Local Plan Partial Review: Regulation 19 consultation

The Wandsworth Local Plan was adopted in July 2023 and sets out a vision and strategy to guide the future development in the borough from 2023 to 2038. It also contains all of the ‘policies’ that the planning applications we receive are considered against.

We are currently conducting a Partial Review of the Local Plan which includes a review and update of our planning policies to ensure we are delivering more genuinely affordable housing, with an emphasis on new social rented housing. This supports our target for 50% of new homes built in the borough to be affordable.

You can go straight to our online consultation portal, or view more information on the live consultation below, including:

  • What is being proposed
  • How to respond
  • Next steps

Purpose of the Regulation 19 consultation

The publication version of the Wandsworth Local Plan Partial Review is being made available for a public consultation from Monday 13 January to Monday 24 February 2025.

This consultation is being held under Regulation 19 of the Town and Country Planning (Local Planning) (England) Regulations 2012. In accordance with these regulations, we have published a formal Statement of Representations Procedure Notice.

As part of the Local Plan Partial Review, we propose updating six policies, along with revisions to supporting and other text for consistency and clarity.

These six policies we are proposing to update are:

  • Policy LP23: Affordable Housing
  • Policy LP24: Housing Mix 
  • Policy LP28: Purpose-Built Student Accommodation 
  • Policy LP29: Housing with Shared Facilities 
  • Policy LP30: Build to Rent 
  • Policy LP31: Specialist Housing for Vulnerable People and for Older People

Community participation 

The views of the community are at the heart of the planning process and this consultation provides another opportunity to comment on the Local Plan. It is open to everyone, irrespective of whether you have previously submitted comments.

Please note if you wish to participate in the Independent Examination on the Local Plan Partial Review, you must respond to the consultation at this stage.

Soundness and legal compliance

Before we can ‘adopt’ the proposed policies as part of the Wandsworth Local Plan, a government-appointed inspector will need to test whether they are 'sound', legally compliant, and whether we have met our 'duty to co-operate' with other public bodies. This process is called the examination.

Responses to the consultation should aim to help the government-appointed inspector decide whether the proposals should go ahead or not (i.e. whether they are sound and legally compliant), or any changes that should be made to them.

There are four different tests of soundness, which require Local Plans to be:

  • Positively prepared – set a strategy which, as a minimum, seeks to meet the area’s objectively assessed needs and be informed by agreements with other authorities
  • Justified - set an appropriate strategy, taking into account the reasonable alternatives, and be based on proportionate evidence
  • Effective – be deliverable over the period of the plan, and based on effective joint working on cross-boundary strategic matters
  • Consistent with national policy – enable the delivery of sustainable development

Consultation proposals

The consultation is being held on the Publication version of the Local Plan Partial Review and its accompanying Sustainability Appraisal. The consultation proposals can be accessed from the links below, viewed on our online consultation portal or in physical form at Wandsworth Town Hall and local libraries.

Under Regulation 19, we have also published the composite version of the adopted Wandsworth Local Plan that we propose to adopt. These versions shows how the changes proposed as part of the Local Plan Partial Review would supersede or relate to the existing Local Plan. You can view both a ‘clean’  and ‘tracked’ version. Note that these documents are large and may be less efficient to view.

We understand planning consultations can be technical. If after reading the proposals, you are finding it difficult to fully understand, you may wish to view our non-technical easy read summary of the Local Plan Partial Review.

How to get involved

The quickest and simplest way to respond to the consultation is online through our consultation portal.

We also accept responses:

All responses must be received by 11.59pm on Monday 24 February 2025.

If you are responding by email or post, please consider using the response forms below:

Response forms can also be collected from Wandsworth Town Hall or local libraries.

Responses will not be treated as confidential and those submitted anonymously will not be accepted.

Supporting documents and evidence

In addition to the main consultation documents, there are a number of supporting background and evidence documents which have been published alongside the consultation.

This includes:

Previous consultations

The content of the Local Plan Partial Review has been informed by the responses and comments we received on the Regulation 18 consultation held between 23 October and 4 December 2023.

A draft Consultation Statement is available which summarises the comments we received to this consultation and provides our initial response.

What happens next

Following the public consultation, the responses that have been received will be collated and submitted - alongside the submission version of the Local Plan Partial Review, and the supporting and relevant evidence base documents - to the Secretary of State, who will appoint a Planning Inspector to consider them as part of the examination process. View the Local Development Scheme for further information on the timetable for the next steps.

The Publication version of the Local Plan Partial Review is the final draft of the Local Plan we produce the before it is submitted. It is the role of the Planning Inspector to examine the Local Plan to consider whether it meets various tests of 'soundness', as well as for legal and procedural compliance with the relevant regulations.  As a result of the examination, PINS may recommend that further changes to the Plan are necessary before it can be adopted.

Contact

Email: planningpolicy@wandsworth.gov.uk

Planning Policy
Environment and Community Services
Town Hall
Wandsworth High Street
London 
SW18 2PU

Up to The Local Plan

Updated: 13/01/2025