Local Plan Frequently Asked Questions

Local Plans are prepared by the local planning authority, such as Blaby District Council, in consultation with the local community. The Local Plan will include a vision and framework to protect some areas and identify the locations where development will be supported. The Plan will address housing, the economy, community facilities, infrastructure and conserving and enhancing the natural and historic environment, mitigating and adapting to climate change and achieving well designed places. The Local Plan is the main policy document used when making decisions on planning applications for development proposals. 

The Government requires all local planning authorities to provide a long-term Local Plan to meet our needs for the future. Without a Local Plan, development will still take place, but the Council will be less able to control development so that it aligns with local needs and priorities. When the Council assesses a planning application, the Local Plan is the primary consideration. Every council is legally required to review their Local Plan at least every five years and need to plan at least 15 years ahead. The new Local Plan will replace the adopted Core Strategy and Delivery DPD. 

The process of preparing a Local Plan, involves several stages that are set out in law.

The key stages are:

•    Evidence gathering and scoping 
•    Consultation and engagement (Regulation 18) 
•    Drafting the Plan 
•    Public consultation on the Proposed Submission Blaby Local Plan (Regulation 19) 
•    Submission of Local Plan to Secretary of State for Examination 
•    Examination 
•    Adoption

The Council has now reached Regulation 19. Before submitting for examination, we are inviting representations on the Proposed Submission Blaby Local Plan and the associated documents in accordance with Regulation 19 of the Town and Country Planning (Local Planning) Regulations 2012. A consultation will run for over 6 weeks from 12 noon Wednesday, 8th July until 12 noon on Monday, 24th August 2026.  
National policy is clear that the preparation and review of all policies should be underpinned by relevant and up to-date evidence. This should be adequate and proportionate, focused tightly on supporting and justifying the policies concerned, and take into account relevant market signals. Local plans should also be informed throughout their preparation by a sustainability appraisal that meets the relevant legal requirements

The Proposed Submission Blaby Local Plan is the version of the Plan that will be submitted to the Planning Inspectorate for examination. The Regulation 19 consultation requires comments to focus on the ‘legal compliance’ and ‘soundness’ of the Local Plan. This consultation is a chance for you to influence policy by commenting on the Local Plan’s legal compliance and soundness and to suggest any changes you think are needed. Your comments will be considered by the Council and the Planning Inspector once the Local Plan is submitted for examination. 

We received a wide range of comments on the Issues and Options consultation held in 2019 and the Options consultation held in 2021. These comments came from residents and organisations with an interest in the Local Plan (including public bodies such as the Environment Agency, Leicester City, County Council and Historic England), community organisations, landowners and developers.

We have carefully considered the responses to the consultation in producing the Proposed Submission Blaby Local Plan. A Statement of Consultation is available to view on our website at Regulation 19 Consultation – Blaby District Council. This sets out a summary of the responses received and how they have been considered when developing the Proposed Submission Blaby Local Plan. 

The main difference between the Regulation 19 consultation and the previous stages of consultation is the statutory requirements. Consultations at previous stages were to gain information about what the Local Plan should contain. At this stage, we are consulting on a final version of the Local Plan and inviting comments (known as representations at this stage) on the legal compliance and soundness of the Plan. The representations will be submitted to the Planning Inspectorate and inform the Examination of the Plan. 

Before the Plan can be adopted by the Council it is examined by the Planning Inspectorate. The Local Plan will be examined to assess whether it has been prepared in line with legal and procedural requirements, and whether it is sound. Plans are ‘sound’ if they are:   
a) Positively prepared – providing a strategy which, as a minimum, seeks to meet the area’s objectively assessed needs; and is informed by agreements with other authorities, so that unmet need from neighbouring areas is accommodated where it is practical to do so and is consistent with achieving sustainable development;   

b) Justified – an appropriate strategy, taking into account the reasonable alternatives, and based on proportionate evidence;  

c) Effective – deliverable over the plan period, and based on effective joint working on cross-boundary strategic matters that have been dealt with rather than deferred, as evidenced by the statement of common ground; and 

d) Consistent with national policy – enabling the delivery of sustainable development in accordance with the policies in this Framework and other statements of national planning policy, where relevant. The key national policy document is the National Planning Policy Framework. 

Local Plans are legally compliant if they are:

•    Prepared in accordance with the Council’s latest Local Development Scheme; 
•    Accompanied by a Sustainability Appraisal and Habitats Regulations Assessment; 
•    Subject to consultation carried out in accordance with the Council’s Statement of Community Involvement; 
•    Compliant with all relevant laws including the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act and the Town and Country Planning (Local Planning) (England) Regulations 2012. 

The legal requirement for LPAs to demonstrate compliance with the duty to cooperate has been removed. However, showing how authorities have maintained effective cooperation in accordance with the National Planning Policy Framework (and Planning Practice Guidance) will remain a soundness matter.

