The East Cambridgeshire Local Plan sets out the vision, objectives, spatial strategy and planning policies of the district.
It also identifies land and allocates sites for different types of development, such as housing and employment, to deliver the planned growth for the district to 2031.
The preparation of the Local Plan was informed by evidence and went through several stages of public consultation.
The Local Plan was adopted by the council on 21 April 2015, with some small changes to it adopted on 19 October 2023.
It is therefore referred to as the East Cambridgeshire Local Plan 2015 (as amended 2023).
The policies map illustrates geographically the policies in the Local Plan. It is updated as and when an element of the development plan as described above is updated.
The Local Plan is used by lots of people for different reasons, such as the council’s planning team to determine planning applications.
It is also used by applicants making planning applications in the district.
Members of the public and other parties can use the plan to look up site allocations and policies in the district of interest to them.
The Local Plan and its evidence base also help inform the preparation of parish based Neighbourhood Plans.
To be effective plans need to be kept up-to-date. The National Planning Policy Framework states policies in local plans should be reviewed to assess whether they need updating at least once every 5 years.
In April 2020, the council determined that its Local Plan 2015 required revision, but only partially and only in respect of its strategic housing policy, GROWTH1, and some of its supporting text. The rest of the Local Plan was considered to not, at that time, be in need of updating.
Over the period 2020 to 2023, the process of updating the Local Plan took place, focussed on the issue of updating policy GROWTH1. This concluded on 19 October 2023.
If you require any background documents associated with the preparation or examination of the 2023 update of the Local Plan, then please email planningpolicy@eastcambs.gov.uk.
If you would like to download a copy of the 2023 updated Local Plan which identifies the changes compared with the original 2015 version of the Local Plan, then a tracked change version of the Local Plan 2015 (as amended 2023) is available below:
If you would like to be kept up to date with the preparation of a future Local Plan you can register your contact details with us. Please note that the information you provide will be used specifically for Local Plan consultation processes and will be processed in accordance with the council's privacy policy.
Email planningpolicy@eastcambs.gov.uk
Or write to: Strategic Planning, East Cambridgeshire District Council, The Grange, Nutholt Lane, Ely, Cambs, CB7 4EE.