Legacy System
A new local plan system is on the horizon, but the sun hasn’t yet set on local planning authorities looking to submit their Local Plans under the legacy system.
Local planning authorities looking to submit under the current system still have until December 2026 to do so, and PAS have both collated key learnings and top tips for you to use to navigate the final stages of local plan-making, and have developed a Project Management Toolkit to help you across the line!
The Toolkit
Purpose of the Tool
The programme of work involved in preparing a Local Plan ready for submission is extensive and complex and is subject to a number of internal and external risks, which can cause delays, additional costs, and can potentially impact the ‘soundness’ of the final document.
With the December 2026 deadline now considered a ‘guillotine’ date, the need to adopt and implement a robust project management approach is as important as it’s ever been. Local planning authorities looking to submit under the legacy system will need to remain on track and maximise every opportunity to produce a sound Local Plan.
This tool, therefore, has been developed to support local planning authorities (LPAs) proposing to submit their local plans for Independent Examination under the legacy system by December 2026. Specifically, the tool seeks to support LPAs to:
- develop and/or validate existing programmes they have produced;
- map out key milestones, activities and interdependencies;
- consider how and what risks could affect the plan production timescale; and
- inform decision making on the realistic achievability of submitting a local plan by the December 2026 deadline.
In order to ensure the timely and efficient progression of Local Plans, it is vital to have a sufficiently detailed and robust project plan in place. Although it may require an investment of time now (something we know all authorities are currently short of), it will save significant time and avoid wasted resources further down the line. It’s a matter of short-term pain for long-term gain.
The tool is informed by the experience PAS has gained over recent years in providing support and advice to LPAs about typical project management risks to Local Plans, and the evolution of best practice to try and mitigate those risks. The tool comprises six tab and includes:
- a summary tracker of key milestones for plan preparation;
- a blank project plan template;
- a worked example project plan drawing on the activities, tasks and durations typically expected to produce a legally compliant and sound local plan;
- a template for logging and scheduling key meetings; as well as a
- template risk register.
LPAs can use this tool for project managing their local plan production process or use it to help sense-check and inform existing project plans.
Completing the toolkit is a guidance document, which complements the tool and identifies various factors that must be considered during the plan production process.
Support
Project Management Support
PAS is currently delivering a number of support packages to LPAs, but the most relevant to plans being delivered under the legacy system are project management desk-based reviews and 1-2-1 ‘surgery’ sessions with officers (and Members, where relevant). These ‘surgeries’ are intended to support the timely and efficient progression of the Local Plan by assessing and reviewing the suitability, robustness and reality of the project plan’s timescales for plan production and any related documentation.
This support provides LPAs with an assessment of the effectiveness of the project programme, project plan, and resources they have in place for delivering the production, review or update of their Local Plan. The aim of the support is to keep the project management of the Local Plan on track. Support includes an appraisal/assessment of the:
- achievability of the schedule/timeline/LDS level of project and programme sponsorship
- key tasks and milestones identified for the main work packages
- specific risks to the timetable and how these can be managed and mitigated
- Governance and reporting arrangements
New Plan System
You might have heard… We’re on the verge of a new plan-making system in England; one that government has stated will be “simpler, faster to prepare and more accessible”. We know that the new system will involve a 30-month Local Plan Timetable (roughly half the time currently taken by LPAs to prepare and submit local plans), which will include 2 rounds of public consultation, and 3 Gateway Assessments.
Although we’re awaiting the final details of the new local plan system regulations (secondary legislation) which will establish the 30-month process, PAS has developed a project initiation document to help LPAs map out how they may find their way through this new and uncharted local plan-making territory.
Project Initiation Document (PID)
Purpose of the PID
PAS has developed a Project Initiation Document (PID) for Local Plan preparation within the new system. Its purpose is to help structure early preparatory work and can be easily adapted as more information becomes available throughout the plan-making process. It’s designed to support the successful delivery of the Local Plan through defining and communicating the plan’s scope, governance, and resource needs, whilst ensuring readiness for each stage of plan-making.
Top Tips for Project Managing Your Plan