Given it is unclear how the Planning Inspectorate will interpret this change of requirements when examining Local Plans, stakeholder engagement with national and local bodies, such as neighbouring planning authorities, Leicestershire County Council and the Environment Agency has continued on strategic issues. 
These discussions have helped inform the Proposed Submission Local Plan. We have published a Duty to Co-operate Statement to provides evidence of ongoing engagement and where agreement has been reached. This Statement will be supported by Statements of Common Ground which are being agreed with organisations. 

Representations are invited on the Proposed Submission Blaby Local Plan between 12 noon Wednesday, 8th July until 12 noon on Monday, 24 August 2026.

Late responses will not be accepted or considered. 

Publication of the Proposed Submission Blaby Local Plan must be in accordance with the regulations with specific documents to be prepared to support the consultation including: 
•    Proposed Submission Blaby Local Plan 
•    Local Plan Policies Map 
•    Sustainability Appraisal 
•    Habitats Regulations Assessment 
•    Statement of Consultation 
•    Statement of the Representations Procedure and Availability of Documents

In addition to the main consultation documents, there are a number of supporting background and evidence documents which have been published alongside the consultation. 

The Proposed Submission Local Plan and supporting documents are available to view electronically on Blaby District Council’s website at Regulation 19 Consultation – Blaby District Council  

Paper copies of the Proposed Submission Local Plan and other key documents are available at the Council Offices and libraries in the District during normal opening times. These locations are listed below:

 •    Blaby District Council Offices, Desford Road, Narborough, LE19 2EP 
•    Blaby Library, Lutterworth Road, Blaby, LE8 4DW 
•    Braunstone Town Library, Braunstone Civil Centre, Kingsway, Braunstone Town, LE3 2PP 
•    Cosby Library, Park Road, Cosby, LE9 1RN 
•    Countesthorpe Library, Countesthorpe Village Hall, Station Road, Countesthorpe, LE8 5TB 
•    Enderby Library, Townsend Road, Enderby, LE19 4PG 
•    Glen Hills Library, Glen Parva Parish Hall, Dorothy Avenue, Glen Parva, LE2 9JD 
•    Glenfield Library, Sandown Court, Glenfield, LE3 8BT 
•    Huncote, Rear of Huncote Methodist Church Hall, Forest Road, Huncote, LE9 3BH 
•    Kirby Muxloe Library, Station Road, Kirby Muxloe, LE9 2EN 
•    Leicester Forest East Library, 76 Rushmere Walk, Leicester, LE3 3PD 
•    Narborough Library, Station Road, Narborough, LE19 2HR 
•    Sapcote Library, Church Street, Sapcote, LE9 4FG 
•    Stoney Stanton Library, St Michaels Court, Stoney Stanton, LE9 4TH

 For information on Library opening times, please visit the Leicestershire County Council Library Service website at https://www.leicestershire.gov.uk/leisure-and-community/libraries/find-a-library.

 Documents can be made available in an alternative format or translated on request. 

Drop-in events have been arranged across the District to provide interested parties with information on the Local Plan, how to respond and what happens next.  There will also be an opportunity to speak to planning officers. Details of venues, dates and times are below:

All comments must be submitted in writing.

The easiest and quickest method is to use the online form on the Council’s Regulation 19 consultation web page. This will ensure your representations are accurately recorded and easily submitted to the Inspector.

If you are unable to use the on-line form, you can request a word version of the representation form by contacting us. Completed representation forms should be returned by email to:  planning.policy@gov.uk or by post to: Development Strategy, Blaby District Council, Council Offices, Desford Road, Narborough LE19 2EP.

Representations at this stage should focus on whether the Plan is legally compliant and sound. Guidance notes have been prepared to help you make representations and these can be viewed on the Council’s website. 

We cannot accept anonymous comments, or anything marked as private or confidential. Following consultation, all representations are submitted to the Planning Inspectorate. For transparency and fairness, it is important that the Inspector and all other participants in the examination process are able to know who has made representations on the plan.

If you submit comments, the consultation responses and your personal data will be passed to the Planning Inspectorate and a Programme Officer. The Programme Officer manages the procedural and administrative aspects of the examination. The Programme Officer will contact you using the personal information you have provided if you have indicated in the representation form that you wish to engage in the examination

The next steps in the process following the end of the representation period on Monday 24 August 2026 will be for the Council to consider whether to submit the Blaby Local Plan to the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government for examination, together with all the Regulation 19 representations and the other supporting documents. At this point, a Local Plan Inspector will be appointed, who will undertake an independent examination of the plan and then make recommendations on what happens next with the Local Plan. The Council intends to submit the Plan by December 2026.

The Secretary of State will appoint an independent Planning Inspector to examine the Local Plan against the legal and soundness tests. This will include hearing sessions (open to the public) for the Inspector to hear evidence, expected Spring 2027.

