Pendle’s most important planning document – The Local Plan – is being examined by an independent inspector.
It will be used daily by Pendle Borough Council to help it decide whether to approve or refuse applications for planning permission.
The inspector – appointed by the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and local government – has looked at the draft plan and identified the issues which will be the focus of a series of public hearings.
Pendle residents, businesses and other interested parties who made comments prior to the plan being submitted for independent examination, will be given the opportunity to submit a written statement answering the matters raised by the inspector.
Neil Watson, Pendle Borough Council’s assistant director for Planning, Building Control and Regulatory Services, said: “Anyone who submitted comments on the Local Plan at the end of last year will be contacted directly and invited to submit their responses to the inspector’s preliminary questions.
“They may also be invited to participate at one or more of the hearings. Anyone who is interested in Pendle’s Local Plan can attend to observe the hearing sessions but cannot participate unless they had been invited to.”
A draft programme of the hearing sessions has been prepared.
The hearings will take place over a total of eight days between June 17 and July 16.
Topics to be discussed during the hearings include the annual housing requirement, site specific housing land allocations, development management policies addressing housing provision, economic growth, protecting the natural and historic environment, improving health and wellbeing and ensuring the infrastructure necessary to support the level of development being proposed in the Local Plan is in place.
All matters relating to the examination of the Local Plan should be directed to the programme officer Yvonne Parker.
