Responding to the consultation FAQs

Pre-submission Spelthorne Local Plan 2022 - 2037 and the Staines Development Framework - Regulation 19 Consultation FAQ's

Q1 How can I respond to the consultation?
Q2 What can I comment on at Regulation 19?
Q3 What are the legal tests?
Q4.What is the test of soundness?
Q5. What is the Duty to Cooperate?
Q6 Can you provide an example of how to respond to the consultation?

Q1 How can I respond to the consultation?

The preferred method for you to submit your representation is through the Council's online portal. Alternatively, you can respond by email or by post using the formal Representations form

The Council's online consultation portal can be found here: Current consultations

For those wishing to respond by email, the Representations Form can be downloaded here: Local plan and completed forms returned to localplan@spelthorne.gov.uk

Hard copies of the Representations Forms can be collected from the Council Offices or from any library in the Borough during normal opening hours and, once completed, be returned to:

Strategic Planning
Spelthorne Borough Council
Knowle Green
Staines-upon-Thames
TW18 1XB

Please note: If you want to deliver your representation by hand, please deliver it to the reception at the Council Offices.

For further details on how to respond please visit: Guidance notes on submitting a representation

Q2 What can I comment on at Regulation 19?

At the Regulation 19 consultation stage, the Council presents what it considers to be the final version of the Spelthorne Local Plan. The public consultation at this stage is no longer concerned with shaping the content of the document but allows interested parties to comment on the draft Plan and supporting information before it is submitted to the Secretary of State. The Council seeks representations on behalf of the Secretary of State on legal compliance, compliance with the Duty to Co-operate, and the four tests of soundness - namely whether the Plan is positively prepared, justified, effective and consistent with national policy.

Is the Local Plan Legally Compliant? If your response is about the way in which we prepared the Local Plan, then these are likely to relate to whether or not it is legally compliant.

Is the Local Plan Sound? If your response is about the content of the Local Plan and the strategy it proposes, then these are likely to relate to whether or not it is sound.

Does the Local Plan meet the duty to cooperate? If your response is about how we have worked with other local authorities, or other relevant bodies in developing the strategy the Local Plan proposes, then these are likely to relate to whether we have met the duty to cooperate.

Q3 What are the legal tests?

In order to be legally compliant the Plan must:

• Be prepared in accordance with the Council's Local Development Scheme and its Statement of Community Involvement
• Be subject to a Sustainability Appraisal, Strategic Environmental Assessment, and a Habitat Regulations Assessment
• Include policies designed to secure that the development and use of land in the local planning authority's area contribute to the mitigation of, and adaptation to, climate change
• Be prepared in accordance with the Equality Act 2010
• Comply with all other relevant legal requirements including the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004 and the 2012 Regulations, which include following the necessary steps for consultation and publicity

Q4 What is the test of soundness?

Paragraph 35 of the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) 2021 sets out the four tests of soundness, against which the Plan will be assessed by the Inspector during the Examination. In order to be found sound, plans must be:

• Positively prepared - The Plan must be based on a strategy which,'as a minimum, seeks to meet the area's objectively assessed needs; and is informed by agreements with other authorities, so that unmet need from neighbouring areas is accommodated where it is practical to do so and is consistent with achieving sustainable development'.
  
  This means that we have objectively assessed the need for homes, jobs, services and infrastructure and these have been delivered sustainably. If you think that our assessments are not objective or do not take sufficient account of unmet needs in neighbouring authorities then your comments relate to whether our Local Plan has been positively prepared or not.
• Justified ­- The Plan must be 'an appropriate strategy, taking into account the reasonable alternatives, and based on proportionate evidence'
  
  This means that the Plan is based upon a robust and credible evidence base. If you think that the evidence doesn't support the choice made in our Local Plan or there are realistic alternatives then your comments relate to whether it is justified.
• Effective - The Plan should be 'deliverable over the plan period, and based on effective joint working on cross-boundary strategic matters that have been dealt with rather than deferred, as evidenced by the statement of common ground'
  
  This means that the Plan will deliver what it sets out to. If you think that what we are proposing in the Local Plan will not happen because for example the required infrastructure cannot be provided, the groups who will deliver elements of it haven't signed up to it or our Local Plan does not join up with the strategies of our neighbouring authorities, then your comments relate to whether our Local Plan is effective or not.
• Consistent with national policy - The plan should enable 'the delivery of sustainable development in accordance with the policies in this Framework and other statements of national planning policy, where relevant'.
  
  Do you consider that our Local Plan accords with the National Planning Policy Framework and other policies or includes clear and convincing reasons for doing something different? Alternatively, you may think that the Local Plan should depart from national policy due to an identified and justified local need.

Q5 What is the Duty to Cooperate?

We have a duty to work with other Local Authorities, and other bodies to address strategic issues in the preparation of the Local Plan. This duty was created by the Localism Act (2011) and is set out in paragraphs 24 - 27 of the NPPF (2021).

Further information about the Duty to Co-operate can be found in the National Planning Practice Guidance here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/plan-making

Q6 Can you provide an example of how to respond to the consultation?

A link to an example of a completed representations form can be found here: