1.1: Surrey Heath Borough Council is preparing a new Local Plan covering the period to 2040. This will be known as the Surrey Heath Local Plan Review 2040 (LPR).
1.2: The preparation of the LPR will follow a new plan-making process introduced through the Town and Country Planning (Local Planning)(England) Regulations 2026 (‘the Regulations’). The LPR must also be consistent with national planning policy set out in the National Planning Policy Framework 2026 and associated guidance. The new plan-making process requires Local Plans to be prepared in 30 months which starts from the publication of a Gateway 1 Self-Assessment.
1.3: The LPR will cover the current administrative area of Surrey Heath Borough. From 1 April 2027 Surrey Heath will form part of the new West Surrey Council which will become responsible for completing the remaining stages of the local plan review process.
1.4: The following sets out the preparatory work that has been undertaken to demonstrate that the Council is ready to prepare a local plan.
1.5: Further information on the LPR can be found on our LPR webpage.