Dacorum Local Plan Update

Dacorum Borough Council’s consultation on the ‘Emerging Strategy for Growth’ stage of the Local Plan closed in February 2021. The Emerging Strategy for Growth was the second consultation on the new Local Plan for Dacorum, and set out the emerging approach to accommodating growth across the borough.

The consultation ran for 13 weeks and attracted a high level of response. A total of 4,109 individuals and organisations responded, producing over 15,574 separate responses. During the consultation the Local Plan pages of the Council’s website were visited 40,852 times and the dedicated 24/7 virtual exhibition attracted 4,674 users, visiting the exhibition 5,867 times.

Now the consultation has closed, the Council has prepared a summary report which provides an overview of the consultation process and the main issues raised in the responses.

The summary report was presented to the Council’s Strategic Planning and Environment Overview and Scrutiny Committee (SPAEOSC) on 30 June for noting, together with a report setting out the recommended next steps for the Local Plan. As SPAEOSC is not a decision making body it will be for the Council’s Cabinet to agree the next steps.

At its meeting in July, the Council’s Cabinet will decide on how to progress the Local Plan, taking account of any views expressed by Members of SPAEOSC. This will include consideration of whether any further work needs to be done to investigate whether the level of growth required by the Government’s Standard Methodology is appropriate for Dacorum, given the presence of the Green Belt, Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and the Chilterns Beechwoods Special Area of Conservation.

The Council will also be undertaking further analysis of urban capacity across the borough to determine if the impact on the Green Belt can be reduced, and re-examining matters that have changed following the Covid-19 pandemic. This means the publication of the Local Plan will be deferred.

The Local Plan will also align itself with the development of the new Hemel Place Strategy, which was endorsed by Cabinet on 20 April 2021. This is part of a multi-agency programme to develop an ambitious vision for the future transformation of the town.

The Council will prepare a revised Local Development Scheme setting out the revised programme as soon as practicable.

Further information and the full Emerging Strategy for Growth document are available on the Council’s website: www.dacorum.gov.uk/localplan.