1 Introduction

1.1 St Edmundsbury borough's strategic location in the heart of the east of England, together with the attractive historic and natural environment, means there is significant pressure for housing and economic growth. It is important that this growth is managed so the very qualities which attract investment to the area are kept.

1.2 In June 1998 the borough council adopted the St Edmundsbury Borough Local Plan, which contained land use planning policies and proposals for the borough up to 2006. This Replacement Local Plan supersedes the 1998 Plan and contains the land use policies against which planning applications will be judged and development allocations for the period to 2016.

1.3 Work on the Replacement Local Plan began in February 2000 when an Issues Report was published for consultation. The report contained background information on the Local Plan and suggested a number of statements about how the borough could grow in a sustainable way. Included in the report were a number of questions to which consultees were asked to respond.

1.4 The First Draft of the Replacement Local Plan was put on deposit for public consultation in January 2003 for six weeks. Changes in this Re-deposited Replacement Local Plan were made in response to representations received at the time and incorporated into the Re-Deposit Draft Replacement Local Plan that was published for a further six weeks period of consultation in March 2005.

1.5 An independent Planning Inspector was appointed to consider outstanding objections to the Local Plan made to both the First Draft and Re-Deposit Draft Plans, and a Public Local Inquiry was held between October 2005 and January 2006. The Inspector’s Report to the Council was published in June 2006 and required changes of the Inspector were binding upon the Council, in accordance with the regulations of the Transitional Arrangements. The Council therefore also adopted this Plan in June 2006.