THE leader of Dorset Council has called on the government to reform national planning framework - and suggested the county could pilot a new way of creating Local Plans that don't focus on ‘chasing targets’.

Councillor Spencer Flower says national planning on such schemes does not provide local authorities the means to promote sustainable development.

He has written directly to the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, Michael Gove, calling for change.

Dorset Echo: Communities Secretary Michael Gove arrives for a regional cabinet meeting at Rolls Royce in Bristol. Picture date: Friday October 15, 2021..

Cllr Flower proposes Dorset becomes a test model for new Local Plans which would focus on the needs of the area, and not just chase housing targets.

He said: “Local Plans are a key component of the planning system. They shape how land use and places will change and develop in the future.

“This is why I have been, and continue to be, in a dialogue with Michael Gove and his officials, offering a constructive, bold and ambitious alternative for the way we develop our new local plan – one that is right for Dorset.

“I have been arguing that the current national planning framework is not providing councils with the means to promote sustainable development through their local plans but is instead about chasing housing targets.

“I am seeking reform of this framework and proposing that Dorset could be a pilot for a new way of creating local plans, based on sustainability and local needs over the next 30 years.”

Cllr Flower says a new reformed plan would ‘recognise the ambitions of our climate and ecological emergency strategy’.

The move comes following an ‘unprecedented’ number of people - 9,000 - responding to Dorset Council’s consultation on its draft Local Plan.

The plan includes proposals for 4,000 new homes north of Dorchester - which have been met with an overwhelmingly negative response from the public.

Cllr Flower says many residents shared his view that it 'chases housing numbers rather than prioritises local needs’.

He continued: “We must have a Local Plan in place: without one we face the risk of unmanaged development in Dorset, but it has to be the right plan.

Dorset Echo: Cllr Spencer Flower, picture: Dorset Council

“Our hard-working and innovative planning officers have ensured the draft local plan is the best it can be, but it is constrained by current planning legislation.

The Dorset Council leader has urged Michael Gove to consider allowing Dorset to pilot a radically different approach to local plan making and to allow Dorset an extension of two years to give more time for the new plan to be developed and approved.

As well as breaking the link between the housing land supply numbers and the duty to cooperate – the requirement to accept unmet housing need from neighbouring councils.