Call for Candidate sites stage of Revised Local Development Plan

The Council is working towards revising the current Local Development Plan (LDP) to cover the period 2022 to 2037 – and is now inviting the public to put forward land or buildings for inclusion within the revised Plan. 

The LDP is a statutory land use planning document which sets out a future vision for the County Borough, allocating land for development uses such as housing, employment, retail and tourism – and the revised Plan would cover the 15-year period to 2037.

More information on the process to revise the LDP can be found here

Included within the LDP are important policies that intend to protect the environment, increase public green space and reduce carbon emissions – while also encouraging appropriate renewable energy production. It plays a leading role in determining decisions on planning applications to the Council.

The current stage of the process is the Call for Candidate Sites, where the Council invites land or buildings to be submitted for inclusion in the revised Plan. The sites that are submitted will be considered, and if appropriate they will be allocated in the Plan as acceptable in principle for development or use.

Any resident, including private landowners and developers, can submit a site for inclusion – and for a wide range of uses. The Council has prepared in-depth guidance to assist in this process, which is available to view online.

The Call for Candidate Sites stage was recently opened by the Council at the end of June 2022, and will remain open until Friday, September 30.

Councillor Mark Norris, Rhondda Cynon Taf Council’s Cabinet Member for Development and Prosperity, said: “The Council is currently progressing the formal process of revising the Local Development Plan, which will be extended to cover the 15-year period up to 2037. The Call for Candidate sites asks for land or buildings to be put forward to be considered for their inclusion in the revised Plan. This includes from private land and building owners, along with the Council itself and Town and Community Councils where appropriate. Those considered suitable will be collated into a Candidate Sites Register and presented to the public in a future consultation.

“The LDP is a very important document which allocates land for development use, and the revised Plan that the Council is now progressing will ultimately be used to determine all planning applications made over the next 15 years. These will range from matters relating to housing, employment and retail within local communities. The Plan rightly includes important considerations such as areas of ecological importance and the effects of climate change.

“Engaging with members of the public throughout the process of revising the LDP is an important statutory element. The Council wants to engage with as many people as possible including residents, developers and statutory consultees – to seek their views on local developments in their communities. The Call for Candidate Sites is the first part of this engagement, and all residents are welcome to take part up until the end of September 2022.”