Havering’s Green Belt And Grey Belt Land To Be Assessed As New Local Plan Begins
Havering Council has begun work on a new Local Plan that will shape where homes, businesses and infrastructure can be developed across the borough.
Cabinet approved the first stage of the process at its meeting on Wednesday 16 September, including the timetable and the formal notice of the council’s intention to begin preparing the plan.
The new system places the council on a strict 30-month timetable. An initial “getting ready” phase will include a scoping consultation, evidence gathering and decisions about how residents and other organisations will be involved.
Once that work is complete, the council expects to have 23 months to prepare the plan, including two further consultation stages, followed by a seven-month examination by an independent planning inspector.
During the meeting, officers confirmed that Havering’s Green Belt assessment has been updated to include an analysis of land that could potentially be classified as Grey Belt.
However, the findings will not be published during the initial administrative stage. Officers said the council would be in a clearer position to reach conclusions about Green Belt and Grey Belt land during the main plan-making period.
“The Green Belt assessment has been updated to do a Grey Belt analysis,” an officer told Cabinet, adding that the findings would first be discussed with Cabinet members before being shared publicly.
Cabinet was also told that planning applications are already coming forward before the new plan is completed, with applicants making decisions to progress a variety of schemes.
The existing Romford Masterplan will remain in place. Changes to national planning rules mean the council cannot prepare another Supplementary Planning Document in the same way, so updated Romford policies are expected to be incorporated into the new Local Plan.
The council has just over £300,000 in earmarked reserves for plan-making alongside an annual base budget of £166,000. Officers said this was enough for the initial work, although additional funding may be needed later for consultants and specialist evidence.
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