Planning policy

The aim of the planning system is to help the Borough change in a planned way, maintaining an attractive environment in which to live, work and play. Planning ensures buildings and uses are well designed and appropriately located.

The two main strands of planning work in local authorities are Development Management (Planning Applications) and Planning Policy. Below is an overview of the main elements of Planning Policy in Havant.

The Local Plan

The Local Plan forms the starting point in every planning decision. The plan sets out the vision for future development in the borough, identifies what areas should be developed, and what requirements and standards developers should meet in their proposals.

Havant has an adopted local plan made up of a Core Strategy and a Site Allocations Plan. We have been preparing a new Local Plan to bring these documents up to date, which will set out how the borough should be developed into the late 2030s.

Supplementary Planning Documents

Supplementary Planning Documents provide further policy guidance on a range of issues (thematic or site specific).

Neighbourhood Plans

Neighbourhood planning allows local groups to come together to prepare a local level plan for their area. Neighbourhood plans that have gone through all the necessary stages of production and a local referendum are used by the council alongside its own planning documents to make decisions on planning applications in a particular area.

Whilst a neighbourhood plan cannot block the amount of development already identified for the neighbourhood, it can influence where the development will go and what it might look like.

To date, the Emsworth Neighbourhood Plan is the only neighbourhood plan that has been prepared in the borough.

Developer Contributions

Planning Authorities can seek contributions from developers to make sure that the impacts of development are mitigated, and that developments are accompanied by improvements to infrastructure in the area. This mainly takes the form of S106 Legal agreements and financial contributions to the Community Infrastructure Levy.

The Solent coastline around Havant is heavily protected through environmental designations.

The impact of development on the protected sites and species is therefore a particular consideration in planning for future development. This is reflected in the policies in the Local Plan, but also by specific strategies on the issue of nutrient neutrality and the mitigation of recreational disturbance.

The Council’s Developer Contributions guide (see above) also provides further detail on how these affect development proposals.