THE FIRST Local Plan for the entire South Downs National Park has been submitted to the Government for approval.

The next step in the process will be the appointment of a government inspector to examine the South Downs National Park Authority (SDNPA) plan to see if it is fit for purpose.

Any questions, or inconsistencies, he raises will then be answered by SDNPA experts, and other parties with an interest in the plan.

The queries will be dealt with at public hearings, expected to be held at the South Downs Centre in Midhurst, at a date to be confirmed by the inspector after he is appointed.

Times and dates of the hearing will be posted on the SDNPA website, as will any changes recommended by the inspector.

SDNPA chairman Margaret Paren said: “The South Downs Local Plan puts our nationally important landscapes first and will ensure they sit at the heart of every planning decision we make.

“Putting the landscape first means making sure we get the right growth in the right places.

“This will both protect our landscapes and allow our communities to flourish, providing better places to live and work for the 112,000 people who call the South Downs National Park home.”

The plan has been developed with communities and includes around 50 Neighbourhood Plans developed by South Downs communities, and provides local development management policies and allocate land for development.

If it is adopted in September as expected, the South Downs Local Plan will replace the existing planning policies operating across the national park.

Regarding housing, it says 1,727 homes should delivered in the part of East Hampshire that is the national park over the 17-year life span of the plan.

This figure includes 100 additional homes on new site allocations in the smaller villages, plus new allocations in Petersfield, and Liss.

This equates to approximately 100 dwellings per year being built in the East Hampshire part of the National Park.

In Petersfield, it says, the Petersfield Neighbourhood Plan provides for 805 dwellings in total.

The national park local plan has been submitted with all the evidence used in its preparation and more than 2,500 comments received in the 2017 public consultation.

If it adopted, its 96 policies will replace more than 1,000 policies from 12 different constituent local authorities currently in place, providing a clear framework for planning in the national park going forward.

Details of the SDNPA local plan can be seen on the SDNPA website at www.southdowns.gov.uk/localplan