Adopted - West Dorset District Council Local Plan

The Local Plan guides development in the area until 2016.

It contains policies and proposals for development and the use of land that will help the local community thrive socially and economically. It also tries to ensure development does not harm the environment or threaten the special characteristics of West Dorset. The adopted Local Plan July 2006 replaced the 1998 adopted Local Plan.

Where to find the plan

The Local Plan (pdf, 4Mb) (opens in a new window) written statement with details of the policies and site specific proposals, and an interactive map (opens in a new window)  is available. The individual chapters can be downloaded from the side of the page.  The text on the reverse of the inset maps includes a summary of policies at those settlements for which there are separate maps.

Paper copies of the Local Plan are available to purchase from the the district council offices at Dorchester, Bridport and Sherborne. The cost is:

• Local Plan Written Statement £15 (+£5 p&p)
• Local Plan Maps Folder £50 (+£5 p&p)

Maps can also be bought individually:

• Proposals map (east, west, north) £6 each
• Inset maps for Bridport, Chickerell, Dorchester, Lyme Regis, Sherborne  £5
• All other inset maps, Diagram 1 and Diagram 2  £2

The documents can be viewed at the district council offices in Dorchester, Bridport and Sherborne and have been sent to the libraries in West Dorset and Weymouth town centre. For more details of how you can view or buy the plan please use the contact details below.

As part of the public inquiry process, an independent planning inspector considered objections to the draft Local Plan. The enquiry took place between 1 February 2005 and 14 October 2005.  Copies of the inspector's report (January 2006) are available to view or to purchase.  The inspector's report was not binding, and there was no obligation on the district council to accept the recommendations. However, where the council chose not to accept a recommendation there needed to be clear and sound planning justification not to do so. The recommendations were considered, and proposed modifications to the Local Plan resulting from the Inspector's recommendations were published for a six week period of consultation from 7 April 2006 - 19 May 2006.

Saved Policies

The saved policies of the local plan are set out in the Direction of Saved Local Plan policy (pdf, 205kb) (opens in a new window)  and Schedule of Saved Local Plan policy (pdf, 63kb) (opens in a new window)  from the Government Office for the South West.  All but nine Local Plan policies have been saved.  The policies that are not saved (pdf, 7kb) (opens in a new window) relate to matters which are already sufficiently covered by national guidance or relate to sites which are now developed.

The national planning policy framework (opens in a new window)  makes clear that due weight should be given to relevant policies in existing plans according to their degree of consistency with the framework.

Replacing the Local Plan

West Dorset District Council had begun work on a new draft Local Plan for West Dorset, Weymouth and Portland.  The draft plan will start to gain some weight as a material planning consideration as it progresses towards adoption. The degree of weight given to each draft policy will vary, depending on whether or not the issue is contentious and to what extent it is consistent with the national planning policy framework (opens in a new window) .

• Name: Strategic Policy (West Dorset)
  Email: s.policy@westdorset-weymouth.gov.uk
  Tel: 01305 252386
  Fax: 01305 251481
  Full details for Strategic Policy (West Dorset)