Planning - Warwick District Council.

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Changes to the Parking Standards SPD

The Parking Standards Supplementary Planning Document (SPD) adopted in June 2018, sets out the amount of parking expected to accompany developments of different land-uses for vehicles and bicycles, and minimum parking space dimensions.

Warwick District Council is now undertaking a public consultation on minor changes to the Parking Standards SPD and would like your comments. This consultation will run until Wednesday 11 June 2025.

View the consultation document

Changes to the Residential Design Guide SPD

The Residential Design Guide Supplementary Planning Document (SPD) was adopted in June 2018 to provide a design framework for anyone involved in providing residential development within Warwick District. It seeks to promote high quality and innovative design, sensitive to and in keeping with the area in which it is located.

Warwick District Council is now undertaking a public consultation on minor changes to the Residential Design Guide SPD and would like your comments. This consultation will run until Wednesday 11 June 2025.

View the consultation document

SWLP Preferred Options Consultation

The Preferred Options Consultation and accompanying targeted Call for Sites for the South Warwickshire Local Plan ran from 10 January to 7 March 2025. Please visit the South Warwickshire Local Plan website for further information.

Adoption of University of Warwick SPD

The University of Warwick Campus Framework Masterplan Supplementary Planning Document (SPD) was adopted on Tuesday 3 December 2024.

The SPD provides supplementary guidance to Policy MS1 – University of Warwick - of the adopted Warwick District Local Plan 2011-2029 and is intended to assist with the determination of future planning applications.

Further details can be found on the University of Warwick SPD webpage.

Cubbington Neighbourhood Development Plan - Regulation 16 Consultation

Cubbington Parish Council as the Qualifying Body has prepared a Neighbourhood Development Plan with the help of the community. The Plan sets out a vision for the future of the Parish, and planning policies which will guide the determination of local planning applications. The Cubbington Neighbourhood Development Plan has been formally submitted to Warwick District Council as the Local Planning Authority, and was the subject of a period of public consultation in accordance with Regulation 16 of the Neighbourhood Planning Regulations, between 31 October 2024 and 12 December 2024.

Further details can be found on the Cubbington NDP webpage.

Net Zero Carbon DPD Support for Applicants and Developers

Warwick District Council ran a session on 10 June 2024 between 12pm and 2pm via Microsoft Teams, which was designed to support Applicants and Developers in understanding the requirements of the new DPD and how that will affect the documents and information required as part of planning application submissions.

University of Warwick SPD - Consultation

Warwick District Council, in partnership with Coventry City Council, has prepared a draft University of Warwick Campus Framework Masterplan SPD. The SPD was subject to a six-week statutory consultation, starting on Friday 24 May 2024 and ending on Friday 5 July 2024.

Further details of the consultation can be found on the University of Warwick SPD webpage.

Adoption of Net Zero Carbon DPD

The Council unanimously adopted the Net Zero Carbon DPD and the SPD following the meeting on 15th May 2024. The DPD will form part of the Development Plan for the District and decisions will need to be made in accordance with it. The adopted DPD along with the The Inspector's Report, Appendix of Main Modifications, Appendix of Additional Modifications, Sustainability Appraisal Adoption Statement and Adoption Statement can be downloaded below:

Adoption of Net Zero Carbon SPD

The Net Zero Carbon SPD will assist applicants with the implementation of the policies included in the NZC-DPD by providing detailed technical guidance to inform the development design and measures to be considered in preparing an Energy Statement. The Adopted Net Zero Carbon-SPD along with the consultation statement can be downloaded below.

Net Zero Carbon- Development Plan Document

The Council has received the Inspector’s Report along with the Appendix of Main Modifications.

The Inspector has confirmed that the Plan has been prepared in accordance with all relevant legal and procedural requirements and that, subject to Main Modifications, it meets the tests of soundness as set out in the NPPF.

The Inspector has concluded that: “subject to the main modifications, the DPD provides an appropriate overarching strategy in response to Warwick’s declared climate emergency that is positively prepared, justified, effective and consistent with national policy”, and that it “provides an appropriate basis for the planning of the district with regard to attaining net zero carbon development and minimising carbon emissions in new and existing development”.

The Council will now arrange for a report to be taken to its Cabinet and Council relating to the adoption of the Development Plan Document and associated Supplementary Planning Document.

The Inspector's Report, Appendix of Main Modifications and the Appendix of Additional Modifications, and the NZC-DPD can be found here:

First Homes – Interim Policy Guidance Note

First Homes are a government scheme for affordable home ownership designed to help first time buyers onto the property market by offering homes at a discount compared to the market price. This note sets out the Council’s requirements for First Homes, which should be included on sites that provide affordable housing.

Developers are encouraged to engage with the Council’s Housing Strategy team at the earliest possible opportunity when formulating residential development proposals.

The document can be found here.

Biodiversity Net Gain

This is a requirement from 12th February 2024. Further information can be found on the Biodiversity Net Gain document.

Planning fee increase effective 1 April 2025

Application Fee Increases in England 

There are two main areas of change, and a couple of ‘corrections’ based on identified issues with the previous December 2023 amendments. There are no changes to current fee exemptions planned. Note that the cost recovery changes and corrections are subject to parliamentary approval.

