Frequently Asked Questions

The Vale of Glamorgan Council is preparing a Replacement Local Development Plan (RLDP). The RLDP will cover the period 2021–2036 and will replace the adopted LDP 2011–2026. The RLDP will set out where and how new development will take place in the Vale up to 2036. It will include site allocations for different land uses, such as housing and employment, and policies to help tackle the declared climate and nature emergencies, safeguard the environment, and secure high-quality design. When adopted by the Council, the RLDP will be used as a basis for determining planning applications. The RLDP is being prepared in accordance with a revised delivery agreement: Delivery Agreement 2026

The RLDP is prepared by the Local Planning Authority. There are a number of steps to preparing the Plan and different stages of consultation and involving people in its preparation. Before starting work on the RLDP, we produced a Delivery Agreement which sets out the RLDP’s timetable and when and how people could get involved. During the preparation of the RLDP, we will build an evidence base to inform and support the Plan.

The existing LDP was adopted in 2017 and covers a 15-year timeframe up to 2026. The adopted LDP will cease to have effect at the end of 2026 and therefore it is essential this is replaced to safeguard against unacceptable development. The RLDP will provide a development plan, and the certainty this provides to communities and developers for the period up to 2036.

A public consultation was undertaken between December 2023 and February 2024 on the Preferred Strategy for the RLDP, before it was agreed by full Council in September 2024 to form the basis of the Deposit RLDP.  Following this, a non-statutory consultation was held between June and July 2025, to consult on new sites in Barry to replace a key site from the Preferred Strategy which could no longer be taken forward due to deliverability concerns. These sites were approved by Full Council in December 2025 for inclusion in the Deposit Plan. 

The RLDP is now at Deposit Plan stage. The Deposit Plan is the second statutory public consultation stage in the RLDP preparation process. We are consulting publicly on the Deposit Plan from the 28^th January 2026 to 11^th March 2026.  

The Deposit Plan is the next formal stage in the development plan preparation process. It expands on the Preferred Strategy, which we asked for your views on between December 2023 and February 2024. The Deposit Plan details the overall Strategy, development policies, areas to be protected, and specific land allocations for development (including new housing, employment) over the 15-year period.  It has been informed by an extensive evidence base, including a series of background papers and supporting reports, as well as an Integrated Sustainability Appraisal (ISA).

The Deposit Plan makes provision for 8,660 new homes over a 15 year period, to meet a requirement of 7,890 new homes or 526 per year.  Of these new homes, at least 3,070 affordable homes are to be delivered. The plan also allocates 182 hectares of employment land to enable the delivery of 5,338 new jobs. 

No, the Deposit Plan is not the final RLDP. The Deposit Plan is the full, draft version of the RLDP covering the Vale of Glamorgan during the period 2021-2036. More steps are needed before the Deposit Plan can be adopted by the Council, including submission to Welsh Government and independent examination. More information on the next steps after the Deposit Plan consultation can be found under the ‘What happens after the consultation?’ Question. 

Sites cannot be formally allocated until the final version of the RLDP is adopted by Council. The Deposit Plan does, however, propose to allocate 5 new key housing sites to be allocated in the RLDP totalling 2,278 units, as well as 9 other housing allocations totalling 1,120 units, 4 rural affordable housing-led sites (sites where at least 50% of new homes are to be affordable) totalling 122 units, and 1 housing led redevelopment opportunity. It also identifies 5 major land bank sites (sites that already have planning permission, or where there is a resolution to grant planning permission subject to the signing of a Section 106 agreement) totalling 1,124 units,

The Deposit Plan also identifies land for major and local employment, which are set out under Policy SP14.  Land identified for employment regeneration opportunities are set out under Policy EMP1. 

Sites proposed to be allocated for development can be found in the interactive map: https://valeofglamorgan.oc2.uk/ 

If you wish to comment on the consultation documents, please complete the relevant representation forms. The Council encourages comments to be submitted electronically via its online consultation portal at https://valeofglamorgan.oc2.uk/, however comment forms submitted via post or email will also be accepted. Comment forms can be downloaded from the Council’s website or are available at the above locations. Completed forms can be emailed to ldp@valeofglamorgan.gov.uk or posted to Planning Policy, Vale of Glamorgan Council, Civic Offices, Holton Road, Barry, Vale of Glamorgan, CF63 4RU.

All representations must be received by 23:55 on Wednesday 11th March 2026. Any representations received after this time will not be considered. Representations that are duly made and submitted within the specified consultation period will be acknowledged and reported in the appropriate manner to Council for its consideration.

The documents you are invited to comment on are: 

• Deposit Plan Consultation Document 
• Integrated Sustainability Appraisal 
• Habitats Regulations Assessment
• Healthy Placemaking Supplementary Planning Guidance (SPG)
• Green Infrastructure Strategy 

Several supporting documents have also been published to support the consultation and outline the evidence that the Council has considered when preparing the Deposit Plan. 

The consultation will be live for 6 weeks from the 28^th January 2026 to the 11^th March 2026.

The Deposit LDP and all relevant background documents are available to view on the Council’s consultation portal (https://valeofglamorgan.oc2.uk/) and at the following Deposit locations during normal opening hours: 

• Civic Offices, Holton Road, Barry, CF63 4RU 
• All Council-run libraries

An easy read document has been prepared, which provides a shorter and simpler version of the main Deposit Plan consultation document. The Council will also be holding a series of in-person engagement sessions where information on the Deposit Plan and how to make comments will be available. These sessions will be held during February 2026. Information on the date, time and location of these sessions is available on the council’s web page at: https://www.valeofglamorgan.gov.uk/ldp 

To show that the consultation was carried out properly, the Council intends to publish the responses to this consultation. The name of the person or organisation who sent the response will be published with the response. As such, we cannot accept anonymous comments.

Information will be held and published in accordance with the Council’s privacy policy: Vale of Glamorgan Council / Cyngor Bro Morgannwg - Privacy 

The comments received will be considered as formal representations to the Deposit Plan (or other documents under consultation), informing the content of the plan to be submitted to Welsh Government for examination. The Council will consider and analyse the comments made and will publish responses to these where appropriate. It is important to note that comments received cannot be treated as confidential and will therefore be made available for public inspection.

Once the consultation closes the Council will carefully consider the responses we receive. A report of consultation will be prepared, which will set out who was consulted, the main issues raised and how these comments will influence the next stage of plan preparation. The report of consultation will be considered by full Council later in 2026. Following this, the Plan needs to be submitted to Welsh Government who will arrange for an independent Planning Inspector to be appointed to conduct an examination in public.  

Following the examination, the Inspector will issue a report recommending required changes to the RLDP. If the Inspector considers the Plan is fundamentally unsound it will not be recommended for adoption. The conclusions reached by the Inspector will be binding and, unless the Welsh Government intervenes, the Council will be in position to accept the changes and adopt the RLDP as amended. Once adopted, the Replacement LDP will replace the existing LDP which was adopted in 2017 and will become the framework against which decisions on planning applications are made.