Emerging Sunderland Local Plan
Emerging Sunderland Local Plan
The Development Plan is at the heart of the planning system with a requirement set in law that planning decisions must be taken in line with the policies of the Development Plan unless material considerations indicate otherwise.
Plans set out a vision and a framework for the future development of the area, addressing needs and opportunities in relation to housing, the economy, community facilities and infrastructure.
In March 2026, the Government published new Regulations which establish the framework under which new style Local Plans should be prepared. Government guidance requires the Council to commence preparation of a new style Local Plan by 31 December 2026.
Notice of Intention to commence preparation of the Sunderland Local Plan
Sunderland City Council as the Local Planning Authority has given notice on 30th June 2026 of its intention to commence preparation of a new local plan, which is to be referred to as the Sunderland Local Plan (SLP).
The local plan will replace the Core Strategy and Development Plan, the International Advanced Manufacturing Park Area Action Plan, the saved Unitary Development Plan policies and Unitary Development Plan Alteration No.2 policies.
The local plan will cover the administrative boundary of Sunderland City Council (ONS E08000024) as shown on the map below.
Local Plan Timetable
The council has published its local plan timetable. This came into effect on 30th June 2026 and will be regularly reviewed and updated as the plan progresses.
One of the first stages of preparation of the new local plan will be a scoping consultation, this is scheduled to take place in September 2026 for a period of 4 weeks and will consider what the plan should contain and how we will engage with our communities in developing the local plan.
Details of the consultation will be posted on this web site as well as on the Council's Have Your Say Today webpage.
The Council expects to start the 30-month plan preparation process on 30 October 2026.
Activity | Date |
Notice given of Intention to commence local plan preparation | 30th June 2026 |
Scoping consultation starts | 1st September 2026 |
Scoping consultation ends | 29th September 2026 |
Gateway 1 self-assessment summary made available | 30th October 2026 |
Consultation on proposed local plan content starts | 30th June 2027 |
Consultation on proposed local plan content ends | 11th August 2027 |
Gateway 2 observations and advice sought | 29th October 2027 |
Consultation on the proposed local plan starts | 10th January 2028 |
Consultation on the proposed local plan ends | 6th March 2028 |
Gateway 3 observations and advice sought | 31st October 2028 |
Plan submission for examination | 30th November 2028 |
Plan adoption | 29th June 2029 |
The local plan timetable and notice of intention to commence are available to download below. A copy of the notice and timetable can also be viewed on request at City Hall, Plater Way, Sunderland, SR1 3AA and at Council libraries during normal opening hours.
Notice of Intention to Commence (PDF, 3 MB)
Local Plan Timetable (PDF, 49 KB)
Emerging Sunderland Local Plan Datasets
In accordance with government requirements, the Council has a duty to publish data associated with the emerging local plan. The following can be found in CSV format below.
This data is provided under the Open Government Licence.
Local Plan Timetable (gi.ui.mediatype.csv, 3 KB)
