The Wiltshire Local Plan is designed to create a framework for the development of many aspects of the development of the Wiltshire Local Authority area. Regarded by many as just about housing, it is far wider as housing is just one element of a comprehensive policy document embracing employment, jobs, highways, utilities, safety, communities, protecting assets of historical, ecological and landscape importance. It is comprehensive, it’s about living, working and thriving in Wiltshire.
Over what period? Now, and maybe a further two+ decades ahead. Difficult to state exact dates as this is designed to take Wiltshire forwards in a ‘joined up’ way and the future is a seamless concept.
This Plan was about nine years in the making before it was submitted to the Government Planning Inspectorate, but soon after the submission the advice that came back was – ‘go re-think’…. Effectively a rejection. Or in the words of some who are flabbergasted by what’s happened – it’s a ‘bu****s muddle’.
Why? It was thrown out because it did not conform to Statutory Planning Policy. It was seen as unachievable, ineffective, didn’t conform to national policy and the timescale was too short.
So it’s back to the drawing board – start again from scratch. But the Government guidelines / rules have moved on since the original Plan was started. What does this all mean for us – the residents of the Marlborough area – and why is this important? How will what’s happened and what (may?) emerge going forwards relate to and / or affect our own Local Neighbourhood Plan, much of which covers the same considerations as the Wiltshire Local Plan.
Lots of people talk about this Plan, and many column inches are written about it. This piece is intended to explain but without the jargon – or too much of it anyway. We aren’t going to delve into the depths of technical detail, rather give an understandable overview of what this is all about, and how it might affect us going forwards.
We’ve asked someone who knows and understands this area to help. Ian Mellor, a Fellow of The Royal Town Planning Institute who is well placed to enable to interpret the implications and detail as it’s a very technically precise area full of jargon which can be quite impenetrable. His analysis and advice below:
Firstly – The implications for us here in Marlborough: hopefully, very little. We have our own Marlborough Area Neighbourhood Plan that details what the town needs, where and how. Sites allocated for development in the MANP remain unchanged, they are still allocated.
Marlborough is within and surrounded by and designated as being of National Landscape importance and the National Policy (see below) states that applications for development in National Landscape areas should be refused. In this sense the absence of a new Strategic Plan does not change the policy for National Landscapes. Marlborough is also adjacent to the Stonehenge and Avebury World Heritage site and there is archaeological assets around Marlborough.
What is the basis of the Wiltshire Local Plan?
There are two fundamental documents which guide development, use of land, infrastructure and utility provision as well as planning education, health, social and community services, highways and private investments in employment etc. Whilst also protecting our most important natural assets – ecology, landscapes and historical features.
The first is National Policy set out in the National Planning and Policy Framework. This is 81 pages long in 17 chapters and sets out policy for making new plans; housing delivery; jobs and employment; land supply and the economy; vitality of town centres; protecting green belts; conserving and enhancing National Landscapes and historical features etc.
The second is the Strategic Plan prepared by the Local Council Planning Authority, which is Wiltshire Council – the only Council in this area with any planning powers and which is responsible for preparing a single strategic plan for the whole county. The previous Strategic Plan was called the Core Strategy and set out policies for March 2009 – March 2026. This Strategic Plan sets out how many houses are to be built, where they will be built, how many new jobs need to be planned for, where the industrial estates, business parks and warehouse/logistics will be, new highway works, policies to protect National Landscapes, the natural and historic environment etc. The proposals have to be tested by Environmental assessments.
Most importantly, the Strategic Plan MUST meet various basic tests; such as does it conform with the National Policy? – is it clear, effective and achievable, etc.?
Planning decisions must be made in conformity with the strategic plan. One issue is how does the council decide planning applications when there is no strategic plan because the old Core Strategy has expired and there is no new plan?
Some policies in the old plan may still be relevant. The National Planning Policy Framework will be the main material factor. As well as the 81- page NPPF there is a welter of advice notes, interpretations, best practice guides, ministerial statements, case law etc.
So where are we now?
All such Strategic Plans must be kept up to date. Our Council began creating this plan in 2017 with the ‘Local Plan Review’. A draft Plan was prepared and sent out for consultation to many groups affected – developers, farmers, community and environmental groups, sports and business organisations, landowners and more. In response to the final public consultation over 10,000 objections and comments were submitted. This resulting draft plan was submitted to the Government in November 2024 along with all the comments made. The Government appointed independent Planning Inspectors to consider the plan and all the representations in order to consider whether the plan meets basic legal requirements, has it been prepared properly and does it meet the basic tests – and therefore is it sound?’.
The Inspectors commenced public hearings at the end of 2025.
After the first two sessions the Inspectors postponed all future hearings because the plan was deemed deficient in various respects. In the Spring of 2026 the Inspectors concluded that the plan could not be resurrected and the hearings were all cancelled.
Reasons?
Timescale: some of the issues were that despite the National Planning and Policy Framework (NPPF) stating that Strategic Plans MUST have a lifespan of at least fifteen years from the date the plan is adopted, the Wiltshire Plan had a timescale of at most eleven years. The plan also proposed a New Settlement ‘somewhere in the south east’ part of Wiltshire. However the plan did not allocate a site, it did not state its location size, or function. No landowners had agreed to it, no developers had any interest in building it, no utilities or infrastructure was planned. The plan also relied on two large urban extensions without saying where they were or how large they were. There were also contradictions in allocating land for employment and choice of sites. Therefore, the plan was not clear, not effective, not achievable and did not conform with National Policy as it only had a life of eleven years at most and was not strategic. Effective rejection and the instruction to ‘go re-think’. Hence the Plan was withdrawn in May of this year.
Next stage:
Wiltshire Council are now preparing a new plan and the Leader, Ian Thorn is directly involved in leading this process. But Government rules have evolved. Central Government has informed each Council of the number of houses to plan and find sites for, and have directed that a more streamlined process for preparing the plan be adopted, meaning that new plans can be prepared in two and a half years. So we can expect that the new Wiltshire Local Plan will be in draft form by the end of 2029. We will all have opportunities to comment on it
So all is now a bit ‘up in the air’. But our Local Neighbourhood Plan still prevails and will act as a reference over the next few years. Current Neighbourhood Plans are still valid and a material consideration
Saturday is ‘ParadeFest Day’, and the sun is likely to shine
