Core Strategy

Core Strategy Adopted

The Rochford District Core Strategy was formally adopted by the Council on 13 December 2011 following the Planning Inspectorate's decision that the Plan was sound and legally compliant. The Rochford District Core Strategy is the main document of the Local Development Framework (LDF) and sets out the overall strategy for the future development of the District.

The adopted Core Strategy can be downloaded below:

Rochford District Core Strategy Adopted Version (PDF 2.5mb)

Rochford District Council Core Strategy and NPPF Compliance Review

Following the publication of the National Planning Policy (NPPF) it was necessary to consider how compliant the Rochford Core Strategy was with the new national framework.

The Planning Advisory Service (PAS) created an NPPF compliance checklist to assist Local Planning Authorities in assessing their Core Strategies. Rochford District Council has used this check list as the basis for its own assessment its core strategy.

Rochford District Council has evaluated its Core Strategy and is satisfied that it is compliant with the NPPF. The Compliance Review has now been published on the Council’s website. It identifies the key planning policy issues raised in the NPPF.

The NPPF Compliance Review will assist applicants, agents and members of the public in understanding how the Council has applied the policies from within the Core Strategy in relation to the NPPF when considering planning applications and producing new planning documents.

The NPPF Compliance Review is available to view in the Related Documents section at the bottom of this page.

Core Strategy Examination

The Public Examination into the 'soundness' and 'legal compliance' of the Rochford District Core Strategy took place between January 2010 (when the Council submitted the Core Strategy Submission Document to the Secretary of State) and November 2011 (when the Inspector's Report was published). More information on the examination can be found by selecting 'Core Strategy Examination' under Related Links below.
 

Core Strategy Legal Challenge

On the 19 January 2012, Rochford District Council received notification of a legal challenge to the Core Strategy. The legal challenge was brought by Cogent Land LLP, who were seeking to quash certain policies namely; H1, H2, H3 and paragraphs 4.1 to 4.31 in the Core Strategy which relate to Housing. The rest of the Core Strategy was unaffected by this challenge.

Counsel was instructed to defend this claim. Formal grounds of resistance were filed with the Court and the hearing was heard over two days in Cardiff on 31 May and 1 June 2012. On September 21 the Judge ruled in favour of Rochford District Council. More information on the legal challenge, including the full judgment can be downloaded from Related Documents below.
 

Core Strategy Development

Four versions of the Core Strategy have been produced since 2006 and the Council has consulted members of the public and key stakeholders at each stage. More information on these documents can found under Related Links at the bottom of the page.

If you have any questions on the Core Strategy, please contact the Planning Policy team on 01702 318191 or planning.policy@rochford.gov.uk