Development Plan

The Development Plan provides the principal considerations against which planning applications are formally assessed.

Planning proposals will be determined in line with the Development Plan unless material considerations indicate otherwise.

The Development Plan does not consist of a single document but is actually made up of a number of documents that relate to different geographical scales.

Local Level

At the local level, the Development Plan is made up of the following:

• Torridge Local Plan 1997-2011 ('Saved Policies')

Over time, the 'Saved' policies of the Local Plan will be replaced by policies within Development Plan Documents (DPDs) of the Local Development Framework (LDF).

County Level

In addition to the local elements, the Development Plan for Torridge also currently comprises of the following County level elements:

• Devon Structure Plan 2001-2016 ('Saved Policies') 

It is the intention that the majority of the 'saved policies' of the Devon structure Plan will be replaced by those in the South West Regional Spatial Strategy.

• Devon Minerals Local Plan ('Saved Policies')
• Devon Waste Local Plan ('Saved Policies')

Over time the 'Saved Policies' of the Minerals Local Plan and the Waste Local Plan will be replaced by policies within the Development Plan Documents of the Devon Minerals and Waste Local Development Framework.

Regional Level

In addition to the current documents of the Development Plan it is important to have regard to the following regional documents:

•  Regional Planning Guidance for the South West (RPG10) [971kb]
• South West Regional Spatial Strategy (RSS)

Once adopted, the South West Regional Spatial Strategy (RSS), or South West Plan, will form of the Development Plan and provide the overarching planning framework for development in the South West of England including the expected directions and levels of growth.

Other Material Considerations

When determining planning applications it is possible to take account of other information that is not included within the Development Plan. There are many other documents that might be considered when determining a planning application. At the local level these include Supplementary Planning Guidance (SPG), Supplementary Planning Documents (SPDs) and Development Briefs. At the national level there are a series of Planning Policy Guidance Notes and Planning Policy Statements covering different topic areas. All of these may be material considerations in determining a planning application.