Object

Representation ID: 10535

Received: 26/07/2022

Respondent: Barton Willmore

Legally compliant? Not specified

Sound? No

Duty to co-operate? Not specified

The duty to cooperate was introduced by section 33A of the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 20041 and the Localism Act 2011. It places a legal duty on local planning authorities, county councils and prescribed public bodies to work together on strategic cross boundary matters.

Paragraph 27 of the NPPF states that in order to demonstrate effective and on-going joint working, one or more statement(s) of common ground should be produced, and these should be made publicly available throughout the plan-making process.
However, the published duty to cooperate statement advises that the Councils neighbours and partners are yet to have sight of the detail contained in the plan’s policies and they do not know which sites are proposed for allocation.
In order to be considered ‘positively prepared’ and ‘effective’ (in accordance with the tests of soundness set out at paragraph 35 of the NPPF), a statement of common ground should be provided, documenting the cross-boundary matters being addressed and progress in cooperating to address these. This should be made publicly available to ensure transparency.