Duty to cooperate statement
The duty to cooperate establishes a need to plan for cross-boundary strategic issues, and places a requirement on planning authorities to work together on such issues.
The duty applies to all local planning authorities, national park authorities and county councils in England, and to a number of other public bodies. The duty:
- relates to development or use of land that would have a significant impact on at least two local planning areas or on a planning matter that falls within the remit of a county council
- requires that councils set out planning policies to address such issues
- requires that councils and public bodies ‘engage constructively, actively and on an ongoing basis’ to develop strategic policies
- requires councils to consider joint approaches to plan making.
We prepared a duty to cooperate statement to support the Local Plan, setting out the key ways in which it has addressed cross-boundary, strategic matters.