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Planning and building

New Local Plan Examination

All updates about the Local Plan Examination process, timetable and other relevant information will be made available here.

Our Local Plan Examination Programme Officer

Contact our Local Plan Examination Programme Officer, Carole Crookes (Independent Programme Officer Solutions) via email: york@iposolutions.online, telephone: 07397 909822, postal address is provided upon request; please contact the Programme Officer directly for these details.

Key information for the Local Plan Examination

Inspector Simon Berkeley (BA MA MRTPI) and Inspector Paul Griffiths BSc (Hons) BArch IHBC have been appointed by the Planning Inspectorate to conduct the examination into the City of York Local Plan to determine whether it's sound.

Examination news and updates:

Correspondence and updates relating to the examination from 2024.

See previous examination correspondence and updates from:


16 October 2024

The Council has compiled a consolidated schedule of modifications for the Inspectors (EX/CYC/141).

4 October 2024

The Regulation 19 consultation on proposed main modifications in relation to Policies H5 and H6 has been completed and the Council has produced an addendum to the Regulation 22 statement (EX/CYC/140).

The documents associated with the consultation were:

29 August 2024

As a result of a request for an extension to the deadline for the consultation on the Main Modifications it has been decided that, to make it fair to all, the deadline for submissions is to be extended to midday on Tuesday 3 September 2024.

23 August 2024

The Council has submitted a response (EX/CYC/136) to a letter received from York Travellers Trust.

18 July 2024

Consultation on the proposed Main Modification to Policy H5: Gypsies and Travellers started today, Thursday 18 July 2024, and closes on Friday 30 August 2024 at 11.59pm.

All the relevant documentation and details on how to comment on the proposed Main Modification to Policy H5 (comments will not be accepted in relation to any other matter) are available on the council website:

30 May 2024

Following the announcement that a General Election will be held on 4 July 2024, guidance has been issued that the Regulation 19 public consultation on the proposed new main modification in relation to Policy H5: Gypsy and Traveller Accommodation should not commence until after the election. Therefore, it is anticipated that the public consultation will be published week commencing 8 July 2024. 

8 May 2024

Following the phase 5 hearing session, the Inspectors have written to the Council regarding gypsy and traveller provision (EX/INS/50). People will be given the opportunity to comment at the main modification consultation stage and, therefore, the Inspectors will not accept any other unrequested comments regarding this matter.

15 April 2024

The Planning Inspectorate issued a notification regarding casework during the election period Casework during the election period. As a result, the Inspectors are unable to publish any letters which set out their views in relation to provision for Gypsies and Travellers during the ‘pre-election’ period in relation to the Mayoral election. As such, the earliest their response will be published is 2 May 2024.

25 March 2024

The Defence Infrastructure Organisation has submitted a letter to the Inspectors (EX/OTH/42) regarding the operational future of Strensall Barracks.

20 March 2024

The Council has now made available the recordings relating to the phase 5 Hearing held on Wednesday 6 March. The Inspectors would like to remind people that it is not a requirement of the examination process for the Hearings to be recorded and no part of the recordings will be considered as evidence by the Inspectors.

The Council made the recordings for their own use, in accordance with Council policy on recording public meetings, and then made them available on the Council’s YouTube channel.

The Inspectors are therefore unable to comment on any aspect of the recordings.

The Council has submitted the final and approved version of the Executive Report: Delivering additional Gypsy and Traveller Accomodation and improving existing facilities (EX/CYC/135) and the published decision (EX/CYC/135a).

18 March 2024

The Inspectors have published an email (EX/INS/49) regarding the acceptance of further submissions following the closure of phase 5 Hearing.

The Inspectors intend to write to the council as soon as they possibly can setting out their position and the way forward. However, due to other work commitments, we will not be able to issue this letter until week commencing 25 March 2024. In the meantime, they will not be accepting any further submissions on this matter.

11 March 2024

The phase 5 hearing was held and concluded on Wednesday 6th March 2024.

The council submitted the following documents at the Hearing:

  • EX/CYC/132 Hearing Statement Revised Appendix 2 of HS/P5/M1/Q1.1 to 7a CYC Apps
  • EX/CYC/133 Guildford Local Plan H3 rural exception sites
  • EX/CYC/134 Kingston upon Thames RLBC v Secretary of State 2024 JPL 318

A further document was submitted by York Travellers Trust, which improves the reference to the footnotes in their original statement:

  • EX/OTH/41 York Travellers Trust Hearing Statement March 2024 revision (HS/P5/M1 Q1.1 to 7)

6 March 2024

The phase 5 hearing of the Examination of the City of York Local Plan opened today at 10.00 at The Citadel, Gillygate, York. The hearing is programmed to last only one day and will address Policy H5: Gypsies and Travellers. The hearing session will be recorded and then made available to view within the next couple of days on the council’s YouTube channel.

4 March 2024

The council has submitted the following documents:

  • EX/CYC/130 - CYC Council Plan 2023
  • EX/CYC/131 - Final Draft Gypsy and Traveller Exec Report (which the council stated in their statement would be submitted when publicly available)

Please also note, that as a result of the final draft of the Executive Report section 1.0.5 (the recommendations of the report) of the council’s main statement (HS/P5/M1/Q1.1/1) and also in questions 1.2 to 1.7 has been superseded with HS/P5/M1/Q1.1/1b.

29 February 2024

The hearing statements submitted in relation to the phase 5 are available to view and download from the Examination Library.

The council also submitted their response to the Written Ministerial Statement: Planning - Local Energy Efficiency Standards Update of 13 December 2023 (HS/P5/WMS/1 - CYC)

31 January 2024

The Inspectors have published their Matters, Issues and Questions (MIQs) for the phase 5 hearing (EX/INS/47) along with the Programme Officer’s covering letter (EX/INS/48). The deadline for receipt of hearing statements is 12.00pm on Wednesday 28 February 2024, which should be submitted electronically. The MIQs relate to Policy H5: Gypsies and Travellers and contain one question which relates to Policy H6: Travelling Showpeople.

The Inspectors’ email of the 20 December 2023 (EX/INS/45) also refers to the Written Ministerial Statement: Planning - Local Energy Efficiency Standards Update of 13 December 2023. The Inspectors are to deal with this matter by way of written representations. The council are to submit a statement in relation to this matter by the same deadline as the hearing statements.

23 January 2024

Notification is given that the phase 5 Hearing will commence at 10.00am on Wednesday 6 March 2024, at Booth Hall at the Citadel, Gillygate, York, YO31 7EA, and is expected to last for just 1 day (EX/CYC/129).

The Hearing relates to the Inspectors’ email sent to the council on 20 December 2023 (EX/INS/45) on Policy H5: Gypsies and Travellers.

Further details are provided in the letter to invited participants (all those who have previously made representations in relation to Policy H5) (EX/INS/46).

Information will be published in the examination library and on the examination webpage as it becomes available.

10 January 2024

O’Neill Associates, on behalf of York Colleges, wrote to the Inspectors (EX/OTH/40, EX/OTH/40a and EX/OTH/40b) seeking a response to their earlier submissions from October 2023. The Inspectors are still considering this matter and will issue a response when they are able to do so.

Also see

Strategic Planning Policy Team

West Offices, Station Rise, York, YO1 6GA

Telephone: 01904 552255