Sevenoaks District Council responds in detail to Planning Inspector’s concerns

Please see below a press release from Sevenoaks District Council in relation to the Local Plan. Please use the link at the bottom of that news release to take you to SDC’s website where you can find the letter and appendices that SDC have sent in response to the Planning Inspector’s letter, together with links to all the various correspondence that has taken place. There is a holding letter from the Inspector indicating that a response to the latest SDC communication will not be issued until after the election period.

Council responds in detail to Planning Inspector’s concerns

Sevenoaks District Council has sent a detailed response to the Planning Inspector after she cancelled the Local Plan hearings last month.

In the letter sent on Monday (18 November 2019), the Council argues it has met the legal requirement to co-operate with neighbouring councils to find sites for new homes in its proposed Local Plan.

The Council believes it has taken a pragmatic approach to meet the duty and sets out in detail how it worked constructively with its neighbours to achieve this.

Sevenoaks also explains why it is disappointed that the Planning Inspector dismissed the conclusions of the Government’s Planning Advisory Service (PAS) without giving any reasons for doing so. Earlier this year, PAS gave the Council’s approach to the duty to co-operate a clean bill of health. Dismissing the PAS conclusions without good reason could, says the Council, undermine the service while discouraging other local authorities from using it.

The Council adds it is keen to resolve the matter as soon as possible so the Local Plan can be progressed and would welcome the opportunity to meet face-to-face with the Planning Inspector.

To view the latest Council letters, along with letters supporting the Council’s position, go to www.sevenoaks.gov.uk/localplannews.

ANY QUERIES REGARDING THE LOCAL PLAN SHOULD BE DIRECTED TO SEVENOAKS DISTRICT COUNCIL - 01732 227000