LONDON, June 24 -- The government of the United Kingdom issued the following news:

Thisinitialedition of theguidesupportslocal planning authorities(LPAs)and others involved in plan preparation and examination.It offers practical guidance, procedure and information and covers the gateway assessments and the examination process in detail.

The newlocal plan system, developed by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG)andwithspecialist input fromthe Planning Inspectorate, came into force in March 2026 with the new Town and Country Planning (Local Planning) (England) Regulations 2026, replacing the existing 2012 planmaking regulations. Itintroduceda structured gateway process designed to support earlier engagement and help deliver the government's expectation of a 30-month end-to-end plan-making process.

Local authoritiesworking under thenew local plan systemare encouraged to visitCreate or Update a Local Plan (CULP),which is the central resource for plan-making guidance and complements this procedural guide.

Andrew Megginson, Head of Plans Examinationforthe planning Inspectorate said:

We are ready to support local planning authorities as they begin working under thenew local plan system,and this guide is an important step in setting out how we will work with them through gateways and examinations. This is a first edition-we will continue to develop and refine the guidance as the system beds in and as we gain experience of how it works in practice. We are committed to working closely with MHCLG and the wider planning community to make this new system a success.

The procedure guide is available on the Planning Inspectorate's GOV.UK pages. For wider plan-making guidance, visitCreate and Update a Local Plan (CULP).

Webinarand livequestion andanswer(Q & A) session-Monday 6 July

We know there is considerable appetitein the plan-making communityfor further information on how examinations will work in practice under thenew local plan system, and on the digital services being developed alongside it. We are therefore pleased to announcea webinarand live Q&A sessiononMonday 6 July, register here.

The webinarPlan, Prepare, Progress: A practical guide to thenew local plansystem - will be presented by the Planning Inspectorate's Andrew Megginson (Head of Plans Examination) and Simon Berkeley (Planning Inspector and Professional Lead for Local Plans) and feature contributions from colleagues atthe Inspectorateand MHCLG. It will alsogive an introduction toboth the newlocal plansystemprocedure guide and the digital services in development.Thewebinarwill be followed by a live Q & A eventwhich will give LPAs the opportunity to hear directly from the teams developing the new system, ask questions, and get clarity on how examinations will work in practice.

Legacy and new systemsrunning together

The local plans system has now entered a period ofdual-running.The legacy plan-making system (2012 regulations) will remain in place for authorities to adopt plans submitted no later than 31 December 2026, while thenew local plan systemis available for other authorities.  

Information from MHCLG

Create or update a local plan using the new system-GOV.UK

Gateway 2 assessment for local plans: what you need to do - GOV.UK

Gateway 3 for local plans: what you need to do - GOV.UK

Disclaimer: Curated by HT Syndication.