Draft Consultation and Engagement Strategy

Rutland Local Plan 2026 – 2046 Scoping Consultation (Regulation 20)

DATE: 10^th September to 14^th October 2026

This is the start of the plan making process. This consultation will be for 5 weeks. Regulation 20 of the Town and Country Planning (Local Planning) (England) Regulations 2026 requires a minimum consultation period of 30 days at this stage. We have allowed additional time to provide greater opportunity for participation whilst maintaining progress against the Local Plan timetable. We will ask for your views on the scope of the new local plan and how you want us to engage with you on it.

We will:

• Notify everyone on our existing e-mailing list and invite them to respond to the consultation. We will include all those parties we have identified as general consultation bodies (see Appendix 1) and specific consultation bodies (see Appendix 2)
• Publish a notice about the consultation on our website, at our Catmose offices and in libraries.
• Publish a press release on our website and social media
• Publish documents for consultation - the scoping report and a draft consultation and engagement strategy
• Publish background information documents
• Carry out one or more in person or online community engagement events.
• Engage specifically with Town and Parish Councils – we provisionally intend to do this via a scheduled Leicestershire and Rutland Association of Local Councils liaison meeting on 30^th September.
• Invite everyone to join our e-mailing list to be notified of future consultations and plan-making stages.

Publish and make available a self-assessment summary of our readiness to prepare a new local plan (Regulation 21(3)

DATE: 30^th October 2026

This is a required procedural step. We will set out what we have done to get ready to prepare a local plan and confirm that we are starting to prepare the local plan.

We will:

• Publish on our website a self-assessment summary of our readiness to start plan preparation
• Publish a press release about this stage on our website and social media.

There will be no other notifications about this.

Publish ‘Summary of Scoping Consultation’ (Regulation 22)

DATE: November 2026

We will publish a document that summarises the feedback we received in response to the Scoping Consultation, including the main issues raised and how we have considered that feedback so far.

We intend to publish a finalised version of this Consultation and Engagement Strategy alongside this.

We will:

• Publish the ‘summary of scoping consultation’ on our website The summary will also include details of who we consulted, and how.
• Make a copy of the summary available for inspection at our Catmose offices and local libraries during normal office hours.
• We may publish all the responses received to the consultation.
• We will notify everyone on our consultation database of the availability of this document.

Proposed local plan content and evidence consultation (Regulation 23)

DATE: April/May 2027

We will publish consultation documents that ask for your views on our early work to prepare the local plan. The documents will include at least the following:

• a revised draft vision and up to ten proposed measurable outcomes for the plan
• the proposed aims and objectives of the plan, and how the Council proposes to achieve the vision
• a proposed spatial strategy approach, and other alternatives that we have considered.
• the proposed approach to the amount, type, location and timetable for development in the county – this may include initial draft policies, including site allocations.
• a summary of the evidence we intend to gather and details of any evidence we have already gathered.

It may also include draft policies which relate to achieving objectives that relate to the particular character of the area, e.g. conservation areas, design, landscape character, local wildlife sites, Rutland Water.

We will:

• Notify everyone on our existing e-mailing list and invite them to respond to the consultation. We will include all those parties we have identified as general consultation bodies (see Appendix 1) and specific consultation bodies (see Appendix 2), any other appropriate residents and businesses of Rutland and anyone else who requested to be notified.
• Publish a notice about the consultation on our website, at our Catmose offices and in libraries.
• Publish a press release on our website and social media
• Publish documents for consultation – a Local Plan content document, the evidence we already have that we have relied on to get to this stage, and the further evidence we plan to collect to inform the proposed local plan.
• Carry out one or more in person or online engagement events for the public.
• Carry out one or more in person or online engagement events for specific interest groups, and/or for specific locations that could experience the greatest change or where there are difficult decisions to be made.

Publish summary of local plan content and evidence consultation (Regulation 24(3))

DATE: July 2027

We will publish a summary of the main issues raised in the consultation responses, together with an explanation of how we have considered that feedback so far.

We will:

• Publish the ‘summary of local plan and evidence consultation’ document on our website. The summary will also include details of who we consulted and how.
• Make a copy of the summary available for inspection at our Catmose offices and local libraries during normal office hours.
• We may publish all the responses received to the consultation.
• We will notify everyone on our consultation database of the availability of this document.
• Publish a press release on our website and social media.

Publish Gateway 2 observations and advice (Regulation 26)

DATE: September 2027

We must seek observations and advice on our emerging local plan from the Planning Inspectorate. This is known as Gateway 2 (see Figure 1.2).

The Planning Inspectorate will provide us with its observations and advice regarding what else we need to do to get the local plan ready for examination.

We will:

• Publish the observations and advice from the Planning Inspectorate on our website.
• Make a copy of the summary available for inspection at our Catmose offices and local libraries during normal office hours.
• Notify interested parties of the publication of the observations and advice and provide details of where the document can be viewed.
• Notify everyone on our consultation database and anyone else we think appropriate of the availability of this document.
• Issue a press release and publish it on our website and social media.

Proposed Local Plan Consultation (Regulation 27)

DATE: from February 2028

We will consult on the documents that we intend to submit to the Government for it to independently examine our proposed local plan.

We will make available and invite your representations on documents including:

• the proposed Rutland Local Plan 2026 – 2046
• the proposed map of the local plan policies (Policies Map); and
• the evidence that supports the proposed plan;
• a summary of who we have consulted, how we have undertaken the consultations, the main issues raised at each consultation stage and how the proposed local plan addresses them.