The Inspector will provide the Council with a report on the submitted Blaby Local Plan (and any proposed Modifications arising from the hearing sessions). Following a report confirming the Plan is ‘sound’, the Council will be able to adopt the Blaby Local Plan. It will then form part of the statutory development plan for the district and have full weight when determining planning applications. 

We recognise that new development is likely to put an additional burden on existing facilities, particularly on education, health care and transport infrastructure. The Proposed Submission Local Plan seeks to proactively mitigate this by focusing development in areas with higher levels of access to existing public transport, community facilities and healthcare – or where necessary by identifying where improvements and expansion can be most efficiently delivered.

The development sites identified within the Proposed Submission Local Plan will help enable the delivery of the overall development strategy. Policy requirements are included for each site to ensure that planning applications address site specific circumstances and any necessary infrastructure related mitigation.

The allocation of a site in the Proposed Submission Local Plan does not mean the site has planning permission. For many sites the Plan builds in a master planning process, and a planning application would need to be approved before development can begin on any site. It is normal practice for infrastructure delivery providers to engage in more depth through the master planning and planning application process when further evidence and information is available for their consideration. 

We have published an Infrastructure Delivery Plan which can be located on our evidence base webpage. This sets out what infrastructure is required to allow new development to take place.

We have worked with a wide range of organisations responsible for infrastructure provision in the district to help us prepare the Infrastructure Delivery Plan and the Proposed Submission Local Plan, including the highways authority, education authority, health authority, water companies and utility suppliers. 

There are national planning policies around what can and cannot be built in places that are likely to flood now, or that are likely to be at risk of flooding in the future due to climate change.  We have commissioned evidence to help us understand where these places are and ensure that any proposed development sites in the plan are likely to be able to be developed without increasing flood risks for new or existing properties. Level 1 and Level 2 Strategic Flood Risk Assessments have been prepared in liaison with statutory consultees including the Environment Agency and Leicestershire County Council as the Local Lead Flood Authority to analyse flood risk areas across the district. We used the information in the Strategic Flood Risk Assessment to inform the Sequential and Exception Tests.

Within the Proposed Submission Blaby Local Plan, Policy CC2 Flood Risk deals with managing flood risk. The policy gives priority to the development of sites within areas at the lowest risk of flooding. In areas that are identified as being at increased risk of flooding development must meet a number of criteria and major development must be informed by a site-specific flood risk assessments to help identify and address potential risks early in the planning process. The Policy also requires major development to incorporate Sustainable Drainage Systems that reduce surface water run-off by 20% compared to pre-development conditions. These measures will minimise the risk of flooding to people, property and the environment. 

The site allocations identified in the Proposed Submission Local Plan are based on robust evidence, including the Sustainability Appraisal that rigorously tested the policies and site allocations included in the Plan as well as the reasonable alternatives.

Changes will only be suggested to the Plan if it is necessary to achieve a sound plan.

The Regulation 19 consultation process allows the public and key stakeholders to make representations on the site allocations in the Proposed Submission Local Plan, with a view of ensuring the site allocations are legally compliant and sound

New Lubbesthorpe was identified in the previous Local Plan as a sustainable urban extension. It has planning permission for 4250 homes, employment uses, schools, district and local centres with shops and local services, green infrastructure and open spaces and transport improvements.

The site is currently under construction with around 1300 homes, 15 hectares of employment land, a primary school, local centre and transport improvements already built. 

Land North of Hinckley Road has gained planning permission for 885 homes, a primary school, open space and transport improvements (reference 19/1610/OUT). The allocation therefore does not need to be taken forward in this Proposed Submission Local Plan. It is considered as a commitment towards contributing to the District’s housing land supply.

The Council is currently receiving a number of planning applications on sites for housing development. Several of these are proposed allocations in the Proposed Submission Plan. As the Local Plan progresses through its statutory process, it will help the Council to regain control of where development is located in the longer term. Any sites gaining planning permission in the meantime will contribute to meeting the overall housing requirement for the District. 

The Council currently has a 2.78 year housing land supply since the publication of the revised NPPF in December 2024 which increased the housing requirement for the district. The reduction in the number of years of housing land supply leaves the district at risk of speculative development for a temporary period until the Local Plan is adopted. The Council is working hard to mitigate the reduction in its housing land supply by continuing work on its new local plan to provide for future housing and sustainable development across the district in order to close the gap between housing supply and requirements.

The Statement of Community Involvement outlines how and when the Council will involve the local community when preparing the Local Plan and in the determination of planning applications. The statement relates to the entire District of Blaby, and the most relevant version was adopted by Council in December 2020.  The Local Development Scheme sets out the proposed timetable and project plan for preparing the Plan. The latest version was approved in April 2026.

To stay informed on the next stages of the New Local Plan, subscribe to our Local Plan consultation database. This will ensure that you are informed about the next stages such as the start of the Regulation 19 Consultation.

The Planning Inspectorate has published several useful videos on YouTube about the plan-making process, including What is a Local Plan and how are they prepared