Draft Consultation and Engagement Strategy

Section 1: Introduction

Before responding

You may find it helpful to read the document in full before responding to the consultation questions below. Once you have finished reading, please return to this section and provide your comments. You do not need to answer every question and may provide as much or as little detail as you wish.

What is this document?

1.1This document is a draft consultation and engagement strategy for the preparation of a new local plan for Rutland. It sets out our initial thoughts on how and when we plan to consult and engage with you as we prepare the new local plan. It has been published as part of the scoping consultation for the new local plan. It will replace the plan making elements of the Council’s existing Statement of Community Involvement.

1.2Consultation and engagement on our new local plan will be a two-way process, so that you can help shape the future development of the county. This draft document sets out our initial ideas about how we intend to engage with communities and other stakeholders throughout the new local plan making process. It will help to make it clear to everybody what to expect from the outset.

1.3In the remainder of this document, you can find out about:

• the guiding principles we intend to use to inform how we decide how and when to engage with you (Section 2)
• when and how will we consult and engage with you? This section sets out the methods we intend to use to engage with you at each stage of plan preparation, including any provisions for engaging with specific groups of people and organisations (Section 3).
• who will we involve? sets out the general types of groups and organisations we plan to involve (Section 4).
• the organisations that we intend to consult at each stage (Appendix 1)

1.4We are inviting your comments on the content of this document. You can find out more about this at paragraph 1.12 to 1.18 below.

What is the new local plan and why should I get involved?

1.5The Council must prepare a new local plan under a new plan making system introduced by the Government earlier this year. Once finalised or adopted, it will be part of the development plan for the area. It will guide the use and development of land, except for minerals and waste matters. It will be used in making decisions on planning applications and will helps support inward investment, infrastructure and development funding decisions. Changes to land use, infrastructure and development can affect your local environment, how you get around and other aspects of your daily life, so it is important that you understand what is being proposed and take the opportunities to have your say during the plan preparation process.

1.6The new local plan is being prepared by Rutland County Council. However, the Council will not exist from 1^st April 2028. From that date, it will become part of a new larger unitary authority covering the whole of Rutland and a large part of the existing county of Leicestershire. Plan preparation will not stop when the new council begins its work. Indeed, the Council and other local authorities across the country are talking to the Government to make sure transitional arrangements are in place that require/enable the plan preparation and adoption to be completed by the successor authority.

1.7This new local plan is called the Rutland Local Plan 2026 – 2046, reflecting the geographical area and the time period it will cover. Once adopted, it will replace the Rutland Local Plan 2021 – 2041, which we expect to adopt later this year. Figure 1.1 provides an overview of the development plan documents for Rutland, their status and stage of preparation. Our website contains more information about our adopted local plan and the latest news about our submitted Local Plan (2021 to 2041).

1.8We may also prepare Supplementary Plans (SPs) to replace some of the existing Supplementary Planning Documents (SPDs), but we have not made any decision on this yet. SPDs provide guidance and information on the implementation of specific policies in the Local Plan. You can view our current adopted SPDs on our website

1.9There are also several made neighbourhood plans in place or in preparation across the county, but this consultation is not about them. You can find out more about Rutland’s neighbourhood plans on our website .

When can I get involved?

1.10The new local plan system has different consultation stages to what you might be familiar with from any involvement in the preparation of recent local plans. Figure 1.2 sets out the key stages of plan preparation under the new plan making system and when we expect them to take place. It indicates three stages where anyone can get involved in commenting on the emerging local plan and the issues it contains, and one stage (examination) where participation is limited to people who have submitted comments at the proposed local plan stage, or earlier stages.

1.11Since the emerging Rutland Local Plan was prepared, there have also been changes to the legal requirements around how we present information and data, and advances in the ease of digital engagement; we need to reflect both in this document.

Consultation questions

1.12This is a draft document. Before we finalise it, we want to know what you think of it, and how you would like us to engage with you.

1.13Once you have read the remainder of this document, there are some questions we would like you to consider. These are set out below. You don’t have to answer them all, and you can provide as much or as little detail as you like. If there are things that you think are missing or need improving, it will be very useful to us if you can suggest exactly how we could address them. Please bear in mind our tight timetable for completing the new local plan and our limited staff resources.

How to respond to this consultation

1.14You can respond to this consultation online via the Council’s consultation portal.

1.15The Council’s consultation portal (OPUS) is the primary platform for accessing consultation documents, supporting information and submitting comments. Public access to the portal is also available through computers at Rutland’s Libraries listed in the section below. Assistance may also be available for those who need help accessing consultation materials online at the libraries.

1.16If you are unable to respond in this way, you may reply in one of the following ways:

• Online, by e-mailing localplan@rutland.gov.uk or by writing to the Planning Policy team at Rutland County Council

1.17If none of the above work for you, please telephone us (01572 722577) to discuss how you can comment.

1.18Note that responses that do not come via the online consultation portal will have to be transposed into that system to be analysed and responded to. This process is more time-consuming and increases the potential for human error.

1.19Note also that you will be asked to declare and identify if you have used AI to generate all or parts of your submission. We are asking this to help us target our limited fact checking resources.

Availability of documents in other formats

1.20During the consultation and for a period afterwards, a hard copy of this document will be available to view at each of the following locations, during normal opening hours:

• Council Offices, Catmose, Oakham, Rutland LE15 6HP
• Oakham Library, Catmos Street, Oakham, Rutland, LE15 6HW,
• Uppingham Library, Queen Street, Uppingham, Rutland, LE15 9QR
• Ketton Library, High Street, Ketton, Rutland, PE9 3TE
• Ryhall Library, Coppice Road, Ryhall, Rutland, PE9 4HY

1.21You can find out the Council Office opening hours (customer services) on our 'Contact us' webpage and the library opening hours here.

1.22If you require this document in another format, please telephone us (01572 722577) or email us localplan@rutland.gov.uk to discuss your requirements.

Join our local plan mailing list

1.23If you would like to be kept informed of the local plan progress and the opportunities to have your say, you can add yourself to the mailing list by registering to create an account on the OPUS consultation system. Use the link and click ‘register’ in the top right hand corner of the screen. When you are asked which topics you are interested in, make sure that you tick the ‘Local Plan’ box. Being registered on the system will allow you to submit responses to this and future consultations on the local plan.

1.24The Council’s Privacy notice sets out how we will look after your personal data. If you ever forget your password, you can request a password reset.

What will happen next?

1.25We will consider all the comments received before we finalise the strategy. We intend to publish this finalised strategy on 30^th November 2026, alongside our summary of the scoping consultation, and a report detailing who we consulted, the issues raised and how we have considered them. We will need to be mindful of our limited financial and staff resources to prepare the new local plan and the tight timetable the Government has set for us to do so. This means we may not be able to respond as positively as we would like to all your suggestions for additional community engagement.

1.26If you sign up to our mailing list, you will be notified when the documents mentioned above are published.

1.27You can also keep up to date with the latest news about our progress on the new local plan by visiting our "Preparation of a new Local Plan (2026 to 2046)" webpage.