Previous stages of consultation
Update – submission to the Secretary of State for examination
The Wakefield District Local Plan 2036 was submitted to the Secretary of State on 4 May 2021 for independent examination.
The Secretary of State has appointed Katie Child B.Sc. (Hons) MA MRTPI as the Planning Inspector to consider whether the Plan meets the relevant legal requirements, and whether it is sound, based on the criteria set out in paragraph 35 of the National Planning Policy Framework 2019.
Miny Schofield has been appointed as the Programme Officer for this examination. She is an independent officer of the examination working under the direction of the inspector.
Further information is available on the Local Plan Examination news webpage.
Publication Draft Local Plan consultation – October 2020
The Council is currently preparing the new Local Plan for Wakefield district to cover the period to 2036. It will provide a comprehensive, updated planning framework of policies, including policies for sites, to guide investment and growth in Wakefield district, as well as to safeguard and improve the environment.
Amendments have been made to Local Plan following comments received at the Initial Draft Plan consultation in January/February 2019. This public consultation was proposed in May 2020, delayed due to the Covid-19 emergency. The Key Changes leaflet can be used as a quick guide and the changes are clearly shown in the Volumes below.
Consultation on the Publication Draft Plan takes place for six weeks from Thursday 29 October 2020 until 5pm Wednesday 9 December 2020 (Due to the second national lockdown, the consultation was extended until 31 December 2020).
Publication Draft Local Plan
- Volume 1 Development Strategy, Strategic and Local Policies
- Volume 2 Settlement Specific Policies
- Policies Map showing the district-wide and settlement specific site allocation policies and designations
- Inset Map showing town centre and retail allocation policies
- Safeguarding Map showing coal resources and petroleum licence areas
- Hot Food Takeaway Exclusion Areas Map
- New Build Housing Value Areas Map
- Comment Form and Guidance Note - How to Get Involved
- Sustainability Appraisal and Appendices D to E, Appendix F and Appendices G to I
The purpose of Sustainability Appraisal is to assess the environmental, social and economic effects of the Plan, this work has a separate comment form and event to the Local Plan volumes. The consultation also includes a number of supporting and evidence documents.
Supporting documents
- Pre-Submission Statement of Consultation and Appendices
- Duty to Cooperate Statement
- Habitat Regulations Assessment Screening Report
- Site Selection Methodology Paper
- Green Belt Methodology and Findings Report October 2020
- Site Assessment Technical Paper November 2020
Evidence Document
Key evidence document October 2020
Please note the web links to the key evidence documents no longer work, but these are available to view in the Evidence base webpage.
Face to face consultation is currently restricted due to Covid-19, an addendum to the Statement of Community Involvement has been prepared. You can still speak to an officer working on the Local Plan, see our contact details at the bottom of the page and an online exhibition display has been prepared.
How to comment
The preferred method to view and make comments online using the Council's Consultation Portal.
Copies of the documents and comment form are available at Wakefield One - Customer Access Point, Burton Street, Wakefield and at the libraries during their current opening hours. Please check opening hours before visiting and any Covid-19 restrictions in place.
Comment forms can be returned by email to: wdlp@wakefield.gov.uk or by post to the address under the Contact Us section, at the bottom of the page.
The Statement of Representation Procedure also sets out this information and there is a guidance note to help.
All comments to be received by 5pm Wednesday 9 December 2020. At this stage you can comment on how the plan has been prepared and if it meets the test of Soundness.
The Privacy notice explains how the Council will use your information. Please note any comments you make will be made publicly available, alongside your name, and cannot be confidential.
Next steps
The timescales and stages for the Local Plan preparation are set out in the Local Development Scheme 2017 After the Publication Draft Local Plan consultation the Local Plan will be submitted to the Secretary of State for independent examination. Adoption is anticipated in 2022.
Initial Draft Local Plan
Consultation took place from 10 January to Wednesday 20 February 2019 on the Initial Draft Local Plan, following the Early Engagement consultation in October 2017. The Initial Draft Plan set out a framework of proposed policies for consideration, strategic, local and site policies for development. These documents formed the Initial Draft Plan:
- Volume 1 Development Strategy, Strategic and Local Policies
- Volume 2 Settlement Specific Policies
- Policies Map showing the district-wide and settlement specific site allocation policies and designations
- Inset Map showing town centre and retail allocation policies
- Safeguarding Map showing coal resources and petroleum licence areas
- Map showing Hot Food Takeaway Exclusion Zones
Supporting Documents
- Initial Statement of Consultation
- Habitat Regulations Assessment Screening Report
- Duty to Cooperate Statement
- Site Selection Methodology Paper
- Site Assessment Technical Paper - Initial Draft
- Green Belt Assessment Methodology Paper
Evidence Document
Please note the web links to the key evidence documents no longer work, but these are available to view in the Evidence base webpage.
April 2018
Site Options Technical Consultation
Following Early Engagement consultation during October to December 2017 advice and comments were sought from technical consultees within and external to the Council in developing site options. This process informed decisions about the suitability and deliverability of potential sites; any constraints on development; and the need for additional infrastructure to support development.
Early engagement consultation - October 2017
The start of plan making process considered the key issues facing the district and proposed development options for growth and where new development should take place. Consultation on the following documents took place from Thursday 26 October to 6 December 2017.
Further information and supporting background documents can be viewed on the Adopted Local Plan pages. We have adopted a series of planning guidance documents to supplement policies in the Local Plan.
Contact Us
Planning Policy Planning Services Wakefield Council Wakefield One PO Box 700 Wakefield WF1 2EB