Worthing Local Plan 2003

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About the Worthing Local Plan 2003

Preceding the Local Development Framework, Worthing's Local Plan was adopted in September 2003 to provide the main planning framework for the Borough to 2006. Wider planning strategies for the South East were set by national and regional policies such as the West Sussex Structure Plan, 2001-2016.

Changes in legislation and the adoption of the Core Strategy has meant that most of the Local Plan policies have now been superseded or deleted. However, several policies remain 'saved'. To provide some context for these saved policies the Local Plan is linked in full below. In addition, an explanation is provided as to which policies were saved - firstly during a review undertaken in 2007 and subsequently following the adoption of the Core Strategy in 2011.

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First Review of Local Plan Policies - 2007

In 2004 the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act specified a period (up to 2007) in which transitional arrangements could be set up to avoid a policy vacuum during the preparation of emerging Local Development Framework documents. The Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) subsequently made a direction to allow Local Authorities to save specific policies after this date. However, the Government did not allow the Council to 'save' policies if they were out of date; they repeat national guidance; or were adequately covered by other policies or; they do not technically cover a planning matter. The Council submitted a list of policies to be saved that met these tests and these were approved by the Government Office for the South East (GOSE) in September 2007. Of the 154 Local Plan policies a total of 29 were saved:

Worthing Local Plan - Saved Policies - Adopted September 2007 (401KB)

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Policies Superseded on Adoption of Core Strategy

Appendix 6 of the Core Strategy (April 2011) sets out the Local Plan policies that remain 'saved'. On adoption of the Core Strategy 13 or the 29 previously saved polices were superseded. The appendix, which is linked below, summarises this process and lists the 16 remaining Local Plan policies that will continue in operation alongside the Core Strategy policies until such time as they are replaced by new policy and / or guidance in subsequent Local Development Documents.