Wiltshire Draft Local Plan withdrawn: implications for developers and landowners

22 May 2026

In March 2026, following Public Hearings held in late 2025, Wiltshire Council received the news it had hoped to avoid: a letter from the Local Plan Inspectors identifying “significant soundness concerns” with its Draft Local Plan 2020-2038.

Prepared between 2017 and 2024, the Draft Local Plan sought to deliver 37,000 homes and 160 hectares of employment land over the lifetime of the Plan. However, given the lengthy preparation and Examination process, only 12 years would have remained to secure delivery.

In their letter to the Council, the Inspectors concluded that there was significant uncertainty over delivery of the Draft Local Plan, finding that the site selection process lacked robustness and failed to demonstrate the deliverability and timing of the proposed housing allocations within the remaining Plan period.

The Inspectors also noted that attempting to remedy these shortcomings (through a further “call for sites”, additional public consultation, and renewed hearing sessions following publication of a revised Draft Plan) would likely have extended the Examination process until 2028.

As the Draft Plan was first submitted for Examination in 2024, such a delay would have conflicted directly with the Government’s new streamlined Local Plan procedures introduced in 2025.

The Council therefore faced a stark choice: withdraw the Plan from Examination, or request that the Inspectors issue their Final Report formally recommending non-adoption, incurring an additional £20k cost associated with that process. Council documentation indicates that nearly £2.2m – not including staff time – had been spent to March 2026 in progressing the Draft Local Plan to this stage.

Wiltshire Council’s Cabinet voted on 6 May 2026 to recommend to Full Council that the Draft Local Plan be withdrawn from independent Examination and that a new Local Plan be prepared.

Full Council voted to agree the Cabinet recommendation on 19 May 2026. With the Local Plan Review formally withdrawn, Wiltshire will now start a brand new 30-month process to prepare a replacement Local Plan under the Government’s revised and expedited plan-making system.

What does this mean for developers?

For landowners and developers operating in the area, withdrawal of the Wiltshire Draft Local Plan creates uncertainty as well as opportunity.

Wiltshire Council must now start preparing a new Local Plan under the Government’s revised 30-month plan-making process. Until it’s finalised, the absence of an adopted up-to-date Local Plan is likely to increase pressure on the Council’s housing land supply position and put greater weight on national planning policy when determining planning applications.

This could create opportunities for developers able to bring forward sustainable and deliverable sites, particularly where proposals can help address housing need in the short to medium term. Equally, though, uncertainty over future site allocations, infrastructure provision and Wiltshire’s long-term spatial strategy is likely to continue until a replacement Local Plan progresses through Examination and adoption.

For landowners and site promoters whose land was omitted from the withdrawn Draft Local Plan, the new plan-making process is likely to reopen opportunities to promote sites through a fresh “call for sites” exercise and revised site assessment process.

How can we help?

Our team has the planning expertise, experience and strategic insight to help landowners and developers navigate Wiltshire’s changing planning landscape. We can provide robust planning assessments, strategies, development advice and guidance to help clients maximise opportunities for residential and mixed-use development while the Council prepares its new Local Plan. Given the uncertainty around future site allocations and housing land supply, now is a key time to promote sustainable and deliverable sites. Get in touch to find out how we can help.

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