Policy Background Documents



Evidence Base

Viabili​ty Assessment

Halton Topic Briefing Papers

National Policy and Guidance

Housing and Housing Needs

Economy, Employment and Employment Land

Retail and Town Centres

Green Belt

The Examination into the Core Strategy Local Plan in 2012 concluded that the Borough must commit to undertaking a review of the Green Belt around Widnes and Hale. The Council undertook and consulted on a full review in 2017

Other Evidence Base documents

Other Plans and Strategies

Other Masterplans



Infrastructure Plan

Community Infrastructure Plan (CIL) / Infrastructure Development Plan (IDP)

Halton's Planning Policy Framework is the collective name for the collection of planning documents that are currently being produced by the Council and which will eventually replace Halton's Unitary Development Plan (UDP). Halton's planning policy documents consists of Local Plans and Supplementary Planning Documents (SPDs) in addition to a number of process documents, including the Statement of Community Involvement and Annual Monitoring Reports (AMRs). The Core Strategy Local Plan is the central planning policy document for Halton and sets out the Borough's overarching strategy for future development.

Current Consultation: Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL)

The Council is considering the introduction of the Community Infrastructure Levy. A ‘scoping’ consultation was undertaken in 2016 however additional work has been undertaken prior to the completion of a Viability Study. This Whole Plan Viability Study has recently been completed. A revised LDS (Local Plan timetable) will be considered by the Council later in the year and will set out the timetable for any further work on CIL.

Infrastructure Plan

Infrastructure Plan is intended to identify the main items of additional infrastructure needed to support the level of new development envisaged within the Borough. It is intended to identify when the infrastructure will be needed, who is responsible for its provision and how it will be funded. The latest review was undertaken in June 2019

Consultation Standards (Statement of Community Involvement)

The Statement of Community Involvement (SCI) sets out how and when the Council will consult on town planning matters. The latest revision to the SCI was adopted on the 11th April 2019.

Local Plan Timetable(Local Development Scheme)

Government requires that Councils publish and monitor the timetable for the Local Planning Documents they intend to prepare in a document known as the Local Development Scheme or LDS. Halton's Executive Board approved a revision to Halton's LDS with effect from 22 June 2017. The Council are currently working on two Local Plan Documents:
1. Delivery and Allocations Local Plan
2. Community Infrastructure Levy
The timetable for the production of these documents has slipped and an updated LDS will be presented to Committee for formal approval later in the year. In the meantime, the AMR-LDS sheet sets out the latest anticipated timetable.

The Council will be a partner to the Liverpool City Region Single Statutory (Strategic Spatial) Framework


Flood Risk Management

The Council has a number of policy and strategies covering flood risk management

Environment Agency Documents: