Development Plan for County Durham

The development plan for County Durham is made up of a number of documents. This includes the County Durham Plan and the County Durham Minerals and Waste Policies and Allocations Document,, together with Neighbourhood Plans, which have subsequently been 'made' (or adopted) for certain areas which sit alongside the County Durham Plan policies.

• County Durham Plan (PDF, 10 MB)
• County Durham Minerals and Waste Policies and Allocations Document (adopted July 2024)
• County Durham Local Plan map
• Neighbourhood Plans

Local Development Scheme 2025

In light of the changes to the National Planning Policy Framework, the Deputy Prime Minister has asked that local planning authorities produce an updated Local Development Scheme (LDS).

The LDS is a project plan outlining the arrangements for producing a local plan and any other associated documents. The LDS must be publicly available and kept up to date.

This LDS outlines our intention to produce a new Local Plan for the county under the government's new plan making system, it will therefore replace previous iterations of the LDS.

County Durham Local Development Scheme - March 2025 (PDF, 147 KB)

National planning guidance

National planning guidance can also inform decisions on planning proposals. The most recent national planning guidelines are:

• National Planning Policy Framework (2019)
• Planning Practice Guidance
• National Planning Policy for Waste (2014)