Q2. Do you consider that the Local Plan Strategy meets the legal and procedural requirements? - No

Insufficient explanation is given in the main body of text of the Strategy document about the content or status of the policies in Appendix H Superseded Local Plan Policies:-

It is not clear whether saved Local Plan policies shown as "To be replaced by the Local Plan: Allocations" are to be continued, modified or discontinued. Existing saved Local Plan policies contain important policies that protect the character of the City. It should be clear whether existing policies are being replaced or to lapse. The concern is that if any of the saved policies do not feature in the Allocations documents the Council may argue that the Strategy did not indicate they were to continue and seek to justify their exclusion on those grounds.

It should be indicated how long saved policies will continue pending the preparation of any replacement or superseding policies in Local Plan documents.

The principle that policy changes in a development plan should be clear is embodied in the TCP (Local Planning) Regulations 2012 in Part 4 regulation 8 (5). The regulations provide "Where a local plan contains a policy that is intended to supersede another policy in the adopted development plan, it must state that fact and identify the superseded policy." Applying the same principle here would make much clearer what changes are taking place.

Q4. Do you consider that the Local Plan Strategy is justified? - No

It is not clear what the status and future of some saved policies is to be.

Q7. Please set out what change(s) you consider necessary to address your representations.

Clarification in the document of the content of Appendix H whether "saved Local Plan policies" listed as "To be replaced by Local Plan: Allocations"

will continue to apply until they are expressly replaced by a new Local Plan document

whether any time limits apply

that there will be an opportunity to propose continuation of such policies.

John Thompson
Chairman,
Lichfield Civic Society.
September, 2012