Inflationary uplift 

The previous set of government amendments from December 2023 established an annual fee uplift in line with the Consumer Prices Index. Based on the September 2024 figure, this applies a 1.7% increase on all fee values (where not otherwise amended), rounded to the nearest whole pound. 

Cost recovery changes 

Based on Government’s consultation response on fees, there are a set of targeted increases to better reflect the cost to local authorities of determining householder and prior approval applications, as well as to the cost of applications that seek to discharge, vary, or remove conditions on planning consents. Full details are shown in the draft legislation.

Householder fees 

Householder applications for alterations/extensions will roughly double – From £258 to £528 

Householder applications for smaller ‘ancillary’ works (i.e. not actual work to the house itself) will not increase beyond the inflationary uplift – From £258 to £262. 

Prior approval fees

Most ‘prior approval’ fees will double – From £120/£125/£258 to £240/£250/£516 

Excluded from this are applications for ‘Communications’ (Part 16) and ‘Construction of new dwellinghouses’ (Part 20) which only see inflationary increases. 

Discharge of conditions

Discharge of conditions fees will roughly double: 

Householder development – £43 to £86
Any other development – £145 to £298

Variation/Removal of condition fees

Variation/Removal of condition fees will be split into three bands. From a flat £293, to: 

Householder development – £86 (the only reduced fee in 2025) 
Any other non-major development – £586 
Major development – £2,000

Corrections 

The typo in the base fee value for buildings where the floorspace created exceeds 3,750 square metres (Category 2, Paragraph 3(e)) of £30,680 instead of the common £30,860 used elsewhere is being corrected with the latter value then having the inflationary uplift applied. 

The previously identified error in the banding for agricultural buildings (Category 3, Paragraph 3(d)) is also being corrected. The drop down to £624 when the floorspace reached 1,000 square metres was not intentional, and the new fees will follow the pattern of others in being more consistent when transitioning between the bands.

Full details are shown in the draft legislation.

Statement of Community Involvement - Updated

Following public consultation that ran from 17 July to 29 August 2023, the Council has updated its Statement of Community Involvement. Further details can be found on the Statement of Community Involvement webpage.

Net Zero Carbon SPD - Consultation

The Council carried out a public consultation on the draft Net Zero Carbon Supplementary Planning Document (SPD). This consultation ran for a period of six weeks from Wednesday 18 October - Wednesday 29 November 2023. Further details of the consultation and how to comment can be found on the Net Zero Carbon SPD webpage.

Updated Statement of Community Involvement 2023 - Consultation

The Council carried out a public consultation on the updated Statement of Community Involvement seeking people's comments. This consultation ran for a period of six weeks from Monday 17 July - Tuesday 29 August 2023. Further details of the consultation can be found on the Statement of Community Involvement webpage.

Energy Efficiency for Historic Buildings

Warwick District Council declared a Climate Emergency in June 2019 and aims to become a carbon-neutral organisation by 2025. Nationally, about 20% of all homes were built before 1919, using traditional methods and materials. Maintaining these buildings is a powerful climate action, as it ‘locks in’ the carbon used to build these in the first place.

See our energy efficiency for historic buildings page for further guidance.

South Warwickshire Local Plan Issues & Options - Consultation

Warwick and Stratford-on-Avon District Councils had undertaken an Issues & Options Consultation and 2nd Call for Sites for the South Warwickshire Local Plan. This ran for a period of 8 weeks between Monday 9 January and Monday 6 March 2023. Consultation responses and sites submitted during the 2nd Call for Sites have now been published. More information can be found on the South Warwickshire Local Plan website.

Net Zero Carbon DPD Submitted for Examination

The Net Zero Carbon DPD was submitted to the Secretary of State, through the Planning Inspectorate, on 17th October 2022. An independent examination will be undertaken into the soundness and legal compliance of the Plan.

Further details of the examination process, and the documents submitted, can be seen at - Net Zero Carbon DPD submitted for examination.

Cubbington Public Path Diversion Order

Warwick District Local Plan – Notice of Amendment Regarding Policy Map No. 19. – Sherbourne

Please be advised that this website was amended on 22nd December 2020 to display the definitive and accurate Local Plan Policy Map for Sherbourne. The information depicted on this map is in accordance with the Map that was agreed at the Local Plan Examination and subsequently formally Adopted by Warwick District Council in 2017.

Regrettably, due to an administrational error, an inaccurate variant of the Sherbourne Policy Map has been previously posted on this website and also bound within hard copies of the Local Plan.

Replacement hard copies of this Map will be available on request from the Planning Policy Team.

2021/22 Infrastructure Funding Statement published - December 2022
Burton Green Neighbourhood Development Plan made - March 2022
Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) 2022 Charging Schedule published - January 2022
Authority Monitoring Report 2020/21 published - December 2021
Bishop's Tachbrook Neighbourhood Development Plan made - October 2021
2021 Housing Trajectory and 5 Year Housing Land Supply Paper published - October 2021
Royal Leamington Spa Neighbourhood Development Plan and Radford Semele Neighbourhood Plan made - 12 May 2021
Update on Policy DS19 'Review of the Local Plan' published - March 2021
Q1 and Q2 2020/21 Developer Contribution Monitoring Reports published - March 2021
Section 106 Agreements

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