Sutton Local Plan 2018

Sutton's Local Plan 2016-31 was adopted by the Council as a development plan document (DPD) on 26 February 2018. The Local Plan sets out the Council's strategic objectives, planning policies and proposals for the future development and growth of the Borough over a period of 10-15 years and is accompanied by the Local Plan Appendix DPD and Online Policies Map.

Sutton Local Plan Adoption Statement

Sustainability Appraisal

Interim Guidance Note on Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) 2025

The Council introduced an Interim Guidance Note on Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) in April 2025. This sets out the London Borough of Sutton's approach to applying the national mandate for BNG introduced by the Government in February 2024, which requires all qualifying developments to deliver at least a 10% uplift in biodiversity value over 30 years either through onsite biodiversity gains, registered offsite biodiversity gains or through Statutory Credits. The Interim Guidance Note will apply until such time as Sutton's new Local Plan is adopted in around late 2026.

Local Plan Technical Guidance Note 2018

The Council introduced a Technical Guidance Note in June 2018 entitled 'Building a Sustainable Future', containing guidance on carbon offsetting (Local Plan Policy 31); biodiversity accounting (Local Plan Policy 36) and the Green Space Factor (GSF) (Local Plan Policy 33). However it should be noted that while the GSF guidance remains current as of May 2025, the carbon offsetting and the biodiversity accounting guidance have now been superseded by the Greater London Authority's Carbon Offset Fund Guidance 2022 and the Council's Interim Guidance Note on Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) introduced in April 2025 (see above).

South London Waste Plan DPD

The joint South London Waste Plan DPD covers the London Boroughs of Sutton, Croydon, Kingston and Merton. It includes policies for deciding planning applications for waste facilities and safeguards existing sites. The South London Waste Plan was adopted in 2022.

Hackbridge and Beddington Corner Neighbourhood Planning

A referendum relating to the Hackbridge and Beddington Corner Neighbourhood Plan was held on 29th November 2018. The number of votes cast in favour of YES was 626 (89.4%). The council is now required to “make” (or "adopt") the Hackbridge and Beddington Neighbourhood Plan within 8 weeks of the Referendum decision in accordance with the regulations. However, it should be noted that the neighbourhood plan carries full weight in planning decisions as soon as it is approved at a referendum.

Statement of Community Involvement

Sutton's Statement of Community Involvement sets out how the council will engage with the community when preparing planning policies and making planning decisions. The Statement of Community Involvement was adopted in 2024.

Local Development Scheme

Sutton’s Local Development Scheme sets out the council’s programme for new and replacement planning documents between 2024 and 2026.

Local Plan Examination Information: