Core Strategy Review Examination

This page is for reference only. Please visit the main policy webpage for the most up-to-date information.

As part of the partial review of the Core Strategy the Council submitted its draft policies on Basements, Conservation and Design and Miscellaneous Matters to the Secretary of State for examination on 29 April 2014. Hearings were held for all the above submitted policies in September 2014.

Inspector's Report - Basements

The Inspector's Report on the examination into the basements planning policy was received on 2 December 2014. The Inspector has found the policy sound subject to modifications. The policy will be formally adopted by the Full Council in due course but now carries substantial weight. The report and accompanying appendix can be found below -

• Inspector's Report on Basements Planning Policy (pdf 122Kb)
• Appendix (Inspector's Report) - Main Modifications (pdf 63Kb)

Inspector's Report - Conservation and Design and Miscellaneous Matters

The Inspector's report has been received for conservation and design and miscellaneous matters and has found the policies sound subject to modifications. 

• Inspector's Report on Conservation and Design policies
• Inspector's Report on Miscellaneous Matters

Inspectors

Inspector William Fieldhouse BA (Hons), MA, MRTPI was appointed to conduct the examination to determine whether the submitted Conservation and Design and Miscellaneous Matters policies were sound.

Inspector David Vickery DIPT&CP MRTPI was appointed to conduct the examination to determine whether the submitted Basement policy was sound.

Programme Officer

The role of a Programme Officer is to be independent of the Council and be the means by which the Inspectors have contact with the Council and Representors. All correspondence with the Inspectors must be addressed through the Programme Officer. The Programme Officer appointed was Mr Chris Banks.

Basements - Consultation on Main Modifications following Hearing Sessions

The hearing sessions for the basements policy were held on 16, 17, 18, 23 and part of the reserve day 24 September 2014 at Kensington Town Hall. 'Main modifications' were discussed and agreed by the Council during the course of the above hearing sessions.

These ‘main modifications’ (ID/23) and the other documents set out below (ID/24 and ID/25) were subject to a 6 week consultation starting on Thursday 2 October 2014 to noon on Thursday 13 November 2014. Representations relating to the ‘main modifications’ or the other consultation documents were sent to the Inspector, via the Programme Officer Mr Chris Banks and are available to view below.

Representations on 'Main Modifications'

Following the examination of the Conservation and Design, and Miscellaneous Matters policies held on 9 and 10 September 2014 respectively, some modifications were made. Some of these were main modifications and some were minor modifications.

The council carried out consultation on the modifications in accordance with Regulation 19 and the Statement of Community Involvement. The deadline for responses was 31 October 2014. These proposed modifications, both main and minor are set out in the following documents, as well as representors' responses.

Introductory Letter and Guidance Notes

The following documents provided guidance about the examination and those who wish to participate in the hearings were strongly advised to read these.

Introductory Letter to the Examination [PDF] (file size 300Kb)

ID/1 Guidance Notes for Participants [PDF] (file size 124Kb)

Programme for Hearings

The following programmes were issued by the Inspector for the hearings:

Questions from the Inspectors

The Council received the following initial questions from the Inspectors. The Council's response is also provided below. 

Matters, Issues and Questions

The following matters, issues and questions were raised by Inspectors William Fieldhouse and David Vickery. The date for submission of written hearing statements for Conservation and Design (ID/3) and Miscellaneous Matters (ID/4) was 8 August 2014.

The deadline for submission of written hearing statements for Basements (ID/9) was Friday 5 September 2014 and mid-day on Tuesday 9 September 2014 for any time-consuming / difficult questions. All written hearing statements should have been sent to the Programme Officer Mr Chris Banks by the dates above.

Responses to Matters, Issues and Questions - Basements

Other Correspondence from Inspectors

Further Statements from Representors on Conservation and Design and Miscellaneous Matters