The Isle of Wight Council has reached a major milestone by submitting the long-awaited Island Planning Strategy (IPS) to Government.
This is a significant step forward in the plan-making process and passes the IPS over to the Planning Inspectorate who will now decide how to move forward.
Following the closure of the ‘Regulation 19’ consultation period on the IPS at the end of August, the council has processed and reviewed over 700 comments before submitting them all, together with the plan and entire evidence base, to the Secretary of State.
The council has set up a dedicated Island Planning Strategy examination web page www.iow.gov.uk/planthewight on behalf of the Planning Inspector, with all the submitted documents, along with updates on the IPS examination.
The Council has also appointed a Programme Officer for the examination process. Their role is a point of contact for any person who has an interest in the examination of the IPS and act as a liaison between the Planning Inspector, Isle of Wight Council and people who have commented on the plan.
Councillor Paul Fuller, Cabinet Member for Planning, Coastal Protection and Flooding said;
“Submitting the Island Planning Strategy to the Secretary of State is a major milestone for the council moving towards the corporate plan priority of adopting a new local plan, which was also a key recommendation from the Local Government Association Peer Review of Planning Services . I would like to thank everyone who has contributed to the consultation.
“Work on this new local plan started over seven years ago and adopting the new policies in the IPS will allow the council to use a wide range of ‘new policy tools’ when making planning decisions. We look forward to hearing back from the Planning Inspectorate and moving into examination hearing sessions as soon as possible.”
Article continues below this advertisement
Now the IPS has been submitted, an independent Planning Inspector will be appointed to carry out an examination in public, they will decide on the timing of the hearings, anticipated to be in early 2025.
The local authority is now writing to all those who made representations on the draft plan, including the 50 plus people who said they would like to appear at the examination hearings if the Inspector considered it necessary, to provide an update and outline the likely next steps.
Those people will also be contacted directly by the Programme Officer in the coming weeks once the Planning Inspector has been appointed.
No more houses on the Isle of Wight, we are over full.
I hope the planners have a look at what’s happened to the island over the last 50 years you call that a plan our once beautiful island has all but disappeared but not to worry they have a plan
Before concrete gets poured over more acres of countryside I have to point out that firstly there are a number of houses for sale on the island with no chain. Empty usually, some been for sale for months. Surely we need to wait for these to be occupied first.
Secondly, they are looking to shut schools on the island due to falling population and birth numbers, if we are not careful we will end up with an island and indeed country riddled with unoccupied houses just right for the local hooligan’s to break into and set on fire. It’s not going to be a good look …