Decision – Torbay Local Plan 2025-45

That the Cabinet
recommends to Council:

1.      that the
Torbay Local Plan: Publication Plan (attached as Appendix 2 and
subject to 2.) be approved for publication for a 6?week
consultation under Regulation 19 of the Town and Country Planning
(England) Regulations 2012 (as amended);

2.      that the
Director of Pride in Place, in consultation with the Cabinet Member
for Place Development and Economic Growth, be delegated authority
to make final minor editorial amendments to the Plan and publish
supporting technical reports as part of the consultation; and

3.      that, in
discussions with neighbouring authorities, the Council’s
position is that Torbay’s unmet housing need should be
addressed at a sub-regional level, through the Spatial Development
Strategy.

The Regulation 19
consultation on the Torbay Local Plan is proposed to enable formal
consultation on the Plan before it is submitted for independent
examination.  The Plan provides a
strategic framework for managing land use and development in Torbay
in the public interest, supporting sustainable growth, regeneration
and the modernisation of the built environment whilst recognising
the area’s significant environmental constraints.

Progressing the
Regulation 19 consultation will allow residents, businesses,
stakeholders and statutory consultees a final opportunity to
comment on the proposed Plan before it is submitted for
examination, supporting the preparation of an up-to-date Local Plan
to guide development and investment in Torbay through to 2045.

It was recommended
that the Regulation 19 Local Plan be published for consultation in
August-September 2026, with a view to returning the Local Plan to
Council in December 2026 to agree submission in December
2026.  Over 100 Local Authorities were
planning to submit their Plans in December 2026, so the likely date
for Examination is later in 2027.

If the December 2026
Submission Deadline was not met, the Local Plan and its evidence
base would need to be restarted under the levelling Up and
Regeneration Act 2023 and accompanying 2025
Regulations.  Although these are called
“30-month local plans” there were questions whether the
30-month timetable was achievable.  Not
submitting the Plan would mean that the Presumption in Favour of
Sustainable development would apply to all planning applications in
Torbay for the foreseeable future, against meeting the
Government’s Standard Method Local Housing Need figure of 970
dwellings a year.

The draft Plan sought
to ensure that once adopted it was capable of being deemed
“up to date”.  There was a
possibility that the Presumption would still apply after a Local
Plan was adopted if the council was unable to demonstrate a
five-year supply or achieves less than 75% of housing delivery.

The recommendations of
the Cabinet will be considered at the Council meeting on 23 July
2026.

Approval was sought to
publish the Regulation 19 version of the Torbay Local Plan
2025–2045 for public consultation ahead of its submission to
the Secretary of State for Examination by December 2026.

The draft Plan had
been informed by previous consultations undertaken in 2022 and 2025
and had been reviewed by the Local Plan Working Party, with the
proposed publication version reflecting its
recommendations.  The draft Plan had
also been considered by the Overview and Scrutiny Board on 8 July
2026 who supported the above recommendations.

Once adopted, the
Local Plan would form the primary basis for determining planning
applications, alongside made Neighbourhood Plans, and would provide
the framework for meeting Torbay’s housing, economic, social and
environmental objectives.  A key
challenge for the Plan was its proposed housing provision, which
remained below the Government’s Local Housing Need figure.

At the meeting
Councillor David Thomas proposed and Councillor Billings seconded a
motion that was agreed unanimously, as set out above.

Councillor Billings
declared a non-pecuniary interest as a landowner and as a member of
Churston, Broadsands and Galmpton Neighbourhood Forum.

Councillor Cowell
declared a non-pecuniary interest as a member of the Torquay
Neighbourhood Forum.