The Local Development Scheme (LDS) is a public statement outlining a council’s timetable for preparing development plan documents, including local plans, to be used in the determination of planning applications within a specific area.
The Plymouth and South West Devon Joint Local Plan (JLP) was adopted by South Hams District Council on 21 March 2019, and by West Devon Borough Council and Plymouth City Council on 26 March 2019. As of the 26 March 2019, the JLP comprises the most significant element of the development plan covering the three local authorities.
It should be noted that parts of the administrative areas of South Hams and West Devon are covered by Dartmoor National Park Authority (DNPA). DNPA operates as a separate local planning authority with a separate Local Plan.
The policies of the JLP are supported by the Plymouth and South West Devon Supplementary Planning Document (SPD). This was adopted by West Devon Borough Council on 9 June 2020, Plymouth City Council on 22 June 2020, and South Hams District Council on 16 July 2020. SPDs do not have the legal status of development plan, but they are local development documents which set out guidance relating to the implementation of policies set out in the development plan.
Given the legal requirement for a local planning authority (LPA) to complete a review of its local plan every five years, the JLP councils published a JLP Five Year Review Report (5YRR) in March 2024. The report was approved by West Devon Borough Council on 5 March 2024, South Hams District Council on 7 March 2024 and Plymouth City Council on 11 March 2024.
The 5YRR demonstrated that the JLP continued to provide an effective strategy for the management growth and development across the whole plan area. It concluded that the JLP taken as a whole remains an up-to-date sound plan that is still fit for purpose and should continue to be used in decision making.
Since the 5YRR was approved by the councils, further changes have occurred in relation to the national planning context, most particularly through revisions to the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) and the standard method for calculating local housing need, both published in December 2024. Whilst most of the policies of the JLP remain up-to-date and consistent with
the NPPF, the level of housing provision for the JLP area identified in Policy SPT3 is now significantly less than the figure of local housing need derived from the standard method. This aspect of the JLP is therefore out-of-date and will need to be addressed in the next local plan.
The Localism Act 2011 introduced powers to enable local communities to produce neighbourhood plans. Neighbourhood plans enable communities to take control of planning matters in their areas, setting out policies to bring forward sites for new development and to be used by the planning authority to determine planning applications. Once ‘made’, a neighbourhood plan becomes a part of the development plan.
At the time of this LDS coming into the force, the following Neighbourhood Plans have been ‘made’ in South Hams:
LPAs may also from time to time prepare informal planning documents that have the potential to be material considerations in relation to planning decisions. These are not statutory documents in the way that a formal development plan document or SPD would be, but if subject to public consultation and formal approval of the LPA, may carry reasonable weight in the determination of planning applications.
Interim Planning Statements (IPSs) are such a document and can be used as a tool to set out new policy considerations ahead of the production of a new local plan.
At the time of this LDS coming into the force, there is one Interim Planning Statement in place, which relates to the JLP area:
When adopted the South Hams Local Plan (SHLP) will form the primary development plan document for the local authority areas that are not located within Dartmoor National Park.
The SHLP will create a vision and decision-making framework for the future of South Hams and West Devon that will:
