Woking Borough Council

Site Allocations DPD Examination

The Council submitted the Site Allocations DPD (SADPD) and its supporting documents to the Secretary of State for the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government on 31 July 2019 for examination.  Further details are on the Submission page.  

Latest Examination News and Information

Published on 25 August 2021: On 6 August 2021 the Council received the Inspector's Report and Appendix (the Schedule of Main Modifications). The Council will consider the Inspector's Report and SADPD and supporting documents for adoption in due course. A notice of publication of the receipt of the Inspector's Report is also available.  

Published on 19 July 2021: Two documents have been added to the Examination library below - the Council's response to the summary of main issues received during the Main Modifications Consultation (document reference WBC/SA/057 dated February 2021); and the Council's Schedule of Proposed Further Modifications to the Regulation 19 consultation document arising from the Main Modifications Consultation (document reference WBC/SA/058 dated June 2021). The Inspector is currently taking this information (along with the representations) into account before submitting his final report to the Council.

Published on 29 March 2021: In accordance with the Planning Act and Regulations, Woking Borough Council submitted all representations received on the main modifications to the Development Plan Document (DPD) to the Inspector on 12 March 2021. Further details are available here. Redacted copies of the representations can be viewed here.

Published on 24 December 2020: Consultation on the Main Modifications to the SADPD closed on 14 December and officers are now processing the responses to the consultation.

Published 16 November 2020: Due to the national lockdown and associated restrictions, the deadline for submitting representations for the Main Modifications consultation has been extended to 5pm on Monday 14 December 2020.  Full details can be found on the consultation website here.

Published 18 September 2020: A Schedule of Proposed Main Modifications to the Site Allocations DPD has been produced - a series of changes to the DPD which the Inspector recommends in the interests of soundness.  A public consultation on the Schedule of Main Modifications and accompanying documents runs from Friday 18 September to 5pm on Monday 16 November [NOW EXTENDED TO 5PM ON MONDAY 14 DECEMBER]. Full details can be found on the consultation website here.

Published on the 29 March 2020: The Council's response to the representations received during consultation on the Annual Monitoring Report is published below as document reference WBC/SA/054.

Published on the 23 March 2020: The Planning Inspectorate has published advice relating to local plan examinations in light of the Covid-19 situation, please click here for more information.

Published on 11 March 2020: Representations received during consultation on the Annual Monitoring Report (which closed on 9 March 2020) are available here.

Published on 14 February 2020: The Inspector's Post-Hearings Letter for the Woking Site Allocations Development Plan Document is available here.

Published on 14 February 2020: The Council’s latest Annual Monitoring Report was published on 19 December 2019, following the closure of the Examination hearings.  In his Post-Hearings Letter (ID10) (at paragraph 3)  the appointed Inspector indicated that he would be taking this document into account in his Examination of the SADPD; however, as it was not subject to discussion at the hearings he is minded to receive written representations on it.  To this end,  the Inspector would welcome any written representations specifically on the latest version of the Annual Monitoring Report by 1700 hrs on Monday 9 March, which should be submitted to Chris Banks (The Programme Officer)

Chris Banks
Programme Officer
C/O Banks Solutions
64 Lavinia Way
East Preston
West Sussex
BN16 1EF

email: [email protected]

Please note that any submissions made as part of this process will be made available on the Examination website in the usual way. The preference would be for representations to be sent electronically by email.

Published on 27 November 2019: The agendas for hearing sessions week commencing 2 December, Tuesday to Thursday, have been published below under 'Planning Inspector Documents'. Further Statements from Representors have also been uploaded in a new section below.

Published on 11 November 2019:  The following link sets out the approach to Local Plan examinations in the pre-election period.  As a result, it is confirmed that the hearing timetable will continue as scheduled with the exception of the half day session on the 12th December which will be re-scheduled.  The Inspector will make a decision on this, and the Programme Officer will inform all parties shortly.  If you have any questions please contact the Programme Officer (details below).

The Inspector and Programme Officer

The Secretary of State appointed an independent Inspector GJ Fort BA (Hons) PGDip LLM MCD MRTPI to conduct the examination.  An independent Programme Officer, Mr Chris Banks, working under the Inspector's direction, was appointed to be responsible for organising the programming and all procedural matters.  The Hearings began on Tuesday 3rd December 2019 and lasted for two weeks.  They were held at the Council Chamber at Woking Civic Officers. Full details can be found in the letter below referenced PO/1.

Programme Officer Documents

Planning Inspector Documents

Further Statements from Representors

Please click on the following link to access further representations on the Council's Annual Monitoring Report (Ref: WBC/SA/052):

Please click on the following link to access further statements from Representors to the Inspector's Matters, Issues and Questions (Ref: ID/4).

Woking Borough Council Documents 

Additional supporting documents which are relevant to the preparation of the DPD, with their reference numbers for the purposes of Examination, can be downloaded below.  Please note that some evidence base documents which the Inspector has requested separately are included in the list above, and do not therefore feature in the following list.