NPPF PM6: General principles for plan-making

PM6: General principles for plan-making 1. All plan-makers should, in preparing plans: a. Only address matters, and include policies, that are necessary and relevant to the plan being prepared, and that avoid unnecessary duplication of other parts of the development plan; b. Only include policies that extend beyond site or location-specific requirements where these are necessary and where plan-makers consider there is a clear and justified reason for inclusion; c. Not include policies which duplicate, substantively restate or are inconsistent with the content of national decision-making policies, unless directed by other policies in this Framework; d. Engage positively with communities and other key stakeholders, at appropriate points during their preparation and using a range of methods, so that relevant issues are identified and addressed as early as possible during the plan-making process; To ensure the process of including relevant policies from supplementary plans in the next local plan (or minerals and waste plan) is effective, local authorities should, when preparing supplementary plans, have regard to the requirements and expectations set out for the local plans and minerals and waste plans preparation process. 11 e. Use environmental assessment to inform the preparation of plans, where legally required13; f. Make use of relevant online tools, methods, and templates published by the Secretary of State, and consider the use of other digital planning software and resources as appropriate to the type of plan being prepared14; and g. Publish plans in a searchable digital format (e.g. as a text-based webpage), which complies with defined data standards (where applicable), to ensure plans are easily navigable and accessible to different users.