A local plan is an important document which sets out the long-term vision for an area.
Our plan describes how we want our towns and villages to grow, where new homes, shops and workplaces might be built, and how we’ll protect our exceptional landscapes while tackling important issues like transport, flooding and climate change. Balancing these priorities is the ongoing challenge of local planning.
A local plan provides a consistent framework for development opportunities for an area and is the main consideration in deciding planning applications, setting the policies for which types of development will and won’t be permitted locally.
All local plans must have regard to the National Planning Policy Framework.
They sit in between spatial development strategies and neighbourhood plans, and alongside supplementary plans.
Our plan area
The northern Devon joint local plan combines the North Devon and Torridge local planning authority areas. It affects everybody who lives, works and visits here.
Figure 1: Map of the northern Devon joint local plan area. The area excludes the Exmoor National Park Planning Authority area to the north east.
Because we share a joint local plan with Torridge, we also have a joint website called People and Place.
Contact us
The Local Plan is managed by our Planning Policy team.
If you’d like to know more about the local plan or the People and Place Project, or if you have any questions about how you can get involved, you can get in touch with us by:
email: peopleandplace@northdevon.gov.uk or localplan@northdevon.gov.uk
telephone: 01271 388317
writing to us at: North Devon Planning Policy Team, North Devon Council, Lynton House, Commercial Road, Barnstaple, EX31 1DG
However you get in contact, we will work to respond to your queries as soon as we can.
If you're interested in the local plan, you can subscribe to our planning email bulletins.
We also use our joint People and Place website to share news and updates.
And you can follow our Facebook and Instagram pages so you don't miss any news.