Rother Local Plan 2025-2042 – Development Strategy and Site Allocations

Part 1 - Background

1. Introduction

What is the purpose of this document?

1.1. This document forms part of the draft Rother Local Plan. Specifically, it includes a proposed “Development Strategy” for Rother district for the period 2025 - 2042, together with site allocation policies, and some area-specific policies. It has been published for public consultation.

Why do we need a Local Plan?

1.2. The Local Plan contains the vision, strategic objectives and policies to steer development decisions across the Rother district. It is the starting point for all decisions about new development and ensures that the planning system is plan-led. It is important that the Council has an up-to-date Local Plan in place so that the best interests of our local communities and the environment remain at the heart of planning decisions.

1.3. The Council is committed to preparing and delivering a new Local Plan that links closely with the Council Plan and other important Council strategy documents.

1.4. Once adopted, the new Local Plan will update and replace Rother’s Core Strategy (2014) and Development and Site Allocations (2019) Plans. The Local Plan will be supported at the local level by Neighbourhood Plans, which give communities the power to develop a shared vision for their local area and set specific policies within the context of the Local Plan’s strategic policies. Planning applications that comply with relevant policies in the Development Plan (including the adopted Local Plan and ‘made’ Neighbourhood Plans), will be granted planning permission unless there are material considerations that indicate otherwise.^[1]

1.5. A wide range of evidence base documents have been prepared to support the development of the Local Plan. These can be found on the Local Plan Review webpage. Further evidence base documents are in the process of being prepared, and some existing studies updated, to ensure that the Local Plan and its policies are based on the latest information and can be fully justified.

How does this document relate to the draft Local Plan published in April 2024?

1.6. The draft Rother Local Plan published in April 2024 contained proposed policies and policy approaches covering a wide range of topic areas. These included housing, economy, the environment, landscape, heritage, design and infrastructure. The document also included a proposed Development Strategy, which set out the amount of new housing and other development expected to be delivered in the district and the main locations for this. However, it did not include proposed policies for specific development sites (known as “site allocations”).

1.7. With this current document we are now introducing and consulting on proposed site allocations along with some area-specific policies. The Development Strategy has also been updated, informed by consultation feedback and new evidence, and is presented here as it is closely linked to the site allocations. This document does not repeat the policies or chapters included within the first consultation document, and the reasons for this are set out below.

What about the previous public consultation on the draft Local Plan?

1.8. In April - July 2024 we carried out the first public consultation on the draft Rother Local Plan. Many thousands of individual comments were received from residents, community groups, developers, landowners, statutory bodies (such as Government bodies and neighbouring authorities), Parish Councils, special interest groups and others. We have now looked at all the comments received and having considered them, are working hard to review and revise the policies and policy approaches. We have published an Interim Consultation Statement which provides an update on our progress with this. This work has been continuing in parallel with the additional work on the Development Strategy, site allocations and area-specific policies, which we are now consulting on.

What will happen after the current public consultation?

1.9. The comments received in response to this public consultation will help us pull together the 'Proposed Submission’ version of the Local Plan. This will include policies relating to many different topic areas (building on the draft Local Plan published in 2024), as well as the final Development Strategy, site allocations and area-specific policies (building on this current document). These are known as ‘Regulation 18’ stage consultations, which take place during the early stages of the plan’s preparation.^[2]

1.10. The Proposed Submission version of the Local Plan will also go through a formal consultation process, known as the 'Regulation 19' stage of consultation, which we expect to take place in Summer 2026.^[3] The Local Plan and required supporting documents will then be submitted to the Government, who will appoint a Planning Inspector to carry out an ‘Examination in Public’. Once the Local Plan is found “sound” and judged to have satisfied other legal requirements through the examination, the Council will be able to adopt and use the plan.

Why has the Plan Period changed?

1.11. The period covered by the Local Plan (“the Plan Period”) has changed since the draft Local Plan was published in 2024. A Plan Period covering 2020 – 2040 was initially proposed. However time has moved on, and we now consider it appropriate to revise the Plan Period to 2025 – 2042. This is because the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF)^[4] requires local planning authorities to have an up-to-date plan, with strategic policies that cover a period of at least 15-years from the date it is adopted. Moving the Plan Period on, to end in 2042, will ensure we meet this requirement if the Local Plan is adopted, as anticipated, in 2027.

