Publication (Regulation 19)

1 Planning Positively for Change Comment

1.1 The South Warwickshire Local Plan (SWLP)

1.1.1 This Local Plan has been prepared jointly by Stratford-on-Avon and Warwick District Councils and will become a statutory Development Plan Document upon adoption. Once adopted it will set out the strategic vision, objectives and spatial strategy for the South Warwickshire area as well as the planning policies which will determine the future location, scale, type and design of new development in the SWLP area up to 2050.

1.1.2 This new local plan is about where and how new jobs, infrastructure and housing are all delivered in the context of place shaping and addressing climate change. The SWLP will also seek to ensure local development is built in accordance with the principles of sustainable development as set out in the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF).

1.2 South Warwickshire Today

1.2.1 South Warwickshire covers 488 square miles of predominately open countryside and comprises the Stratford-on-Avon and Warwick District Council Areas including the towns of Alcester, Henley-in-Arden, Kenilworth, Royal Leamington Spa, Shipston-on-Stour, Stratford-upon-Avon, Southam, Warwick and Whitnash.

1.2.2 With good motorway and rail connections between London and Birmingham, South Warwickshire is a gateway to the West Midlands. South Warwickshire has a varying landscape and includes parts of 5 national landscape character areas, of which the Cotswolds National Landscape is one, with 8% of the total area of South Warwickshire falling into this specific national landscape designation. Nearly a third of South Warwickshire is part of the West Midlands Green Belt, which is designed to prevent the unrestricted sprawl of urban areas.

1.2.3 Located to the south of the West Midlands conurbation, South Warwickshire acts as a transition between the Midlands and the southeast regional economies, including the Oxford-Cambridge growth arc, comprising a gateway to Birmingham, Coventry and the Black Country. As such, South Warwickshire is not tied to one particular centre, but has links with housing market areas that overlap not just with Birmingham, Solihull and Coventry but with Worcestershire, Cheltenham, Rugby and Banbury, albeit of varying strengths. Indeed, the functional relationships with Birmingham and the Black Country are far weaker than those with Coventry and South Warwickshire is part of a much stronger Coventry Warwickshire sub-region. Figure 1 below sets out the subregional context of South Warwickshire.

1.2.4 Figure 2 (overpage) provides a snapshot of South Warwickshire and forms the baseline for the issues that the SWLP seeks to address, including housing affordability and diversifying the economy.

1.3 How is the SWLP being Prepared?

1.3.1 The context of the South Warwickshire Local Plan is development; it is after all a development plan. Ultimately, the SWLP must contribute to the achievement of sustainable development, and this means balancing the need for more jobs and homes against the impact on the built and natural environment. New development will cause impacts for existing communities; the plan seeks to mitigate those impacts as much as possible, but it cannot eradicate them. The SWLP represents what the two councils consider to be the most appropriate strategy for South Warwickshire. In doing so, we have based our proposals on expert technical evidence and feedback from stakeholders, including the views of residents and businesses.

1.3.2 The evidence supporting this plan, as well as previous comments, are available to view on the SWLP website at www.southwarwickshire.org.uk/swlp. Everything we do is also within the context set by national planning policy and guidance. To help us understand and mitigate those impacts we have also prepared a Sustainability Appraisal that accompanies this consultation document. This context is shown in Figure 3.

1.3.4 Sitting alongside this plan is a Sustainability Appraisal/Strategic Environmental Assessment (SA/SEA) as required under the Environmental Assessment of Plans and Programmes Regulations 2004 (known as the SEA Regulations). An SA/SEA evaluates the social, environmental, and economic effects of reasonable alternatives to demonstrate that the proposed approach is an appropriate one and will contribute to the achievement of sustainable development.

1.3.5 In accordance with the Conservation of Habitats and Species Regulations 2017, a Habitats Regulations Assessment (HRA) has also been prepared to ensure that the proposals within the SWLP do not cause significant harm to protected species or habitats. An Equalities Impact Assessment (EqIA) and Health Impact Assessment (HIA) have also been prepared alongside the SWLP.

1.3.6 In preparing the SWLP, the councils have also worked positively and productively with neighbouring authorities to ensure that any cross-boundary planning issues, such as unmet housing and employment needs, can be properly addressed. The background to this is set out in the Maintaining Effective Co-operation: Statement of Compliance.

1.3.7 A Growth Strategy Topic Paper has also been prepared to explain in more detail the approach that has been followed in terms of selecting the overall growth strategy and identifying sites for development.

1.4 Evolution of the SWLP and Next Steps

1.4.1 Preparing a local plan is not a one-off event and there are a number of stages to its preparation. As shown in Figure 4 (below), we are currently at Stage 4 and this stage follows three previous stages of public consultation, namely Scoping, Issues & Options and Preferred Options. The content of this version has been informed by those previous versions. The timetable for the preparation of the SWLP is set out in the accompanying Local Development Scheme (LDS) for each council, Warwick LDS and Stratford-on-Avon LDS and in accordance with the approach agreed in the respective Statements of Community Involvement (SCI), Warwick SCI and Stratford-on Avon SCI.

