New Local Plan and call for sites

Every local planning authority must produce a Local Plan and keep it up to date. It contains the amount of housing and employment growth being planned for in the next few years and where that it will be built.

It sets out which areas should be protected from development. It also contains policies which will be used to decide planning applications. The Local Plan is just that, local to the area it covers, so the policies in the Local Plan are tailored to Chesterfield Borough.

We must prepare a Local Plan in accordance with national planning policy which is made by the Government. 

With a Local Plan we are trying to meet national planning policy and ensure that new homes and jobs can happen sustainably in the borough, and also that people’s health and wellbeing and the environment are protected and enhanced. 

It looks to resolve competing demands for land uses and focuses on how much housing and employment development should happen and in which locations. It also seeks to ensure that there is adequate infrastructure in place.

All councils must review their Local Plan at least every five years to take on board updated national policies, strategy and information and check that the plan is still effective and appropriate or needs to be changed.

We have assessed our current Local Plan and think it needs updating. The report on reviewing the Local Plan was considered by the council's Cabinet in May 2024 - you can read the report here.

The review involved checking for policy, guidance and strategy changes at the national, regional and local level. By checking the progress of the plan and its effects, and also checking changes in social, economic, and environmental information.

We will now need to consider options for how the plan could be updated, and as this is done, the public will get the opportunity to comment on a changed plan and the changed plan will need to be examined in public by a government appointed inspector.

Yes, the new Local Plan documents are available to view in hard copy throughout the consultation period at:

• Brimington Library
• Chesterfield Library
• Newbold Library
• Old Whittington Library
• Staveley Library

We will also be hosting to drop-in events where you can view the documents and speak to our team about the new Local Plan. These will be held on:

• Monday 28 April - from 4pm to 7pm at the Healthy Living Centre in Staveley
• Wednesday 30 April 2025 - from 4pm to 7pm at the Town Hall

We have decided that the plan will need updating and now we need to decide what changes should be made. However, whilst we have an idea of these, the details of any changes are yet to be drafted.

At this early stage we are explaining what types of changes are likely to be needed and seeking views from the public on what they think needs changing to allow the plan to be effective and appropriate beyond 2025. 

This current consultation is under Regulation 18 of The Town and Country Planning (Local Planning) (England) Regulations 2012.

The process for preparing and adopting a local plan is set out in law under planning regulations. As the plan is reviewed and updated the council asks the local community to make comments. Regulation 18 is the first stage of this process. 

England’s population is increasing, but there are not enough homes yet to meet that need.

The Government wants to meet that need and has committed to aiming for 300,000 homes to be built nationally every year, which means for Chesterfield as a minimum 500 homes a year as opposed to the 244 homes currently planned for. 

The Government has a prescribed methodology for calculating a minimum target for the number of houses each local authority in England has to allocate land for and this has now gone up in Chesterfield by 108%.

Currently there is enough land allocated for meeting local needs for employment but potentially more may be needed to meet regional need.

We will look at the sites people have submitted as available for development the Call for Sites and filter these based on which are both suitable for development and achievable.

We will then see which pattern of sites when taken together will best meet the local plans strategy and objectives.

That’s what we need to decide.

This initial stage of the plan-making process does not identify sites for development, but it does give people the opportunity to see how much more development is now required by Government and suggest where this would best be located.

Following on from this consultation we will prepare a new draft Local Plan which will be published (Regulation 19 stage) so people can comment on it, before it is submitted to the Planning Inspectorate for examination in public.

It's a legal requirement that all Local Plans be scrutinised through environmental reports, called the Sustainability Appraisal and Habitats Regulations Assessment. These reports consider the plan’s impact on our environment, wildlife, people and the economy. They also set out how any significant negative impacts will be addressed.

The Sustainability Appraisal Scoping Report is available for comment alongside the Local Plan consultation document. Completed reports will be available to make representations on when a new Local Plan draft is published.

This Sustainability Appraisal Scoping Report is the first step in preparing a Sustainability Appraisal of the Local Plan update. The Sustainability Appraisal will consider the overall impacts of the revised policies on society, the economy and the environment to help maximise the sustainability benefits of the Local Plan Update. It is a legal requirement to prepare it.