What is a “Development Strategy”?

1.12. The NPPF intends for the planning system to be genuinely plan-led. Local plans, therefore, should provide “a positive vision for the future of an area, and a framework for meeting housing needs and addressing other economic, social and environmental priorities”.^[5] The Development Strategy section of the Local Plan sets out how this will be achieved for the district, including approaches to coordinating and carefully managing new development across the different sub-areas of Rother.

1.13. The Development Strategy section sets out Rother’s development needs and how these will be addressed. It includes details on the number of new homes and amount of new employment floorspace we anticipate will come forward over the Plan Period. The section also sets out the proposed approach to distributing this growth to ensure it happens in a sustainable way.

1.14. The Development Strategy has been revised since the first consultation on the draft Local Plan in April 2024. This in response to new Government requirements on housing delivery, feedback received on the first consultation and new evidence we have prepared. This evidence includes further work to identify potential sites for development to address local needs, particularly for housing. Details are set out later in this document.

What are “Site Allocations”?

1.15. Site allocations identify areas of land where development is expected to take place during the Plan Period to meet the housing, economic and other needs of Rother district. Individual site allocation policies set out the type and amount of development considered achievable on specific sites, and identify measures required to make development acceptable.

1.16. The current document is for public consultation and consequently, the proposed site allocations are in draft form. This means that further evidence will be required to inform the details of some of the site allocations, and to determine if they are appropriate and can be justified. Final decisions on the site allocations to be included in the Proposed Submission version of the Local Plan will be informed by this further work, together with comments received through this public consultation.

What about existing Site Allocations including those in Neighbourhood Plans?

1.17. We have reviewed all sites that are currently allocated for development in either our own Development and Site Allocations Local Plan or in any of the ‘made’ Neighbourhood Plans. In most cases, we have carried forward these allocations, although in some instances, we are proposing to change indicative housing numbers or other policy requirements and guidelines to ensure the effective and optimal use of land, as well as compliance with national planning policy. We are interested to hear from Neighbourhood Planning groups during the consultation on our proposals.

1.18. Nine^[6] Neighbourhood Plans have been made (adopted) in the district and details of these can be found on the Council’s Neighbourhood Planning webpage. The Council will continue to work closely with neighbourhood planning groups, including through the preparation of the new Local Plan and by supporting these groups in the preparation and review of their Neighbourhood Plans.

1.19. For the purposes of this consultation, we have included site allocations across the whole district, including in those areas covered by Neighbourhood Plans. This does not preclude Neighbourhood Plans proposing their own sites for allocation, and we encourage Neighbourhood Planning groups to respond to the consultation.

What National Policy, Strategies and Plans need to be considered?

1.20. The Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004 is primary legislation that provides the main basis for the plan-led system in England. It is supported by secondary legislation, including the Town and Country Planning (Local Planning) (England) Regulations 2012 (as amended), which provide further details on the process for the Council to prepare and adopt the Local Plan and other supporting documents.

1.21. The Local Plan is required to be consistent with national policy, including the National Planning Policy Framework and planning Circulars. The NPPF sets out the Government’s planning policies for England and how they should be applied. It includes parameters for the preparation of local plans and is also a material consideration in planning decisions. The NPPF is supported by National Planning Practice Guidance (NPPG).

1.22. Alongside this, the Local Plan takes account of guidance from statutory organisations^[7] such as the Environment Agency, Historic England, Natural England, National Highways and the Marine Management Organisation. The Plan also reflects and helps give effect to the key plans and strategies of the District Council, East Sussex County Council and other local stakeholder organisations.

How will the Government’s planning reforms affect the new Local Plan?

1.23. The Levelling Up and Regeneration Act 2023 (LURA) received Royal Assent in October 2023. The LURA is a wide-ranging piece of legislation focussing mainly on local governance, planning reform and regeneration / economic development, and therefore has key implications for local planning. However, several of its provisions are awaiting further Regulations or secondary legislation to bring them into force.

1.24. The LURA sets out to introduce the National Development Management Policies (NDMPs). The NDMPs will standardise many of the policies common to Local Plans so that these plans can be more succinct and focussed on covering strategic and other locally significant matters (whilst avoiding the need to repeat national policies). The LURA also makes provisions for a new plan-making process, with the aim of streamlining and speeding this up to help ensure local planning authorities have up-to-date plans.

