Duty to Cooperate

Under the 2011 Localism Act and the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF), local planning authorities have a legal Duty to Cooperate with other local planning authorities and organisations to seek to address strategic planning matters that are driven by larger than local issues that are likely to have an impact beyond their immediate Local Plan area. The Duty to Cooperate is the mechanism for ensuring the right issues are addressed, in the right way, and with the right partners to maximise the effectiveness of policy and plan-making.

Section 33A of the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004 sets out that to maximise effective working on strategic matters throughout the preparation of Local Plans, authorities have a duty "...to engage constructively, actively and on an ongoing basis".

Why is the Duty to Cooperate important?

Cooperation will involve social, environmental and economic issues that can only be addressed effectively by working with other local planning authorities and organisations beyond our own administrative boundaries. For example, housing market areas, travel to work areas, river catchments and ecological networks may represent a more effective basis on which to plan for housing, transport, infrastructure, flood risk management, climate change mitigation/adaptation, and biodiversity.

The engagement required will therefore vary depending on the nature of the issues being addressed, and could range from consulting on an issue, to preparing joint evidence through to the development of a joint local development document. Cooperation will be needed before options for the planning strategy are identified so that the implications of strategic cross boundary issues can be assessed.

More information about the Duty to Cooperate can be found on the Planning Practice Guidance web pages. 

Kingston's emerging Local Plan 2019-2041

The council is producing a new Local Plan for the borough to set out a spatial strategy that identifies where the growth that needs to be accommodated will go.

The production of a Local Plan for Kingston requires the council to engage with local, regional and in some cases, nationwide partners, including local communities, in order to produce strategies that will address the strategic social, economic and environmental challenges facing the borough over the plan period 2019-2041, and maximise the delivery of sustainable development.

It will identify sites for different forms of land use, designate land for uses such as employment or afford protection through designations such as Green Belt or Metropolitan Open Land. Policies are likely to be area based as well as topic related, and will be designed to deliver the Local Plan objectives and spatial vision.

Consultation will begin in late summer/autumn 2017 and this will be an important opportunity for local communities to engage with and influence growth and development. For more information about the Kingston Local Plan 2019-2014, see our Local Plan web pages.