Local Plan submitted for South Downs National Park

The plan has been submitted alongside all of the evidence used in its preparation and more than 2,500 comments received in the pre-submission consultation held last year.

Margaret Paren, chairwoman of the South Downs National Park Authority, said: ‘The South Downs Local Plan puts our nationally-important landscapes first and will ensure they sit at the heart of every planning decision we make. Putting the landscape first means making sure we get the right growth in the right places.

‘This will both protect our landscapes and allow our communities to flourish, providing better places to live and work for the 112,000 people who call the South Downs National Park home.’

The Local Plan has been developed with residents and includes around 50 neighbourhood plans developed.

It provides local development management policies and allocates land for development.

Now it has been submitted, the plan will be looked at by a government inspector who will then set questions to be answered by the South Downs National Park Authority and other interested parties before public hearings are held.