Local Plan

Preparing a new Local Plan

What will Kingston look like in 20 years’ time? We’re in the process of creating a new Local Plan for Kingston.

Our new Local Plan will set the vision and policies for the future and guide what development goes where, from homes and workplaces to schools, medical centres, parks and much more, while protecting and enhancing our heritage and natural environment.

The Local Plan will replace the Core Strategy (2012) and the Kingston Town Centre Area Action Plan (2008). It will include policies which will be used to decide whether to approve or refuse planning applications in the borough.

Local Plan update, June 2023

Thank you to everyone who has engaged in the development of the Local Plan for the borough. So far, we have carried out three rounds of engagement to seek the views of our communities on the future of the borough and what the Local Plan should contain. Engagement so far has included:

• Early Engagement (1 May 2019 - 31 July 2019)
• Further Engagement (1 July 2021 - 30 September 2021)
• First Draft Local Plan (28 November 2022 - 28 February 2023)

Feedback from the first draft of the Local Plan (Regulation 18)

Since the consultation on the first draft of the Local Plan closed in February 2023, we have been reviewing all the responses and where possible addressing the points raised. A summary of the key comments has been published on the Local Plan pages on the council’s engagement website Kingston: Let’s Talk. All of the comments are being considered as we develop the next, Publication version of the Local Plan.

We will publish a Statement of Consultation with our responses to the comments and where changes have been made to the Plan and policies, alongside the updated draft Local Plan for consultation.

Next steps - significant changes to national planning policy

There have been significant changes to the National Planning Policy Framework (known as the ‘NPPF’) since we drafted our Local Plan and consulted on it between November 2022 and February 2023. We have taken time to fully consider these changes and are further updating our draft Local Plan, with a view to consulting later in 2025. This will be an additional consultation under Regulation 18 of the Town and Country Planning Act.

Once we have consulted on the updated draft later this year, we will consider all comments received and prepare the Local Plan for its next formal stage of consultation, which is called ‘Publication’ stage. This is the final phase of consultation ahead of the council submitting the Local Plan to the Secretary of State for public examination. For more information you can look at the Local Development Scheme. This was approved at Place Committee on 11 February 2025. This sets out the timetable for preparing a new Local Plan for Kingston.

If you have any questions please email the team at localplan@kingston.gov.uk.