Local Development Scheme
The Local Development Scheme (LDS) does two things:
- it sets out the Council’s programme for the preparation of Statutory Local Plan documents including key milestones, and
- acts as a comprehensive introduction to the Council's planning policies for the public and stakeholders.
The LDS sets out the Development Plan Documents to be prepared, describing their purposes, roles and the timetables for their preparation including the planned dates for adoption. It is also used for the monitoring of document preparation.
It is currently subject to revision in order to take account of changes in context, e.g. the passage of the Localism Act 2011 and its forthcoming secondary legislation, and also in response to the management and availability of resources for the preparation of planning policy documents.
Following the abolition of the Government's regional offices, the LDS will continue to operate as a project management tool for the Council.
The current LDS, approved in April 2009 has since been subject to informal revision with the agreement of GOSW. In the coming months it will be necessary to carry out a review of the document's content and style in the light of the changes currently being made to the development planning system.