1 Introduction

1 Introduction 1.1 The Local Plan is presented in two parts. Please refer to the introduction, background and context sections in Part I of the Local Plan for an overall explanation of the Local Plan, its purpose and requirements and how the council has arrived at the final combined document. 1.2 This document forms Part II of the Local Plan and sets out the sites where development will take place, how much development will take place, and when. 1.3 The sites in this document are the sites identified for allocation for the following land uses: housing, gypsy & traveller and travelling showpeople accommodation, employment (including Warner Bros. Studios), town centre and retail development, open space, education and other infrastructure such as Maple Lodge Wastewater Treatment Works. 1.4 Individual site assessments for the site allocations for housing (including gypsy & traveller and travelling showpeople accommodation), employment (including Warner Bros. Studios) and education have been undertaken as part of the Strategic Housing & Employment Land Availability Assessment (SHELAA), which can be viewed within the Local Plan’s evidence base . These sites have been identified through various sources including several call for sites exercises, a review of refused and withdrawn application sites, the Urban Capacity Study (2020), the Edge of Settlement and New Settlement Scoping Report (2020), as well as from the Brownfield Land Register and from sites which were previously considered in the preparation of the Site Allocations LDD (2014). 1.5 The SHELAA pro-forma is only one part of the site assessment process and pertains to a more technical assessment of a site, for example policy , environmental and physical constraints and whether the site is available, achievable and suitable. Whilst allocated sites which are located in the Green Belt are categorised as being unsuitable in the SHELAA pro-formas due to their Green Belt designation, it is not to say that these sites should be omitted from the Local Plan process. Instead, national policy is then considered, which sets out that “Green Belt boundaries should only be altered where exceptional circumstances are fully evidenced and justified through the preparation or updating of plans”. National Policy outlines that exceptional circumstances include when an authority cannot meet its identified need for homes, commercial or other development through other means (such as prioritising brownfield and underutilised land; optimising density of development and discussing with neighbouring authorities about whether they could accommodate some of the identified need for development). National Policy further sets out that “where it is necessary to release Green Belt land for development, plans shoul d give priority to previously developed land, then consider grey belt which is not previously developed, and then other Green Belt locations” . The council has examined fully all other reasonable options for meeting its identified need for development, and it is considered that exceptional circumstances exist to release Green Belt land for development and allocate appropriate sites in the Green Belt (even if categorised as “unsuitable” on Green Belt grounds in the SHELAA pro-formas). 1.6 Another important part of the site assessment process is the individual assessment of each site in terms of its accessibility to services through distance measurements based on walking and cycling. This provides an indication of the sustainability of a site’s location in terms of its access to services. Further information can be found within the Access to Services Study (February 2026). It must be noted that this study includes all of the sites submitted for consideration during the Local Plan process and not just those which have been allocated. 1.7 Sustainable development is the key principle underpinning the Local Plan and is critical to the delivery of many of the council’s and community’s aspirations. It requires social progress which recognises the needs of everyone, including housing, effective protection of the environment, appropriate use of natural resources and the maintenance of stable levels of economic growth and employment. The Local Plan has been subject to a Sustainability Appraisal (including working notes and addendums) at each stage of production (including during every public consultation) to assess the sustainability of the options and to inform plan preparation and the decision-making process. 1.8 The introduction to Part I of the Local Plan sets out the considerations and evidence base studies taken into account in arriving at the sites for allocation that are included in this document. The sites identified as site allocations for development have been arrived at following extensive technical work and evidence gathering. Subsequently, and in line with national planning policy, these s