State of Wales returns in 2024 with a look at an often debated element of the planning system – Local Development Plans.
It was an easy topic to pick given a recent row in Wrexham. After voting down an LDP twice during 2023, councillors were threatened with prison. The LDP was eventually approved in December 2023, though Wrexham Council’s Plaid Cymru group walked out of the meeting.
LDPs inform developers: “You can build here, but not there.”
This saves the local authority’s planning officers, councillors and developers time and resources.
If a candidate site has been selected for housing in an LDP, then developers know they’re far more likely to get planning permission for housing on that land than they would anywhere else. They wouldn’t waste their time – or the time and money of the council – trying to get permission to build on land that hasn’t been allocated for housing (though some do, of course).
LDPs are developed using a lot of evidence (some people disagree with the evidence itself; more later). This is supposed to mean that only those sites which are suitable for a particular use – be it housing, or something else – are included on the LDP map.
LDPs also determine how many houses (or how much commercial space) can be built in a particular area using evidence on the impact that would have on the environment, transport and services like schools, GPs and hospitals.
In addition to selecting land for development, LDPs mark which pieces of land shouldn’t be developed or cause problems (often called “constraints”). This might include land prone to flooding, conservation zones, areas of outstanding natural beauty or scientific interest, as well as local parks, woodlands and open spaces.
