Rutland County Council (RCC) is continuing to gather evidence and information to support the development of Rutland's new Local Plan, with further public consultation expected to take place in the autumn.

Every planning authority must have an up to date Local Plan that covers a period of at least 15 years, that sets out what can be built and where building should take place.

Local Plans hold important policies to support environmental protection, jobs and the economy. They also help to decide where areas require infrastructure such as roads, schools and health.

A Local Plan also covers:

• housing
• education provision
• transport infrastructure
• healthcare provision
• provision for leisure facilities
• open and green spaces

Rutland County Council have started the process of preparing a new Local Plan for Rutland, which will be informed by an updated evidence base that will:

• deliver the corporate strategy, vision and themes for the county
• provide sustainable growth to meet our assessed housing and employment needs, using and promoting sustainable transport wherever possible. These combine to contribute towards achieving the Government's 2050 net zero carbon emissions target
• protect and enhance the county's heritage, character and natural assets - including air quality, water resource management and biodiversity
• ensure timely delivery of all necessary infrastructure

Rutland County Council held an Issues and Options consultation in summer 2022, asking residents how they would choose to tackle 12 key issues that need to be addressed through the new Local Plan, including the environment, travel, infrastructure and housing need.

Feedback received as part of the Issues and Options consultation is being reviewed alongside detailed evidence and analysis of the same key issues to create a draft Local Plan, which will be subject to further public consultation during what's know as the 'Preferred Options' stage of plan-making.

Following minor changes to Rutland's Local Plan Development Scheme, which provides the timetable for producing the Plan, the Council can confirm that the Preferred Options consultation is expected to take place in autumn 2023.

Further information about each stage of the process to develop Rutland's new Local Plan can be found online. This includes a document summarising all feedback gathered as part of the Issues and Options consultation in summer 2022, which is available to read and download from the RCC website.

Rutland County Council will also publish the results of key studies that are being carried out to support the development of the Local Plan, as this information becomes available. This will include the findings from landscape, open space and infrastructure studies that are due to be completed in the coming months.