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16 February 2026: On 24 September 2025, the Planning Committee considered a progress report on the Local Plan. This report can be viewed on Planning Committee 24 September 2025 (Opens in new tab) (see agenda item 8). In summary, the Planning Policy Team has prepared the documentation needed to support the first round of public consultation on the local plan, however, the Chief Planner’s newsletter of 19 August 2025 confirms that,
Plans prepared under the new system will need to comply with the new legal requirements from start to finish. LPAs will not, for example, be able to carry out an early statutory consultation under the existing system and a pre-submission statutory consultation under the new system.
Therefore, the Council is awaiting the introduction of the new plan making system before plan making in Runnymede is formally commenced.
The Chief Planner’s newsletter sets out the non-statutory plan making tasks that Local Planning Authorities can continue in advance of the new system being introduced. The committee report above confirms the Council’s progress with these activities. The committee agreed that a further Local Plan progress report would be brought back to the Planning Committee at a date to be agreed between the Corporate Head of Planning, Economy and Built Environment and the Chair of the Planning Committee.
The Planning Policy Team is in the process of updating large parts of its Local Plan evidence base. Current and planned updates to the evidence base are as follows:
| Evidence base document | Status |
|---|---|
| Strategic partners for cross boundary cooperation document | Consultation has taken place on the Strategic Cross Boundary Partners Scoping Statement. The responses received to this consultation have been reviewed, and the Statement will be amended, where necessary, to take into account these responses. The Statement will be published on the Council’s website in the near future. |
| The Runnymede Open Spaces Study update |
Completed. Published June 2025 Review the 2030 Local Plan Review Evidence Documents |
| The Runnymede Playing Pitch Strategy | Final draft has been produced and is with the Council for review. To be published in due course. |
| The Green Belt Review parts 1 and 2 and Grey Belt Assessment |
Government funding secured for a joint Green Belt/Grey Belt Assessment with Spelthorne & Elmbridge Borough Councils. Assessment has commenced and will report back in two stages.
|
| 2025 Strategic Land Availability Assessment |
Work commenced and ongoing. An interim version will be available Spring 2026, to include an Urban Area Capacity Study. A second version will be produced taking account of Green Belt Review and Grey Belt Assessment outcomes in due course (see timescales above for the Green Belt review work). An updated 5 year housing land supply position has recently been published and can be viewed at: 2030 Local Plan Review Evidence Base documents This shows that the Council currently has a 2.89 years of supply as of April 2025. |
| Gypsy and Traveller Accommodation Assessment update | Ongoing. Final report expected in by summer 2026. |
| Housing and Economic Development Needs Assessment (incorporating Employment Land Review) | A draft report has been completed by the consultants. The Council has sent the consultants comments on the report and it is expected to be finalised in the near future. |
| Level 1 Strategic Flood Risk Assessment refresh | A draft of the document is now complete.This will be put onto the website in the near future once plan-making under the new system commences. |
| Runnymede Design Code | An authority-wide Design Code will not be developed. The Council will reassess the design tools it needs once evidence underpinning the new Local Plan helps the Council understand the revised spatial strategy. |
| Local Plan Engagement Strategy |
Local Plan Engagement Strategy consultation has concluded. The results of this consultation are currently being analysed. A report will be taken to Planning Committee in the spring outlining any proposed changes to the strategy. |
| Runnymede Retail and Town Centres Study update |
Addendum completed. Published July 2025. Review the 20230 Local Plan Review Evidence Documents |
| Update to the Council’s Stage 2 Sustainable Places work | Planned. Work will not commence until the Council has completed its site list for testing. This will not happen until the Grey Belt Review/Assessment is complete. Publication date is to be confirmed. |
| Boat Dwellers Assessment Planned. | Project on pause. |
| Infrastructure baseline assessment refresh | As part of gathering baseline information to inform the new Local Plan, the Council intends to create a ‘Runnymede Place Portrait’, which will include baseline information about the Borough’s infrastructure capacity. The Council will also refresh the infrastructure baseline assessment as part of the Infrastructure Delivery Plan update. Once publication dates for both are clearer, further information will be published on this page. |
| Sustainability Appraisal [SA] incorporating Strategic Environmental Assessment | Underway. A SA scoping update report is being prepared with the date of publication TBC. Further iterations of the SA including the appraisal of policy options and policy wording will take place as the Local Plan progresses. |
The Council’s adopted Local Development Scheme for the update of the Runnymede Local Plan can be viewed at: Local Development Scheme (LDS)
The Council has recently updated its housing land supply position. Based on a base date of 1 April 2025, the Council has concluded that it has a 2.89 year land supply. More information can be viewed at: 2030 Local Plan Review Evidence Base documents.
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Review of the Runnymede 2030 Local Plan
In line with Regulation 10A of the Town and Country Planning (Local Planning) (England) Regulations (2012), on 23r October 2024, the Council completed its formal review of the Runnymede 2030 Local Plan within 5 years of the Plan’s adoption date of 16 July 2020.
The committee report which sets out the process followed in reviewing the Local Plan and the conclusions drawn can be viewed within the committee agenda for the 23 October 2024 Planning Committee (agenda item 6) at the link below:
Evidence base documents
The Review of the Runnymede 2030 Local Plan will be underpinned by a range of evidence base documents. These key supporting documents will be made available on our evidenced base documents page once they are finalised.
Local Plan draft Engagement Strategy
Between 20 October 2025 and 1 December 2025, the Council is consulting on its draft Engagement Strategy which will underpin the next local plan. For more information on this consultation, including the draft Strategy itself and information on how to make a representation, please check Runnymede Local Plan Engagement Strategy page.
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