What are the Tests of Soundness?
The Tests of Soundess are what a Planning Inspector uses to determine whether a Development Plan Document (DPD) is 'sound' (viable). These tests are set out in the government's national Planning Policy Statement 12: Local Spatial Planning.
In order for Wokingham Borough’s Core Strategy to be found ‘sound’ - valid - it must be:
Justified
- This means that the Core Strategy should have a robust and credible evidence base which has included participation from the local community and stakeholders and be well supported by factual evidence
- The Core Strategy should also prove to be the most appropriate strategy for the Wokingham Borough when considered against reasonable alternatives - any alternatives should be subject to a sustainability appraisal
- The Core Strategy should also show how the policies and proposals help to ensure that the social, environmental, economic and resource use objectives of sustainable development will be achieved.
Effective
This means a DPD should have:
- Sound Infrastructure delivery planning
- No regulatory or national planning barriers to delivery
- Delivery partners who have signed up to it
- Coherence with strategies of neighbouring authorities
- Flexibility and the ability to be monitored
- The ability to deal with changing circumstances
- Make it clear that any changes may require a formal review including public consultation.
Consistent with National Policy
A DPD should be consistent with national policy, and where it is not, Wokingham Borough Council must have given clear and convincing reasons for not doing this. If you believe the policy / paragraph / proposals map is inconsistent with national policy without justification, you need to consider:
- Is the issue you are concerned about covered by any other policy in the Core Strategy, or in any other of the documents in the Wokingham Borough Local Development Framework?
- If the policy is not covered elsewhere in the Local Development Framework, in what way is the Core Strategy unsound without this policy?
- If the Core Strategy is unsound without the policy, what should the policy say?
Conversely you may feel Wokingham Borough Council should include a policy that goes against a national or regional policy in order to best meet a clearly identified local need. If this is the case you will need to say in your representation what local circumstances justify a different policy approach to that included in national or regional policy.
