Nottingham City Local Plan Review

Local Plan Review Scoping Document

The Scoping Document sets out the Council’s early thinking on the main issues the new Local Plan may need to address. It asks questions about the scope, priorities, evidence and direction of the Plan before detailed policies and site allocations are prepared.

It covers issues such as housing, regeneration, the economy, climate change, transport, health and wellbeing, design, heritage, green infrastructure and infrastructure delivery.

Strategic Environmental Assessment Scoping Report

The Strategic Environmental Assessment Scoping Report sets out the proposed approach to assessing the likely environmental effects of the Local Plan as it develops.

It identifies the environmental topics, baseline information and assessment framework that will be used to help test future options for the Plan.

Local Plan Review Engagement Strategy

The Engagement Strategy explains how the Council proposes to involve residents, businesses, community organisations, statutory consultees and other stakeholders throughout the preparation of the new Local Plan. It sets out the principles that will guide engagement, the methods that may be used and how comments will be considered as the Local Plan progresses.

As part of this consultation, we would welcome views on how we propose to engage and involve people in preparing the new Local Plan.

Please respond using the online consultation form

You can use the form to:

• comment on the Local Plan Review Scoping Document
• comment on the Strategic Environmental Assessment Scoping Report
• comment on the Engagement Strategy
• tell us whether you would like to be kept informed about future stages of the Local Plan Review.

The closing date for responses is: Wednesday 28 October 2026

We encourage all responses to be submitted through the online consultation form, as this helps us record and consider comments consistently. If you are unable to use the online form, experience technical difficulties, or need to provide supporting information that cannot be submitted through the form, please email the Local Plans Team at localplan@nottinghamcity.gov.uk 

Respond to the consultation

The Scoping Document is structured around ten key themes. These themes help explain the main issues the new Local Plan will need to consider.

You can comment on as many or as few themes as you wish.

Alongside the Nottingham Local Plan Scoping Document, the Council is consulting on a draft Local Plan Strategic Environmental Assessment (LP SEA) Scoping Report. The SEA is required under the Environmental Assessment of Plans and Programmes Regulations 2004, which implement the requirements of the Strategic Environmental Assessment Directive in domestic law.

The purpose of the LP SEA is to identify, describe and evaluate the likely significant environmental effects of the Local Plan as it is prepared. At this stage, the LP SEA Scoping Report sets out the proposed scope of the assessment, including the environmental issues, baseline information and assessment framework that will be used to inform future plan-making. We are seeking views on whether the report covers the right environmental topics and evidence, and whether there are any additional issues that should be considered.

You may wish to read the Scoping Document first, as this explains the main issues and questions. The Strategic Environmental Assessment Scoping Report should be read alongside it if you wish to comment on the proposed environmental assessment approach.

Nottingham City Council is committed to involving residents, businesses, community organisations, statutory consultees and other stakeholders throughout the preparation of the new Local Plan. Effective engagement helps ensure the Plan is informed by local knowledge, priorities and evidence, while recognising that decisions must also take account of national policy, legal requirements and deliverability.

Our Engagement Strategy explains how people can get involved, the principles that guide our approach, the methods we may use, and how comments will be considered as the Local Plan progresses. The strategy promotes early, accessible and proportionate engagement and supports the Council's adopted Statement of Community Involvement.

View the Local Plan Review Engagement Strategy

After the consultation closes, the Council will review and analyse the responses.

A summary of the consultation will be prepared and used, alongside technical evidence and the Strategic Environmental Assessment, to inform the next stages of the Local Plan Review.

The Council will then continue work on the evidence base, spatial strategy, future planning policies, site allocations and infrastructure requirements.

There will be further opportunities to comment as the Local Plan develops.

The Local Plan is one of the Council’s most important planning documents. It helps decide where new homes, jobs, infrastructure, open space and community facilities should be located, and sets the planning policies used to help determine future planning applications.

Nottingham’s new Local Plan will provide a single planning framework for the city. It will replace the current local planning policy documents, including the adopted Land and Planning Policies Document and, once adopted, the strategic planning policies currently being prepared through the Greater Nottingham Strategic Plan.