We will:

• Publish a public notice of the consultation on our website and make it available for inspection during normal office hours at our Catmose offices (or another suitable location in Oakham) and local libraries in the area.
• Issue a press release giving notice of the consultation and publish the notice on our website and social media.
• Make all the documents available on our website and for inspection during normal office hours at our Catmose offices (or another suitable location in Oakham) and local libraries in the area.
• Invite representations from everyone on our consultation database, including those who have specifically requested notification, and anyone else we think appropriate.
• Keep the consultation period open for at least 8 weeks.

Publish summary of consultation on the proposed local plan (Regulation 30)

DATE: in or before July 2028

This document will be a summary of who and how we consulted on the proposed local plan, the responses we received and an explanation of how we have considered that feedback.

We will:

• Publish the ‘summary of consultation on the proposed local plan’ on our website.
• Make a copy of the summary available for inspection at our Catmose offices (or another suitable location in Oakham)and local libraries during normal office hours.
• We may publish all the responses received to the consultation.
• We will notify everyone on our consultation database of the availability of this document.
• Publish a press release on our website and social media.

Seek observations and advice on whether our proposed local plan meets regulatory requirements (Regulation 31) - known as Gateway 3 (see Figure 1.2)

DATE: July 2028

We will do this once we are satisfied with our proposed local plan and how we have prepared it. This will include it being formally agreed at Cabinet or a meeting of full Council. The regulatory requirements cover what must be included in the plan, what cannot be included in the plan, things that we must consider, the process we have followed to prepare the plan and our readiness to proceed to examination.

The version of the local plan agreed by the Council at this stage will be the version it would like to adopt.

We will:

• Issue a press release indicating that the Council has agreed the version of the local plan that it wishes to adopt, and that it is submitting it to the Planning Inspectorate for observations and advice on whether our proposed local plan meets regulatory requirements
• Publish similar content to the press release on our website and social media.

Publish observations and advice received from the Planning Inspectorate regarding whether our proposed local plan meets regulatory requirements

DATE: September/October 2028

The observations and advice we receive will effectively determine whether our proposed local plan can progress straight away to examination or whether additional work is needed before it can do so.

This is the end of Gateway 3.

We will:

• Publish the observations and advice document on our website.
• Make a copy of the summary available for inspection at our Catmose offices (or another suitable location in Oakham) and local libraries during normal office hours.
• Notify interested parties of the publication of the observations and advice and provide details of where the document can be viewed.
• Notify everyone on our consultation database, as well as those that specifically requested to be notified and anyone else we think appropriate of the availability of this document.

• Issue a press release and publish it on our website and social media.

Provided a positive response is received that the proposed plan’s preparation and content meets the necessary requirements, we will also publish all the documents we are submitting for examination, and a Gateway 3 completion statement.

If it does not, there are further steps we must take. We will notify everyone as above if that is the case and set out the next steps they should expect.

Publish notice of submission of the local plan for examination

DATE: September/October 2028

We will:

• Notify everyone on our consultation database, as well as those that specifically requested to be notified and anyone else we think appropriate
• Publish the notice on our website, at our office and in the local libraries.
• Make the submission documents available for inspection on our website, at our office and at our local libraries.
• Issue a press release and publish it on our website and social media.

Note: the activities here may be combined with the ones associated with observations/advice immediately above.

Independent Public Examination

DATE: October 2028 – April 2029

We are required to notify interested people of the time, date and place of the hearings of the local plan at least 6 weeks in advance of the start of proceedings.

If you did not make representations on the local plan, you do not have the right to be heard at the hearings.

If you made a representation to the proposed local plan, you will be invited to participate in the examination. This could be providing a written submission and/or appearing at a public hearing if you request it. There may be further opportunities for anyone to comment, if modifications are necessary for the plan to be adopted.

Further details on what to expect at the examination stage are set out in the Planning Inspectorate’s latest Procedural guide for Examinations and Gateways under the Town and Country Planning (Local Planning) (England) Regulations 2026 - GOV.UK . This document is likely to be refined and updated before our plan is submitted for examination, so keep checking back for the latest information.

Publication of Inspector’s Letter (Regulation 37)

DATE: April 2028

The Council will receive a letter from the Planning Inspectorate setting out its recommendations and reasons regarding whether the local plan can be adopted.

We will:

• Publish the letter on our website.
• Make a copy of the letter available for inspection at our Catmose offices (or another suitable location in Oakham)and local libraries during normal office hours.
• Notify everyone on our consultation database, as well as those that specifically requested to be notified and anyone else we think appropriate of the publication and availability of this document.

• Issue a press release and publish it on our website and social media.

Adoption (Regulation 39)

DATE: May 2029

A full meeting of the Council will agree to adopt the Rutland Local Plan 2026 – 2046.

The plan can now be given full weight in making decisions on planning applications. It will have to be regularly monitored to ensure it is achieving its aims and will have to be reviewed at least every 5 years, or sooner, where necessary.

As soon as we can after the Council decision to adopt the local plan, we will:

• Make the adopted local plan available on our website and at our Catmose offices (or another suitable location in Oakham), and in paper form on request.
• Let everyone on our mail list know that the plan has been adopted, where it can be viewed, and the circumstances under which any aggrieved person can make an appeal to the High Court. The notification will also set the date when work on a new local plan must commence.