By Isle of Wight Observer
The Isle of Wight Council has finally submitted the Island Planning Strategy (IPS) to the government’s Planning Inspectorate for consideration.
This crucial step in the planning process follows the Regulation 19 consultation on the IPS which took place in August, after which the council reviewed over 700 comments before submitting them, along with the plan and its evidence base, to the Secretary of State.
Councillor Paul Fuller, cabinet member for planning, thanked those who had engaged with the process. He added: “This 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.
“Work on this 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.”
Getting the Island Plan to this stage has cost the IW Council more than £660,000, but it has taken so long that the government has now changed and there is no guarantee that the proposals it contains will be accepted.
The most controversial issue has been the housing number targets. Calculated using the standard methodology preferred by the previous Conservative government, the Island would have had to build 703 new homes a year, but the draft Island Plan argues that the figure should be 479 a year and supports the figure with evidence. However, the new Labour government has provisionally given the Island a target of 1,104 homes each year for the next five years.
An independent Planning Inspector will now be appointed to conduct a public examination, with hearings expected in early 2025.