The Scoping Report contains social, environmental and economic information about the area and proposes an assessment method to use on any changes to the Local Plan and is published now to allow anyone who is interested to comment on it. 

Enabling a transition to a low carbon society, mitigating climate change and improving biodiversity whilst helping to meeting the health and wellbeing, social and economic needs of current and future generations will remain a key role of the Local Plan.

However, this is in the context of the Government now requiring us to plan for a further 108% more homes over the next 15 years.

Knowing what land is available to fulfil this key role is a fundamental part of seeking as sustainable development as is deliverable.

To be considered relevant, any comments that you submit must relate to the use of land and any implications arising from this.

They must also be framed in the wider public interest rather than personal interest (for example perceived loss of value to someone’s home). It also helps if comments are supported by relevant published evidence rather than anecdotal evidence or generalised statements.

Please provide any relevant local views, reports or actions that you (or your group) have prepared or know of. You can also highlight any sites you think are suitable for development or areas you want protected from development.

We have published the evidence monitoring the Local Plan, and you may also like to comment on the assumptions and reasoning in these pieces of evidence.

If you want to identify areas you think should not be developed please show these in your comments on the Local Plan consultation.

If you wish to submit a site to be considered for development please submit it as part of the Call for Sites.

This is a key statutory consultation stage when all stakeholders can respond and influence an updated new Local Plan.

We will consider all representations and use them to shape the plan. At the next stage (Regulation 19 publication stage) people can only comment on legal compliance and soundness, and their comments are sent to the Planning Inspectorate to consider during the examination – further modifications are at the discretion of the inspector.

The Government requires councils to carry out a Call for Sites in order for the council to have a clear understanding of the land available in their area for housing.

It is also necessary for us to have an understanding of what land may be available for other land uses, such as economic development, or biodiversity enhancement.

The Call for Sites is an important way to get an understanding of what land may be available. It provides the opportunity for people and organisations to tell the council about sites that they think may have the potential for development or different land uses. 

The information gathered will help inform the process of updating the current Chesterfield Borough Local Plan.

We need to know of what land would be made available for what uses or development.

Land that is not available would typically not be allocated as it is unlikely to be deliverable or developable within the plan period. 

The sites will be assessed according to the Government’s planning practice guidance and categorised based on whether or not they are thought to be available, suitable, viable and achievable. This process is called Land Availability Assessment.

A map showing the submitted sites and proposed uses will be published before the end of 2025 as part of the process of updating the Local Plan.

An allocation in a new Local Plan, or a grant of planning permission should an application be submitted, are not guaranteed. Further assessments are required before being included in the Local Plan or granting planning permission.

Not all sites submitted as part of the Call for Sites will be included in the updated Local Plan.

Further public consultation on the Local Plan which will include any suitable sites identified through the Call for Sites will take place before it is formally adopted in either late 2025 or early 2026.

The sites will be assessed through the Land Availability Assessment process. The results of this will be published when they are available.

We will need to consider if any of the sites are necessary to meet the new national planning requirements and then put these into a new plan which would need to be publicly consulted on.

Contributors can remove suggestions and deactivate their account via their Call for Sites profile, which is located on the menu of the Call for Sites webpage.

When you deactivate or delete your account, your profile will be permanently removed. However, any formal site ‘submissions’ or ‘site suggestions’ which you did not delete from your account will remain on the online system and will be reported on publicly and assessed as part of the Land Availability Assessment.

If you wish to remove such sites so they are not assessed, then please email local.plan@chesterfield.gov.uk.

Once feedback has been received it will be formally considered and an updated Local Plan will be prepared.

This updated Local Plan will be published (regulation 19 publication stage) so the public can make representations and then these representations and the plan will be submitted to the Government for an examination in public, after which the plan may be amended and if recommended by the inspector it can be adopted by the council for use.

If you would like to be kept informed on progress with local planning and other planning policy activity in Chesterfield Borough you can join our consultation database by emailing local.plan@chesterfield.gov.uk. 

If you make a comment on the local plan or submit a site we will automatically retain your information in order to notify of progress through the Local Plan process.

If you have further questions please contact us at local.plan@chesterfield.gov.uk or call 01246 345002.