The Importance of the Local Plan

A Local Plan is the council’s rulebook for

•  Where houses should be built 
• How many are needed 
• What standards must be met

If the plan is up to date: ✅ The council has control

If it isn’t: ⚠️ Speculative Developers have the advantage

This is what happened to Bampton

Under legislation brought in by David Cameron, if a Council does NOT have a local plan, there is a presumption to grant planning permission.

This loophole attracts speculative developers up and down the country to seek out areas without a Local Plan and therefore be given permission to build. This was the case with WODC and therefore Bampton.

There was no strategic vision to build houses where they were needed or could be sustained by current infrastructure – the locations were chosen simply on the grounds there was no robust Local Plan 

THIS REMAINS THE CASE IN OUR AREA!

WODC's new Local Plan, looking forward to 2043, has still not been formally adopted. Meanwhile, developers can – once again – jump in. Which is exactly what they are doing – see our page on CURRENT THREATS