The VOWHDC council is preparing a new Local Plan 2041. The first stage of this was our Call for Sites (see below) and the next stage will be public consultation on an Issues and Options document. All updates will be published on our Local Plan 2041 webpage.

The Vale has recently published our Local Development Scheme which sets out our proposed timetable to produce a new Local Plan 2041. Concurrently, it is also working on the proposed Oxfordshire Plan 2050. The first step in this process is to invite landowners, agents, developers, community groups and others to submit potential development sites for us to consider through a Call for Sites exercise which is seeking to identify sites for more than 5 dwellings. Details are in the message below which also gives instructions of how to respond. The Parish Council will not be putting forward any sites but individual land owners may do so if they wish.

As important stakeholders in our community, we are sending this letter to provide you with an update on our new Local Plan. We recently published our Local Development Scheme which sets out our proposed timetable to produce a new Local Plan 2041.

The first step in this process is to invite landowners, agents, developers, community groups and others to submit potential development sites for us to consider through a Call for Sites exercise. This will help inform our new Local Plan 2041 which will allocate land to meet housing, employment and other land use needs of the district. There is also an opportunity for landowners, agents and developers to submit sites for environmental uses such as nature recovery through this process.

Sites proposed for consideration will be added to our submitted sites register and a high-level review of the site will be undertaken by officers. This exercise is purely a data gathering exercise about sites which may be available for development. Sites submitted to us through this process will only gain planning status if they are taken forward as an allocation within the Local Plan. This process does not grant planning permission to any sites submitted.

We are beginning a call for sites that will run from Friday 3 April to midnight on Friday 29 May 2020. This is an eight-week period where those who own land can submit sites to the council for assessment for a range of uses.

This does not preclude sites being submitted after 29 May 2020. If a site is submitted after 29 May 2020, the council will include these in its assessment, however they are likely to be assessed at a later stage of the plan making process.  In addition, some communities preparing Neighbourhood Plans may be interested in allocating sites and the council are aware that we may get consulted on what sites have been submitted in their area following the 29 May 2020.  These sites would need to be considered in the assessment, at the appropriate stage. All sites submitted will need to be in accordance with the requirements below.

Requirements for sites

• Located in Vale of White Horse District Council’s administrative boundary
• Able to accommodate 5 or more dwellings if proposed for residential use
• Able to accommodate 500sqm or more if proposed for economic development use

Information required

For a site to be submitted successfully, you will also need to provide the following:

• Contact details (name/address/telephone number/email/ who are you representing if not the landowner)
• Site details (site address; site coordinates; current/previous uses)
• Landownership details (name/address of owner(s); single ownership; any other interests – tenancies)
• An appropriately scaled map showing the boundaries of the site
• Proposed use(s) (housing, employment, retail, nature recovery etc)
• Proposed scale (number of dwellings/employment floorspace etc)
• Information on when the site is likely to become available for development
• Information on any known constraints and how these could be overcome.

How to submit sites

The Call for Sites runs for eight weeks from Friday 3 April 2020 to midnight on Friday 29 May 2020. We have produced a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) factsheet on our website to help answer any questions you may have.

Sites can be submitted by:

• Using our online form, which is available here: https://survey.southandvale.gov.uk/s/Vale_Call_for_Sites_2020/?m=45097838c08m4
• Emailing: planning.policy@whitehorsedc.gov.uk  
• Writing to us: Planning Policy, Vale of White Horse District Council, 135 Eastern Avenue, Milton Park, Milton, Abingdon, OX14 4SB

Please note that you must provide your name and address for your sites to be considered. Any personal information you provide to the council within your submission will not be published online, however your information is required to ensure we can contact you further if your site is taken forward within the local plan.

If you have any questions on our Call for Sites, please contact the Planning Policy team via planning.policy@whitehorsedc.gov.uk or call 01235 422600.

If you have any questions on the survey or require it in an alternative format (for example large print, Braille, audio, email, Easy Read and alternative languages) please email haveyoursay@southandvale.gov.uk or call 01235 422425.

For more information about the council and changes to its services during this challenging time please see:
www.whitehorsedc.gov.uk/covid19


Kind regards

Adrian Duffield
Head of Planning
Vale of White Horse District Council
 

The Vale of the White Horse Local Plan was created in 2 parts - Local Plan Part 1 (LPP1), Strategic Sites and Policies, and Local Plan Part 2 (LPP2), Detailed Policies and Additional Sites, covering the period to 2031 (and with which the Neighbourhood Plan period is aligned).  Local Plan 2031 Part 1 was adopted at Full Council in December 2016; and Local Plan 2031 Part 2 was adopted by Full Council on Wednesday 9 October 2019.

Full details are available on the (external) Council website .