Havering Council’s cabinet is due to consider proposals for a new Local Plan timetable on 11 November, including an initial public consultation expected to begin in January 2027.
The proposed plan would set a framework for how the borough grows and develops between 2027 and 2042. The consultation and timetable are recommendations at this stage, not an approved plan or a confirmed consultation launch.
If cabinet agrees the proposals, the council says it would publish a notice of its intention to begin work on the new plan later in November. The subsequent borough-wide consultation would ask what the plan should contain and how people and organisations should be involved as it is prepared.
Residents, businesses, community groups, landowners and other stakeholders would be invited to help identify priorities, challenges and opportunities. The council has not given an exact January start date, closing date or response method in its announcement.
What the plan would cover
A Local Plan sets out policies used to assess planning applications. Havering says its new framework would address the location of homes, employment space, infrastructure and community facilities, as well as how development relates to the borough’s character.
Housing, transport, heritage, green spaces and local facilities are among the subjects the council says people could raise. The initial exercise is a scoping consultation: it is intended to help determine what the plan should cover and how the public should be engaged, rather than ask people to vote on a completed set of policies.
The council says a draft would be developed over the following two years, with further opportunities to participate before a final document is submitted for independent examination and eventual adoption. Those later steps have not yet taken place.
Preparatory work has already begun. The cabinet considered the plan timetable in September and authorised consultancy support for the early preparation stage. The council’s existing plan-update page also describes evidence gathering as the current stage.
Havering’s current Local Plan was adopted in 2021 and covers the period from 2016 to 2031. The council says the inspector who examined it asked for an immediate review after adoption to reflect national and regional policy changes and identify sites suitable for new homes.
Housing targets and Green Belt
The borough’s plans are being prepared alongside a separate draft London-wide plan. The council says it objected to proposals that would increase Havering’s housing target by around 69 per cent, and has raised concerns about potential Green Belt release and pressure on infrastructure and services.
The draft London Plan proposes a ten-year target of 21,712 homes for Havering for 2027/28 to 2036/37. It divides that figure into a brownfield target of 9,652 and a greenfield target of 12,060. The draft says authorities with a greenfield component should plan for strategic growth through Green Belt release, subject to its proposed policies.
By comparison, the adopted London Plan set Havering a target of 12,850 net housing completions for the different ten-year period from 2019/20 to 2028/29. The increase between the two targets is about 69 per cent. The draft figures are proposals, not a count of homes already built or permission for particular sites.
The council says its Local Plan can influence where development takes place, the infrastructure it needs and the design of places, but cannot override national planning policy or strategic London Plan requirements. It also says it will work with health and education providers, transport bodies, utilities and neighbouring authorities as it develops the plan.
Featured image: AI-generated illustration.
