Stockton opens first public stage of new Local Plan

Stockton-on-Tees residents, community groups and businesses have until 11.59pm on Friday 4 December to influence the starting point for a new borough-wide Local Plan.

The council opened its scoping consultation on 23 October. At this early stage, it is asking what priorities the plan should address, which challenges and opportunities matter most, how people want to be involved, and which strategic issues should shape the borough’s future.

What the new plan will cover

A Local Plan is the framework used to guide decisions about land and development. Stockton’s emerging plan is intended to replace the plan adopted in 2019 and will apply across the council’s administrative area. The council says it will address housing, economic growth, infrastructure and environmental matters, as well as the broader use of land.

This is not a consultation on a finished set of policies or a list of approved building projects. The main questionnaire begins by asking whether a respondent is a local resident or is replying for a business, landowner, public body, elected representative or group. Its purpose is to gather evidence and establish how the later plan-making process should work.

Three linked ways to contribute

Alongside the general scoping exercise, the council has opened a call for sites. Land can be suggested for housing, industry, shops and offices, mixed-use development, health and education facilities, cultural and sports uses, renewable energy, or green infrastructure such as biodiversity improvements.

Suggested sites must be at least 0.25 hectares, be capable of delivering more than five homes, or provide at least 500 square metres of commercial floorspace. The council is clear that submitting land does not mean a development will be supported, a planning application will be approved or the site will appear in the final plan. The exercise is designed to help officers assess what land may be available.

A separate Strategic Environmental Assessment scoping consultation has also opened. The council has decided that an assessment is required and is seeking comments on its proposed scope. This work is intended to bring environmental considerations into the plan from the outset. Minerals and waste are outside this Local Plan because the authority is exploring a joint plan with neighbouring councils for those subjects.

A long process, not a decision

The timetable shows how early the work remains. After the scoping stage, the council expects to publish a first gateway self-assessment in March 2027. Consultation on proposed content and evidence is pencilled in for September and October 2027, followed by a proposed-plan consultation in late 2028. Submission for independent examination is scheduled for March 2029 and adoption for October 2029, although those dates may change as the work develops.

That distance matters. Responses submitted now can help identify subjects that need evidence or attention, but they will not settle where homes, employment space or infrastructure will go. Any later site allocation would need to pass through further plan preparation, consultation and examination.

How to respond

The Local Plan scoping consultation, call for sites and environmental assessment consultation all close at 11.59pm on 4 December 2026. They can be completed through Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council’s Citizen Space website. The planning policy team can also be contacted at planningpolicy@stockton.gov.uk or on 01642 524815 for the main consultation and call for sites.