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������վ Borough Council is launching the next stage of consultation on its Local Plan.

The six-week consultation, which begins on Wednesday 6 January, is for residents, businesses and other interested stakeholders to make formal representations on any policy or allocation in the Local Plan.

If you previously submitted a response to the Regulation 19 consultation, carried out between January and March 2020, you do not have to re-submit your response. However, new responses on the changes which have been made to the Local Plan subsequently or the new updated evidence documents are welcomed. Responses from the previous consultation will be submitted along with responses received in this consultation. Please let us know in writing if you are responding to withdraw your previous objections.

The Local Plan is an important document, setting out the strategic priorities for ������վ and the planning policies to deliver:

• Homes and jobs
• Provision of retail, leisure and other commercial development
• Provision of infrastructure for transport, telecommunications, water supply, wastewater, flood risk management and energy
• Provision of community, social and cultural infrastructure and other local facilities
• Climate change mitigation and adaptation
• Conservation and enhancement of the natural, built and historic environment, including landscape and green infrastructure
• Sustainable growth of Gatwick Airport.

The draft submission Local Plan includes:

• Planning for a minimum of 5,320 new homes within the borough, meeting the local housing needs for a mix of house types and sizes, and including affordable housing
• Meeting the borough’s future employment needs through protection and improvement of existing main employment areas and the allocation of a new strategic employment site, alongside supporting skills development, arts and culture and office provision
• Enabling healthy lifestyles and wellbeing through good urban design, securing accessible and inclusive design from all new developments, protection and enhancements of existing open space, sports, play and recreation facilities, prioritising the use of accessible and reliable sustainable transport and active travel, and ensuring new development is supported by necessary infrastructure provision.

The consultation runs until 5pm on 17 February. Comments must be based on whether you consider the plan to comply with legal requirements, the duty to co-operate and whether the plan is sound.

All responses will go to a Planning Inspector appointed by the Secretary of State.

To have your say and for more information on the ������վ Local Plan visit our Local Plan page from 6 January.

You can also email your comments to strategic.planning@crawley.gov.uk or send them to: