Emerging Local Plan and Design Code
We are preparing a new Local Plan for the borough to guide decisions on development up to 2044.
Latest update - October 2026
The council has now passed through the first Gateway stage of the process to prepare the new Local Plan.
Passing Gateway 1 confirms that the Council is ready to commence work and starts the 30-month period to prepare the Local Plan.
View the Gateway 1 self assessment
The Local Plan timetable has also been updated. This update was needed to reflect the May 2027 local elections and pre-election period, and to provide sufficient time to review and respond to the scoping consultation feedback.
The update to the local plan timetable has meant that a change to the Local Plan title is needed. The title of the Local Plan will now be the Ashford Local Plan 2044.
Next steps
- The council's scoping consultation closed on the 23 September 2026. The council is now collating and processing the responses received. The consultation comments and the Council's response will be published in the coming months.
- In January 2027, the council will hold its next local plan consultation asking for comments on the proposed local plan content and the evidence needed to support the Local Plan.
Local Plan process so far
- On 30 June 2026, the council published its Notice of Intention to commence Local Plan preparation. View a copy of the Notice.
- Between 2 September and the 23 September, the council held a scoping consultation. View the notice of the scoping consultation.
Local Plan timetable
The council has prepared a timetable to prepare the new Local Plan.
View the Local Plan timetable.
What happened to the work on the Local Plan 2042?
In 2023, the council started work on the Local Plan 2042. This began with a Call to Sites exercise and had reached an early public consultation on the draft Local Plan (known as a Regulation 18 consultation) in summer/autumn 2025.
In March 2026, the government published regulations introducing a new plan making system. This has meant that the council is unable to continue work under the old plan making system and is required to restart the plan making process under the new regulations.
Work on the emerging Ashford Local Plan 2042 has therefore been stopped, and a new Local Plan will be prepared (known as the Ashford Local Plan 2044).
As the Ashford Local Plan 2044 is a 'new' Local Plan, comments submitted as part of the draft Local Plan 2042 in summer/autumn 2025 will not automatically be carried over to the new Local Plan process.
However, not all the work that had been done to date on the Local Plan 2042 is lost. Supporting evidence prepared to accompany the Local Plan, such as evidence documents, as well as general themes raised in response to previous plan making stages (such as the Regulation 18 responses) may be used to support the new emerging Local Plan, where appropriate.
Overall, the council remain committed to delivering a new Local Plan for the borough and are working to an ambitious timetable.
