The Havant Borough Local Plan 2036, outlining policies to guide new development that will take place, is a step closer to adoption following a full council meeting held last night.
Havant Borough Council’s Cabinet members met and recommended that the Full Council approve this next step. Following that meeting, the Local Plan was discussed at Full Council with 14 deputations from community groups, developers and members of the public.
In a detailed process that has taken more than three years, the Local Plan will now move forward to the next public consultation. This will take place between 4 February and 18 March. Following this, it will be submitted to the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government for a public Examination.
The Havant Borough Local Plan 2036 outlines the strategy for ensuring that the growth needed is delivered in the right places and is of the right character and quality. It also ensures that this growth is delivered alongside supporting roads, schools and services such as health, as well as retail, leisure and community facilities.
The local plan includes a number of proposals to meet housing, employment and infrastructure needs for the borough. These incorporate the regeneration of Havant and Waterlooville town centres together with Hayling Island seafront. These are key priority sites in the newly adopted Regeneration Strategy.
The plan also identifies Southleigh – a new community between Emsworth and Denvilles providing up to 2,100 homes – and the provision of 82,780 square metres of employment floorspace to support a population expected to rise by 16,912 during the lifetime of the plan.
Councillor Michael Wilson, Leader of Havant Borough Council said: “Throughout the process Councillors from all parties have been thoroughly informed to equip them to make this important decision.
“I too have wrestled with a lot of the issues we've heard here - but we have to take a strategic view within the rules that are set for us by central government.
"This plan gives us lots of benefits in terms of infrastructure and employment sites which will help improve and regenerate the borough as a whole.
“We have gone out into the community to talk to residents and listen to their concerns. This has involved 17 consultation events resulting in more than 1300 comments.
“This local plan will allow us to proactively plan for the long-term future of the borough, so we can ensure that development isn’t done on a piecemeal basis but instead we can plan quality infrastructure to ensure successful, better-connected, sustainable communities.”
The meeting, attended by more than 150 members of the public, was also streamed through Facebook Live with an interactive commentary.
For more information on the Havant Borough Local Plan 2036 visit www.havant.gov.uk/localplan
