Submission to Secretary of State
The Stevenage Borough Local Plan Partial Update was submitted to the Secretary of State for Independent Examination on 15 August 2025.
The Inspector appointed to conduct the Examination is L Fleming BSc (Hons) MRTPI.
Programme Officer
The Programme Officer, Helen Wilson, will act as the contact for any person who has an interest in the Examination and as a liaison between the Inspector, Council and Representors.
She is an independent officer of the Examination and works on behalf of the Inspector to organise and manage the administrative and procedural elements of the Examination process.
Any matters that anyone wishes to raise with the Inspector should be submitted via the Programme Officer.
Contact details
Helen Wilson Consultancy Ltd
36 Blunden Meadows
Ewyas Harold
Herefordshire
HR2 0PQ
Tel: 01432 639547
Mobile: 07879 443035
E-mail: helen@programmeofficers.co.uk
The Programme Officer has set up a dedicated website for the Stevenage Local Plan Partial Update which you can access using the link below:
What happens next?
The Planning Inspector will undertake an Examination into the Soundness and Legal Compliance of the Plan. The date and time of the Examination has yet to be determined.
A Procedural Guide for Local Plans has been prepared by the Planning Inspectorate, along with a short guide aimed at those participating in a local plan examination. This is to help people understand the process behind a Local Plan Examination.
Background information
The Stevenage Borough Local Plan was adopted on 22 May 2019. The Plan sets out a spatial vision for the town to 2031 and contains detailed land use policies for the borough. It looks to guide development and covers areas like housing, the built and natural environment, infrastructure, businesses, open spaces and more.
The council is partially updating the existing Plan. The main aim is not to replace the existing plan with an entirely new plan, instead focus on areas that we feel need urgent attention.
We held three recent consultations on the Local Plan Review and Partial Update. Firstly, a Regulation 18 Consultation was held from 5 July to 15 August 2024, and a second, Regulation 19 Consultation was held from 21 November 2024 to 14 February 2025. This was followed by a third, an Addendum Consultation (Regulation 19 to Pre-Submission), held from 24 June to 4 August 2025.
You can read the submitted documents on the dedicated website Stevenage Local Plan Partial Update | Helen Wilson Consultancy Limited. Other documents relating to the the partial review are also available on the dedicated website under the 'Evidence Base' tab.