The Local Plan Review (LPR)

The Government requires every Local Plan to be reviewed at least once every five years. Our current Local Plan sets out our planning policies up to 2026, and we have undertaken a review of our Local Plan to cover the period up to 2039. The review is termed the 'Local Plan Review'.

Regularly reviewing the Local Plan ensures that it continues to look to the future and is able to meet the current and emerging needs of the district. It means that new opportunities and challenges can be addressed - such as the climate emergency and the changes to how we live and work as a result of the Coronavirus pandemic.

Click here to watch our video about the West Berkshire Local Plan Review.

Current progress

The West Berkshire Local Plan Review 2022-2039 (LPR) was submitted to the Secretary of State on 31 March 2023. You can access the submission documents here.

It was independently examined by a Planning Inspector, William Fieldhouse BA (Hons) MA MRTPI, who was appointed by the Secretary of State. The Inspector's role was to assess whether the LPR has been prepared in accordance with the Duty to Cooperate, legal and procedural requirements, and whether it is sound (positively prepared, justified, effective and consistent with national policy).

The council received the Inspector's Report into the Examination of the LPR on 8 April 2025. The Report sets out the Inspector's recommendations and the reasons for them. It concludes that with the recommended Main Modifications set out in the Appendix to the Report, the LPR is sound, legally compliant and capable of adoption.

The Inspector's Report and the Appendix to the Report are available to download below:

They are also available to view at the council's offices in Market Street, Newbury during normal opening hours.

The council will now hold a special Full Council meeting to consider the contents of the Inspector's Report and decide whether to adopt the LPR as part of the Development Plan for West Berkshire. The meeting will take place at 7pm on Tuesday 10 June 2025. Further details about the meeting can be found online here. The meeting will be open to the public and is available to stream on West Berkshire Council's You Tube channel.

The Planning Inspectorate would like your feedback about the examination. If you were involved in the examination because you made comments in writing and/or you took part in a hearing session, then they would be very pleased if you could fill in this short survey here. Any comments you make will be confidential.

Supporting evidence

The LPR must be supported by a robust evidence base. A number of studies and assessments were undertaken and information has been collected to inform the plan. You can find the studies and assessments prepared to date here.

Previous consultations

We have undertaken several consultations which fed into the preparation of the LPR. You can find details of the consultations here.

Frequently asked questions

We have prepared answers to the most frequently asked questions to assist with the understanding of the LPR. You can view the frequently asked questions here.

Facebook Live

On Monday 8 March 2021 we held a Facebook Live on the LPR. The video can be viewed below and you can read the questions we received prior and during the Facebook Live here.

On 29 November 2021, a response from the Acting Chief Executive to a letter from a member of the public regarding the proposed Local Plan Review allocation at North East Thatcham was published. You can view the response here [921KB] .