Local Plan

Ashford Borough Local Plan (2000), Supplementary Planning Guidance and Development Briefs

The Ashford Borough Local Plan was formally adopted by the Borough Council in June 2000. The Local Plan sets out a framework of plans and policies to guide the development and use of land in the Borough. This includes issues such as the location of housing development, measures to protect the countryside, and retail and employment policies. The Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004 provided for the saving of these adopted Local Plan policies until the 27 September 2007, after which they would expire.

Initially it was envisaged by Government that parts of Local Authorities’ LDF s would be in place by this deadline. However, the issues and complexities present in the new legislation and accompanying guidance has meant that very few are in place nationally. In light of this, the Secretary of State has put in place a system for extending Local Plan policies beyond their deadline.

The Secretary of State has compiled a list stating which Local Plan policies should be saved beyond the 27 September 2007 and those which should be left to expire. These saved policies will come into force on the 28 September 2007 and will be used as the basis for all decision making, they will remain in place until they are superseded by policies in the LDF .

List of Saved Policies - 49Kb PDF

Although the Core Strategy (2008) and Town Centre Area Action Plan (2010) has largely superceded the Local Plan, the saved policies within the Local Plan (2000), listed above are used to guide and inform the day-to-day decisions made by development control officers when determining planning applications.

An interactive map showing Local Plan saved policies, can be found on the Proposals Map section of the website.

Supplementary Planning Guidance

Supplementary Planning Guidance (or SPG) builds upon the policies in the Local Plan and provides more detailed advice on particular topics (eg Design Guides) or particular areas (eg Site Development Briefs). The Supplementary Planning Documents in current use are listed below and are available to download in PDF Format by clicking on the links below:

Details and Good Practice in Shopfront Design can be ordered at a cost of £11 from the English Heritage Forums Website
Shopfronts & Adverts in Historic Towns can be ordered at a cost of £5 from the English Heritage Forums Website

For further information on any of these documents please email Planning and Development or call 01233 330229.