1.4.2 The SWLP will form part of the statutory Development Plan and directly affect how land is used and therefore it is subject to a public inquiry known as a ‘Examination in Public (EiP). The Examination will be conducted by a government appointed Planning Inspector who will scrutinise the plan against a number of legal requirements known as tests of soundness (see Figure 5 overpage). Unlike the previous consultations, there are no consultation questions to be answered and comments (called representations) on this version of the South Warwickshire Local Plan must relate to these tests. If you do not believe that the plan meets the tests, you then have the opportunity to set out what changes should be made for the plan to pass.

Figure 4: Legal Compliance and Tests of Soundness

1.4.3 In December 2025 the Government published a new National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) for consultation with the update expected from summer 2026. The Government has allowed existing plans that are already in preparation and have significantly progressed to be examined under through the legacy plan making system against the December 2024 version of National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF). This conforms with the draft transitional arrangements in the NPPF consultation document, confirmed by the Government’s guidance^[1]. Notwithstanding this, the SWLP is considered to be in broad conformity with the December 2025 consultation version of the NPPF.

1.4.4 Importantly, the South Warwickshire Local Plan will set the (new) planning context for the preparation of Neighbourhood Development Plans by parish councils. When subsequently made, these neighbourhood plans will also become part of the statutory Development Plan for their area. Neighbourhood Development Plans are available to view for Stratford-on-Avon District and Warwick District.

1.5 Format of the SWLP

1.5.1 As shown in Figure 6, policies are contained within Chapters 2 to 7 of this document and are numbered sequentially using two-digit prefixes. Site specific proposals are included within Chapter 8 and have a unique 3- or 4-digit reference.

Figure 6: Policy Suffixes

1.5.2 The SWLP contains three types of polices: strategic, non-strategic and site proposals. To ease reading of the SWLP, strategic policies have a purple background, non-strategic policies have a blue background and site proposals have an orange background. The SWLP includes a vision setting out what it wants South Warwickshire to be like in 2050. The vision is accompanied by strategic objectives (which have a red background) and the policies themselves are the means to achieving these goals. It is through the implementation of the various policies that the vision and objectives of the SWLP will be achieved, and the relevant objectives are referenced at the start of each section of the SWLP. Key designations are shown on the Key Diagram (Figure 12 in Chapter 2) and designations and policies are shown spatially on the accompanying Policies Map.

1.5.3 Many policies are accompanied by Development Management Considerations. These provide applicants with helpful guidance as well as set out further information as to how the Local Planning Authority will apply and interpret the policy. Development Management Considerations have a green background. A Glossary explaining various terms and acronyms is attached at Appendix 1, with a consolidated list of the allocations by settlement included at Appendix 2.

1.6 Accompanying Plans and Reviewing the SWLP

1.6.1 The SWLP should be read as a whole. The policies are clearly set out and accompanied by a brief justification with further guidance on how the policy will be interpreted and applied set out in accompanying Development Management Considerations (as appropriate). Further detailed policy guidance on specific topics is included as Annexes to the SWLP.

1.6.2 In accordance with the (new) planning system, to accompany the SWLP, further Supplementary Plans will be prepared to assist in the delivery of specific sites across South Warwickshire. A separate Design Code will also be prepared setting out key design principles and guidance on how to achieve high quality design. Other advice to assist applicants may be prepared as Technical Guidance.

1.6.3 Lastly, the various proposals and designations are shown on the accompanying Polices Map. The Map will be updated periodically to include relevant policies and designations from additional supplementary and neighbourhood plans as well as any updates in data sets e.g. Environment Agency flood zones.

1.6.4 To ensure delivery of the SWLP, the implementation of its policies a number of Monitoring Indicators are set out within the SWLP (and a consolidated list is included at Appendix 4). These indictors will be brought together and the delivery of the SWLP monitored and recorded through the preparation of an Authority Monitoring Report (AMR)- Warwick AMR and Stratford-on-Avon AMR. The AMR is prepared annually typically by December for the previous monitoring year 1^st April to 31^st March.

1.6.5 In accordance with the Planning Act, the SWLP will be reviewed every five years from its date of adoption. This is to ensure its strategy and policies remain up to date. Where the review identifies that changes are required, the SWLP will be amended and revised in accordance with the Planning Regulations.

^[1] Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government. Rollout of the new local plan-making system. Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/rollout-of-the-new-local-plan-making-system/rollout-of-the-new-local-plan-making-system#preparing-a-plan-under-the-existing-system. (Accessed 05/05/2026)