The new Local Plan will need to respond to Nottingham’s opportunities and challenges, including:

• delivering new homes and affordable housing
• supporting regeneration and brownfield development
• strengthening the city’s economy and centres
• responding to climate change and supporting net zero
• improving health, wellbeing and access to services
• supporting sustainable transport and connectivity
• protecting heritage, townscape and local identity
• enhancing green infrastructure, biodiversity and open space
• identifying the infrastructure needed to support growth

The Local Plan will be shaped by consultation responses, technical evidence, national planning policy, environmental assessment, infrastructure planning, viability evidence and future independent examination.

Notice to Commence Plan Preparation

On 30 June 2026, the Council published a formal Notice of Intention to Commence Local Plan preparation in accordance with the Town and Country Planning (Local Planning) (England) Regulations 2026. The plan will be referred to as the Nottingham City Council Local Plan.

This marked the start of plan preparation under the new planning system.

A map showing the area covered by the plan can be downloaded here.

This plan will not cover matters relating to waste and minerals.

The Council has published a Local Plan Timetable which sets out how and when the plan is to be prepared.

The timetable includes:

• key stages of plan preparation
• consultation periods
• Gateway assessments
• submission for examination and adoption

View the Local Plan Timetable

Download timetable data (CSV)

The timetable will be kept under review and updated as work progresses.

Use the buttons below to download a PDF of the Notice of Intention to Commence and a CSV file of the Local Plan data.

Download Notice of Intention to Commence

Download Local Plan Data

All data on these pages is provided under the Open Government Licence.

The Government has introduced a new system for preparing Local Plans through the Levelling Up and Regeneration Act 2023 and supporting regulations.

Under this system, Local Plans must be prepared within a fixed 30‑month timeframe, helping to ensure plans are produced more quickly and kept up to date.

The process includes:

• Early evidence gathering and engagement to identify key issues
• A series of Gateway assessments, carried out by the Planning Inspectorate, to check progress and provide advice
• Formal consultation stages where communities and stakeholders can comment on the plan
• Submission for independent examination, followed by adoption

The 30‑month period for preparing the Local Plan will begin after the Council has completed the initial Gateway 1 assessment anticipated to be in October 2026.

This page and the Local Plan timetable explain how Nottingham City Council will progress through each stage of the new process.

The Government has introduced a new plan-making system through the Levelling Up and Regeneration Act 2023. This requires councils to prepare Local Plans in a different way, including:

• a fixed 30‑month preparation period
• a series of Gateway checks
• earlier and more structured engagement

As a result, Nottingham City Council is preparing a new Local Plan to meet these requirements and plan for the city’s future.

The Nottingham Local Plan remains in place and will continue to be used to determine planning applications until the new Local Plan is adopted.

In Nottingham the Local Plan currently comprises the

• Nottingham City Aligned Core Strategy (Local Plan Part 1), which was adopted on 8 September 2014
• Land and Planning Policies Document - LAPP (2020) (Local Plan Part 2) which was adopted on 13 January 2020
• Nottinghamshire and Nottingham Waste Local Plan which was jointly prepared  with Nottinghamshire County Council and adopted in September/October 2025.  

Planning Policy Consultations and Updates

Use this form to register for updates about planning policy work being undertaken by Nottingham City Council. By registering your details, we can contact you about Local Plan consultations, Supplementary Plans, Interim and Informal Planning Guidance, other planning policy consultations, progress updates and opportunities to get involved.

We operate a single planning policy contact list, so everyone who registers will receive email notifications about planning policy consultations, updates and opportunities to participate. You can unsubscribe at any time.

How we use your information

We will use the information you provide to maintain our planning policy contact list and to contact you about planning policy consultations, updates and opportunities to participate. We will only use your information for these purposes and will manage it in accordance with our data retention arrangements.

You can update your details or ask us to stop contacting you at any time by emailing localplan@nottinghamcity.gov.uk. For more information about how we use your personal information, please read our privacy notice

If you have any questions about the Local Plan, contact the Planning Policy Team: localplan@nottinghamcity.gov.uk