The Agenda for the Full Council Meeting for Babergh District Council has been published, ahead of the scheduled meeting on 26th February. Mid Suffolk District Council’s Full Council Meeting is scheduled for 27th February.
As part of this, the draft Babergh and Mid Suffolk Joint Local Development Scheme (LDS) (March 2025) has been made public.
Key points
Officers are recommending to Members that they approve the LDS which would be brought into effect by 5th March 2025. This date would mean that the timetable set out in the NPPF (2024), which requires Councils to publish an LDS within 12 weeks of December 12th 2024 would be met. It is necessary to bring the LDS up-to-date to reflect the new preparation of a BMSDC JLP Review (and not a Joint Local Plan Part 2 document) and the current timetable for the preparation of planning documents.
The BMSDC JLP Part 1 Development Plan Document, plans for the period 2018-2037. The JLP Review will be a 20-year Plan that plans to at least 2044, being 15 years from the proposed date of adoption and will be prepared under a new plan-making system. Formal scoping and participation stage of the Review is planned to commence in March 2026.
Timeline for Local Plan Review
• Scoping and participation stage,– March 2026 to July 2026 (minimum four months).
• Plan visioning and strategy development including first public consultation – August 2026 to March 2027.
• Evidence gathering and draft the Plan – April 2027 to December 2027.
• Second public consultation, proposing changes and submission of the Plan – January 2028 to June 2028.
• Examination of Plan including additional three months for Main Modifications (no more than 24 months after commencing the Plan) – July 2028 to March 2029.
• Adoption – April 2029.
The SPDs set out below are proposed to be prepared in 2025:
• Wellbeing and Health Supplementary Planning Document.
• Renewable and Low Carbon Energy Supplementary Planning Document.
• Design – Part A: Sustainable Construction Supplementary Planning Document; and
• Design – Part B: Local Design Codes Supplementary Planning Document.