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Adoption of the Flintshire Local Development Plan (LDP)

Published: 11/01/2023

Flintshire’s Cabinet will be asked to recommend the adoption of the Flintshire Local Development Plan (LDP) to the Council, as the new development plan for the Flintshire administrative area when they meet on 17 January. This recommendation will then be considered by the Council at its meeting on 24 January 2023.

All local planning authorities in Wales are required to produce, and keep under review, a Local Development Plan (LDP). This is a culmination of approximately eight years of work to prepare and adopt an LDP for Flintshire. It marks a significant moment for the Council in terms of providing the opportunity to endorse an up-to-date, fully evidenced strategic planning framework to facilitate positive growth and development across the County, in line with Flintshire’s National Growth Area status.

The Deposit LDP and supporting evidence was submitted to the Welsh Government and Planning Inspectorate for independent examination in September 2019.  During the examination, a significant new issue arose with the introduction by NRW of stricter new targets for the levels of phosphates permitted to enter SAC protected rivers, and in the case of the LDP the Bala Lake and River Dee Special Area of Conservation. 

The Council in partnership with Wrexham Council produced the Dee Catchment Phosphorous Reduction Strategy, the first of its kind in Wales.  After due consideration and consultation, the Inspectors have now submitted their final Report to the Council and the Examination has closed. The report has found the LDP to be sound and subject to the binding nature of it, the plan should now be adopted by the Council.

Flintshire’s Cabinet Member for Planning, Public Health and Public Protection, Councillor Chris Bithell, said:

“The Flintshire LDP will be the primary strategy and policy document against which the Council will make decisions on development proposals going forward. It is a sound and sustainable Plan that includes a requirement to consider the ‘Placemaking’ agenda and presents a positive approach to managing the future growth that Flintshire is going to experience. 

“The policies and proposals within the LDP address the County’s need for new homes, jobs, infrastructure, and community facilities to support economic growth and raise standards of living.

“Policies promoting development are set out alongside those that require proposals to respect, promote and protect the County’s cultural heritage, important landscapes, and sensitive environments. Planning for growth commensurate with the aspirations of a National Growth Area inevitably involves difficult decisions about releasing land for development, and it is certainly the case that areas will see change. 

“Crucially however, the LDP provides the opportunity to successfully manage this change and ensure that development is of a quality that will ensure the places ultimately delivered across Flintshire will provide a sustainable legacy for future generations.”