Christmas 2026. Missing this deadline would see TVBC redrafting their plan under the government’s new planning system, which comes into force next year. Under the new system, councils will only have two and a half years to produce a plan instead of five, leaving far less time for public input, and significantly compressed timelines for consultations with key bodies such as the Department of Education and Health.

TVBC are also having to navigate a legal requirement known as the ‘Duty to Cooperate,’ which obliges councils to work with neighbouring authorities on major issues such as housing numbers and infrastructure. This is particularly significant given the pressures around us. New Forest District Council’s emerging Local Plan is currently 8,900 homes short of its allocated housing requirement, and Wiltshire Council has been advised by the Planning Inspectorate to withdraw its emerging Local Plan because the evidence underpinning it was out of date. At the same time, a revision to the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) has been out for consultation. The uplifted NPPF is expected to retain many of the same core principles of the current NPPF, as well as the higher housing targets. All of this places additional pressure on TVBC, and reinforces the need for a robust, well‑evidenced plan.

Local action groups, including our own Pan Parish Planning Forum (of Longstock, Houghton and Stockbridge), the A342 Group, the Anton Forum and a new group in Romsey (which has seen an astonishing 40% increase in projected housing numbers) have formed in response to these challenges, reflecting the strength of feeling across the Test Valley.

TVBC have promised to share more information as soon as the next consultation dates are confirmed, and we will pass those details on to you the moment they are available. Your involvement will be absolutely essential - every response, every comment and every voice genuinely shapes the future of our villages and countryside. The more people who take part, the stronger our community’s influence will be.