Calls for Candidate Sites
As part of the replacement plan preparation process, the Council invited land-owners, developers and the public to put forward ‘candidate sites’ to be considered for development, redevelopment or protection in the Monmouthshire Replacement Local Development Plan (RLDP).
A Candidate Site is a piece of land submitted to the Council by an interested party ( e.g a development or landowner) for the Council to consider the land for a certain purpose. A Candidate Site submission can be for development/redevelopment or protection. A Candidate Site has no status and is not a planning application.
Stage 1 of this process involved an Initial Call for Candidate Sites for a 16-week period from the 30th July 2018 to 19th November 2018.
The Second Call for Candidate Sites took place alongside the consultation on the Replacement Local Development Plan (RLDP) Preferred Strategy from the 5th July 2021 to 31st August 2021. The purpose of this was to allow the submission of new candidate sites considered to be in conformity with the Preferred Strategy, and the submission of additional supporting information for those sites submitted during the Initial Call for Sites that accord with the Preferred Strategy and satisfied the high-level assessment.
Candidate Site Register
All sites submitted during the Second Call for Candidate Sites have been published in a Candidate Sites Register which updates and replaces the register published following the Initial Call for Candidate Sites. Sites that were not resubmitted following the Initial Call for Candidate Sites are not included in the updated Register.
Overarching Maps for the Second Call for Candidate Sites 5th July 2021 – 31st August 2021 have been produced to show the range of sites across settlements/areas
As part of the Preferred Strategy consultation, we invited comments on the candidate sites listed in the Candidate Sites Register for an eight week period between 5th December 2022 to 30th January 2023.
Candidate Site Assessment
In accordance with the Candidate Site Assessment Methodology (updated July 2023) the candidate sites listed have been subject to a high-level assessment (updated July 2023) which has identified those sites that will and will not progress to the next stage of the candidate sites assessment process. These documents should be read alongside the Candidate Sites Register.
The Candidate Sites Register and Overarching Maps (updated July 2023) have been updated to filter out the sites that will not progress to the next stage (3a) of the Candidate Site Process.
The Register has also been updated (July 2023) to reflect the change in approach to the phosphate challenge in the Upper Wye Catchment following the recent Preferred Strategy consultation. In accordance with Welsh Government’s response to the Preferred Strategy, there is now sufficient confidence of a solution to the phosphate constraint to allocate sites in Monmouth. As a result, Candidate Sites in this area are no longer filtered out of the candidate sites process and are being reconsidered and assessed to inform the allocation of a site(s) in Monmouth to provide approximately 250-300 homes.
The updated Candidate Sites Register also includes an additional site at Land East of Abergavenny 2 (CS0293) that was submitted as part of the Preferred Strategy consultation.
There will be an opportunity to comment on these sites at the Deposit Plan stage in Spring 2024. We are not able to accept comments until this time.
It is important to note that the submission of a candidate site and its inclusion in the Register should not be interpreted as a commitment that such sites will be taken forward into the Deposit RLDP. Not all Candidate Sites submitted for development will be needed to meet our future growth requirement.
Next steps
Feedback from the Candidate Site Register consultation is anticipated to be reported to Council in Autumn 2023.
The Candidate Sites that have not yet been filtered out in the Register will progress to the next stages (3A/3B) of the Candidate Site Assessment.
Following conclusion of the Candidate Sites Assessment the Council will have a list of viable, deliverable, sustainable sites for further consultation in the Deposit RLDP anticipated in Spring 2024.
Candidate Site Advice Service
We are offering a discretionary Candidate Advice Service for potential sites that could be considered for inclusion in the RLDP. This service will recommence on Monday 5th December 2022. Further details of this service are available here.
Guidance notes were made available to support the preparation of candidate site submissions during the Second Call for Candidate Sites.