1.0 Hammersmith and Fulham Council is updating its Local Plan. The current Local Plan was adopted in February 2018 and covers the period 2018- 2035. The new Local Plan will cover the period up to 2042. This first iteration of the Local Plan has been prepared in accordance with Regulation 18 of the Town and Country Planning (Local Planning) (England) Regulations 2012.
What is a Local Plan?
1.1 The Local Plan is the council's most important planning document used to shape, plan and manage sustainable and inclusive development and growth across the borough over a 15-year period. It responds to the challenges and opportunities in the borough, taking account of up-to-date evidence base studies. The Local Plan is the tool to coordinate and direct investment in a way that meets local objectives; positively shape our neighbourhoods and provide a spatial dimension for the borough's ambitions. A key part of the plan-making process for the new Local Plan is to ensure that residents, stakeholders, and the wider community are consulted and given the opportunity to provide responses.
1.2 The local plan sets planning policies, allocates sites for development and is used to make decisions on planning applications. It includes matters such as the amount and locations of new housing and employment development, protection and improvement of open areas, provision of new infrastructure, improvement of town centres and community facilities, and management of waste.
1.3 The Local Plan sets out the council's vision for the borough until 2042 addressing the objectives contained in council strategies such as Upstream London, the Housing Strategy and the Climate Strategy. This includes placing more people in genuinely affordable homes and creating centres of innovation, a skilled workforce and growing businesses and jobs which provide opportunities for local people. The Local Plan also highlights the strategic objectives for the borough, focusing on the key planning issues to be addressed, and includes a delivery strategy for achieving these objectives.
Key Stages in the Local Plan review process
1.4 Following this regulation 18 consultation, the council will make changes to the Plan, where appropriate, and will then publish the Regulation 19 version of the Plan that it intends to submit to the Secretary of State for Examination. An Examination in Public will then be undertaken by an independent Inspector appointed by the Secretary of State before it can be adopted by the council. The flow chart below shows the key stages of the Local Plan process.
National Policy and the London Plan
1.5 The Local Plan has been prepared within the context of a hierarchical framework of planning legislation and policy for England. At the top of the hierarchy are a number of planning related Acts of Parliament and Statutory Instruments, the National Planning Policy Framework 2023 (NPPF) which sets out Government's planning policies for England and how these should be applied. Local authorities must take the NPPF into account when preparing Local Plans. This means in practical terms that the Council should follow national policy unless there is local evidence and circumstances that would justify a different approach.
1.6 Below national policy sits the London Plan, which is prepared by the Mayor of London. The Greater London Authority (GLA) Act 1999 requires the Local Plan to be in 'general conformity' with the London Plan. This means that the Local Plan should be in line with the London Plan 2021, unless there is local evidence and circumstances that would justify a different approach. The London Plan forms part of the development plan for the borough and provides the spatial development strategy for Greater London. National and London policy is continually being produced and updated. As new policies emerge, the Local Plan will need to take account of them.
Integrated Impact Assessment (including Sustainability Appraisal)
1.7 Integrated Impact Assessment (IIA) is a mechanism for assessing and communicating the likely effects of an emerging plan, and reasonable alternatives, with a view to achieving sustainable development. IIA fulfils the requirements for Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) and discharges the duties for Equality Impact Assessment (EqIA) and Health Impact Assessment (HIA). The aim of the IIA will be to inform plan-making both directly (i.e. through structured, systematic, and evidence-based analysis), and indirectly (through providing stakeholders with information on potential plan impacts and so facilitating effective consultation). The use of an IIA approach will help ensure consistency in the development and evaluation of the Local Plan and is considered best practice. Undertaken through an SEA-led methodology, the IIA will incorporate an HIA and EqIA. In addition, a parallel Habitats Regulations Assessment (HRA) process will be undertaken.
Evidence to support the Local Plan
1.8 The policies in the Local Plan need to reflect up-to-date and relevant evidence about the social, economic and environmental characteristics and prospects of the borough and must meet identified needs in accordance with the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF). The Council has collected a wide range of information and commissioned studies to support and inform the new Plan, including studies on housing need, employment land, retail floorspace, affordable workspace viability, student accommodation and visitor accommodation.
Site allocations
1.9 The Local Plan includes a number of site allocation policies. The policies set out the Council's proposed approach to the development of the allocated sites to ensure that they deliver the objectives of this Local Plan and meet the needs of the local community. Each site allocation policy responds to local and site-specific issues and opportunities. However, all the site allocation policies are structured in the same way, setting out: site details; allocated use; indicative capacity; context; development and design principles; infrastructure requirements; and other considerations. Sites have been identified and allocated taking into account national policy and guidance, the London Plan and the policies in the Local Plan.
Strategic and non-strategic policies
1.10 The National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) states that Local Plans should include strategic and non-strategic policies, and that these should be clearly distinguished. Strategic policies should set out an overall strategy for the pattern, scale and quality of development including housing and employment uses. Non-strategic policies should be used to set out more detailed policies for specific areas, neighbourhoods, or types of development. All the policies in the Local Plan are considered to be strategic policies, with the exception of the following, which are considered to be non-strategic policies:
- residential standards
- alterations and extensions
- replacement windows
- basements
- local centres
- public houses
- noise and vibration
- light pollution
- noise
1.11 For the avoidance of doubt, all policies in the Local Plan have full statutory development plan weight and the Local Plan should be read as a whole.