Local plan consultation to launch soon
Published
Thursday 11 December, 2025
Updated
Thursday 11 December, 2025
Councillors have voted to launch a consultation on new guidelines for developers, prioritising infrastructure, design quality, and the environment.
At the full council meeting last night (10 December), councillors agreed to proceed with a Regulation 18 consultation.
This consultation will look at the council’s vision for the local plan, key issues and characteristics in Swale, and local development management policies - the technical rules used to decide planning applications.
This stage does not allocate any land for new housing or development.
The decision comes after the Highsted Park planning inquiry was extended in June 2025, causing unavoidable delays to the original local plan timetable.
Rather than wait for the results of the inquiry, the council has chosen to push ahead with these essential policies now.
This makes sure that when housing sites are discussed next year, the council will already be armed with robust draft policies to demand quality design, affordable housing levels and environmental standards for the borough.
The draft policies set out a vision for how the council’s development management policies can shape any planning applications, and key themes include:
- putting infrastructure first - new policies will require developers to demonstrate that transport networks can cope before issues arise, prioritising active and sustainable travel like walking and cycling
- better homes for local people - requiring 30% of housing on new greenfield sites to be affordable, with access to parks and play areas to make sure development benefits local families
- supporting the rural economy - new rules will support the roll-out of gigabit-ready broadband in rural areas, essential for local businesses and home working
- protecting the environment – demanding a 20% biodiversity net gain, double the national requirement, making sure that any new development leaves the natural environment significantly better than it found it
Cllr Tim Gibson, leader of Swale Borough Council, said:
“This is our chance to set out our vision for how any future development must improve, not damage, our borough.
"We have ambitious targets for affordable housing for local people and we want new homes to be more than just boxes people sleep in.
“Local people deserve decent, healthy homes, that reflect the local character of the area, not generic ‘anywhere’ housing.
“We want to make sure infrastructure is in place before developments are occupied so local people don’t suffer from the impacts of new developments.
“Fossil fuel heating systems like gas boilers will be banned in new homes and any development won’t just have to meet the national target for biodiversity gain – it will have to double it.
“We want as many people as possible to let us know if they agree with our ambitions, which will then strengthen our position to demand any future developments address local people’s concerns.”
The consultation will be open from Monday 12 January to Monday 23 February, and will be available to view and respond to on Swale Borough Council’s website.