1.25. It was expected that a new planning system under the LURA would be in place by the end of 2024, but following a change in Government timings have shifted, with, at the time of writing, the publication of further policy or legislation pending. Notably, the NPPF (2024) provides that Local Plans must be submitted to the Government for examination by December 2026 to be assessed under the current plan-making system. The Council’s adopted Local Development Scheme (March 2025) provides that Rother’s new Local Plan will be submitted by this deadline. While a Government consultation on a revised NPPF was launched in December 2025, it proposes that Local Plans submitted under the current planning system will continue to be examined under the 2024 version of the NPPF.

1.26. In addition, the Planning and Infrastructure Act (2025) has now received Royal Assent (December 2025). The Act follows on from the LURA as its main aims are to streamline the planning system as well as to better enable the delivery of critical infrastructure, particularly to support the Government’s growth agenda. The Act includes planning reforms to facilitate cross-boundary working to address development and infrastructure needs. This includes the production of new sub-regional Spatial Development Strategies, which will set the framework for and guide the preparation of Local Plans in the future.

How will Devolution and Local Government Reorganisation affect the Local Plan?

1.27. The English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill is also making its way through parliament. The Bill aims to reshape the overall governance structure in England by rebalancing power away from Central government. This would happen through ‘Devolution’ and the introduction of strategic authorities with elected Mayors (covering areas wider than counties, with a population of roughly 1.5 million), along with ‘Local Government Reorganisation’ by replacing the current two-tier system of local authority areas with unitary authorities. The provisions link to the Planning and Infrastructure Bill, with the devolved strategic authorities responsible for producing Spatial Development Strategies.

1.28. On 5 February 2025, the Government announced that East Sussex County Council, West Sussex County Council and Brighton & Hove City Council had been successful in their joint bid for inclusion on the Devolution Priority Programme, as one of the first 6 areas for the new strategic authority structure. In terms of Local Government Reorganisation, on 24 September 2025 Rother’s Cabinet agreed to submit a business case for One East Sussex – a single unitary authority covering the existing East Sussex county boundary, with Brighton and Hove remaining as a separate unitary authority.

1.29. As set out above, the Government is continuing a programme of planning and local government reform. Amidst this backdrop, the Council remains committed to preparing and adopting a new Local Plan. This will help to ensure that local planning policies are in place to deliver on the best interests of Rother’s local communities and environment.

1.30. The Council will monitor and respond positively and proactively to any changes in the legislative and policy framework whilst it prepares the new Local Plan. This includes the Government’s requirements for the transition to the new plan-making system, and the implications this has for emerging or adopted local plans.

2. Vision, Overall Priorities and Strategic Objectives

Local Plan Vision and Overall Priorities

2.1. The Local Plan’s vision has emerged from the key issues that have been identified in the evidence base and through early engagement and formal consultation with the public. The Council also recognises the key role that the Local Plan plays in responding to the Council’s declared Climate Emergency; delivering the Council’s housing, economic, community and infrastructure needs; and protecting the special landscapes, habitats and heritage of the district. It is important that the Local Plan strikes the right balance in the best interests of the district’s local communities and the environment.

2.2. The Local Plan sets out twin overall priorities (Green to the Core and Live Well Locally) to meet that vision, which are important to the overall delivery of the plan, along with key strategic objectives that the plan seeks to deliver. These lead to the creation of the Local Plan’s Development Strategy for both the whole district and five sub-areas within it, and ultimately, provide the framework for meeting identified development needs.

2.3. The proposed vision and twin priorities are set out in the first draft Local Plan (2024) which we consulted on previously and should be referred to for further information. We are currently reviewing the vision and priorities considering feedback received and these may be subject to updating. Therefore, they have not been included in this document. However, we consider that the overall intent of the vision and priorities set out previously should continue to provide an overall direction for this Local Plan, particularly as they reflect the Council’s wider corporate objectives and strategies.

Strategic Spatial Objectives

2.4. The first draft Local Plan (2024) set out ten key strategic spatial objectives. These stemmed directly from the proposed vision for the plan and the two overall priorities. Having considered consultation feedback, we have revised the key spatial objectives as set out in Figure 1 below. The latest changes to the objectives are indicated by the green underlined text (new text) and strikethrough text (deleted text).

Figure 1: Rother Local Plan Strategic Spatial Objectives