Last updated:
3rd March 2025
Examination
Submission
The Wokingham Borough Local Plan Update 2023-2040: Proposed Submission Plan was submitted to the Secretary of State for examination by an independent Planning Inspector on Friday 28 February 2025.
A Statement of Submission has been produced setting out details of the submission and where the submission documents can be found:
Planning Inspector
A Planning Inspector will be appointed shortly to undertake an independent examination.
The Inspector’s task will be to consider the soundness and legal compliance of the submitted Plan, based on the criteria set out in paragraph 35 of the National Planning Policy Framework December 2023 (the Framework) and associated regulations, namely the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004, the Localism Act 2011 and the Town and Country Planning (Local Planning) (England) Regulations 2012.
The Inspector will take into account the representations submitted on the Regulation 19 Proposed Submission Plan as far as they relate to soundness considerations. A number of sessions will discuss the principal matters identified by the Inspector, these are termed Hearing Sessions.
At the end of the Examination, the Inspector will prepare a report to the council with precise recommendations, these recommendations may include modifications to the Plan.
Guidance Notes will be prepared by the Inspector to help people understand the process and will be available here in due course. Procedural Guidance for Local Plans has also been produced by the Planning Inspectorate together with a short guide aimed at those participating in a Local Plan Examination for the first time.
Any queries people may have regarding the Examination process should be directed to the Programme Officer who will be happy to assist.
Programme Officer
The Programme Officer, Ian Kemp, will act as the contact for any person who has an interest in the Examination and as a liaison between the Inspector, Council and Representors.
He is an independent Officer of the Examination and works on behalf of the Inspector to organise and manage the administrative and procedural elements of the Examination process.
Any matters that anyone wishes to raise with the Inspector should be submitted via the Programme Officer.
Contact details:
Ian Kemp
Programme Officer
PO Box 241
Droitwich
WR9 1DW
Mobile: 07723 009 166
Email: ian@localplanservices.co.uk
Mr Kemp will be contacting all Representors with details of the Examination process in due course.
Hearing sessions
A programme for the hearing sessions together with venue details and matters to be discussed will be shared once finalised.
All information relating to the hearing sessions and updates to the examination process will be available on the examination website.
Core and evidence base documents
In preparing the LPU the council both refer to and were informed by a number of documents that together form the 'Evidence Base' for the Examination. These documents can be accessed through the document list below:
