Emerging Brent Local Plan

Brent Council published its notice of intention to commence preparation of the new Local Plan on 30 June 2026. The notice was published under regulation 19 of the Town and Country Planning (Local Planning) (England) Regulations 2026.

The council subsequently published an updated Local Plan timetable taking effect from 2 September 2026. The timetable establishes the following principal milestones:

• Gateway 1 and commencement of the 30-month process in October 2026;
• content and evidence consultation in July 2027;
• Gateway 2 in autumn 2027;
• draft Plan consultation in May 2028;
• publish Gateway 3 assessment in autumn 2028;
• submission for examination in November 2028;
• examination and any necessary modifications; and
• adoption in April 2029.

The timetable identifies the geographical area to which the plan will apply and the principal matters that the Local Plan is expected to address. No separate Supplementary Plans are currently proposed, although this position will be reviewed in light of the scoping consultation and emerging evidence.

The timetable will be monitored throughout plan preparation. The council will update the published timetable where milestones are achieved or where changes are necessary. Updated timetable information will be made available through the Emerging Brent Local Plan webpage and the accompanying open-data file.

The council has established project-management arrangements for preparing the new Local Plan within the statutory 30-month period.

On the 8 September 2025 Cabinet approved additional budget for the Local Plan to be used for the processes to support delivery of a review of the development plan documents. Cabinet also delegated authority to the Corporate Director Neighbourhoods and Regeneration in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Regeneration, Planning and Property to approve Development Plan consultation material to be issued in the stages prior to any final draft plan proposed to be submitted for examination.

Preparation of the plan is being led by Brent Council’s Planning Policy Team. A project programme coordinates the preparation of evidence, engagement, environmental assessment, policy development, member decision-making and statutory gateway requirements.

The project-management arrangements identify:

• the scope and intended content of the new Local Plan;
• the statutory timetable and principal project milestones;
• the evidence needed to support the plan;
• responsibilities for individual workstreams;
• consultation and engagement requirements;
• decision-making and reporting arrangements;
• links with the council’s corporate priorities and other strategies;
• budget and procurement requirements;
• dependencies on external organisations and infrastructure providers; and
• programme risks and proposed mitigation.

The council will keep the project programme, evidence requirements, resources and risks under review throughout the process.

Preparation of the plan will be overseen through the council’s established officer and member governance arrangements. Key stages of the plan will be referred to the appropriate member decision-making body in accordance with the council’s constitution and agreed delegations.

A small cross-party Member working group has also been formed as a sounding board and to assist in strategic direction of the Local Plan.

The council will also continue engagement with the Greater London Authority, adjoining planning authorities, the Old Oak and Park Royal Development Corporation, statutory bodies and infrastructure providers. This work will help identify and address strategic and cross-boundary matters at an early stage.

In accordance with the published timetable, Brent Council undertook a Local Plan scoping consultation from 2 September to 30 September 2026. This followed publication of the council’s notice of intention to commence plan preparation on 30 June 2026, providing more than four months’ notice before the planned commencement of the 30-month process.

The scoping consultation was the first formal opportunity for residents, businesses, community organisations and other stakeholders to help shape the new Local Plan. It sought views on:

• what the Local Plan should contain;
• how people should be involved during plan preparation;
• priorities for Brent’s future;
• the principal challenges facing the borough; and
• whether the council’s emerging picture of Brent accurately reflected local experiences.

The consultation was supported by a background and context document covering Brent’s population, demographics, housing, commercial and industrial land, retail and leisure, climate change, character, heritage, town centres, transport, nature and green space. The document deliberately did not put forward preferred policy or development proposals, as those will be informed by consultation responses and further evidence.

The council will publish a summary of the main issues raised through the scoping consultation. These findings will inform:

• the content and priorities of the new Local Plan;
• the consultation and engagement approach;
• the evidence programme;
• the reasonable alternatives considered through environmental assessment; and
• the content and evidence consultation programmed for 2027.

Future engagement will use a combination of digital and face-to-face methods. The council will seek to involve people and organisations from across Brent, including groups that may be less likely to participate through conventional planning consultation methods.

The council will work with residents, community organisations, businesses, landowners, developers, schools and colleges, faith organisations, representative groups, infrastructure providers, statutory bodies and adjoining planning authorities.

After each formal consultation, the council will publish information explaining the main issues raised and how those issues have influenced the plan.

The new Local Plan will establish a spatial strategy for Brent and provide the planning framework for managing development over the plan period.

The published timetable identifies the anticipated scope of the plan as including:

• the spatial strategy for the borough;
• housing need and housing delivery;
• employment and economic development;
• town, district and local centres, including retail and leisure;
• transport, movement and accessibility;
• social, physical, green and digital infrastructure;
• community facilities and services;
• design quality, local character and placemaking;
• climate-change mitigation and adaptation;
• flood risk, drainage and environmental resilience;
• the natural environment, biodiversity, open space and green infrastructure;
• the historic environment and heritage assets;
• the effective use of land;
• site allocations and area-based policies; and
• development-management policies used to determine planning applications.

A range of data and information exists, forming a baseline upon which to start building the new Plan. Among these officers have identified

The existing Brent Local Plan 2019-2041

The existing Local Plan Evidence Base

London Plan Evidence Base

And a range of ONS and Council data presented on Brent Open Data.

The evidence identifies a number of matters that are likely to be particularly important for Brent. These include accommodating housing and employment growth, providing the infrastructure required by a growing population, responding to housing affordability and overcrowding, supporting town centres and employment areas, tackling climate change, improving environmental quality and supporting the borough’s distinctive places and communities.

The council is reviewing the evidence supporting the current Brent Local Plan, adopted in 2022, to determine:

• which evidence remains current and reliable;
• which evidence needs to be updated;
• where new evidence is required; and
• which matters require London-wide, sub-regional or cross-boundary assessment.

The emerging evidence programme will address matters including:

• population and demographic change;
• housing need, tenure and size;
• housing and economic land availability;
• employment-land and workspace requirements;
• retail and town-centre needs;
• infrastructure capacity and delivery;
• transport and movement;
• open space, sport and recreation;
• health and wellbeing;
• education and community facilities;
• flood risk, drainage and water resources;
• climate mitigation and adaptation;
• air quality and environmental conditions;
• biodiversity and nature recovery;
• design, character and heritage;
• viability; and
• plan delivery and monitoring.

The Local Plan will be prepared to be in general conformity with the emerging London Plan and national planning policy. The council will also consider the implications of other relevant national, regional and local strategies.

The precise content and spatial strategy have not yet been determined. These will be developed through evidence, consultation, environmental assessment and consideration of reasonable alternatives.

The council will be preparing an Integrated Impact Assessment (IIA). This is integrating the legally required Strategic Environmental Assessment processes into preparation of the new Local Plan from the outset.

The assessment process will identify and evaluate the likely significant environmental. social and economic effects of the plan and reasonable alternatives. It will help the council understand how different spatial strategies, site choices and policy approaches contribute to sustainable development. The wider IIA will comprise a Habitats Regulations Assessment, Equalities Impact Assessment and Health Impact Assessment.

Preparatory work includes:

• reviewing relevant plans, policies, programmes and environmental objectives;
• assembling environmental and sustainability baseline information;
• identifying existing and emerging environmental issues;
• developing an assessment framework;
• identifying reasonable alternatives that need to be assessed;
• establishing how the assessment will be integrated with plan preparation and decision-making; and
• establishing consultation arrangements with the statutory environmental bodies.

The assessment is expected to address matters including:

• population, health and equality;
• biodiversity and ecological networks;
• climate-change mitigation and adaptation;
• flood risk and water management;
• air quality;
• land, soil and the efficient use of resources;
• waste and the circular economy;
• transport and accessibility;
• noise and environmental disturbance;
• landscape, townscape and local character;
• the historic environment;
• green infrastructure and open space; and
• interrelationships and cumulative effects.

The council will consult the statutory environmental bodies and others it considers should have an input on the scope and level of detail of the assessment. Consultation responses will be used to refine the assessment framework, baseline and key sustainability issues.

The assessment will be undertaken alongside policy preparation rather than after policies or sites have been selected. Assessment findings will inform the development and comparison of reasonable alternatives and will be published alongside the relevant Local Plan consultation material.

The council will comply with the environmental assessment legislation in force at each stage of plan preparation. If the statutory assessment regime changes during the plan-making process, the council will review and adapt its approach while ensuring that the legal requirements applying to the Local Plan continue to be met.

Having considered the work completed in the five areas required at Gateway 1, Brent Council considers that it is ready to commence the statutory 30-month plan-preparation process.

In particular, the council has:

• published the statutory notice of intention to commence plan preparation;
• published a Local Plan timetable;
• completed the Local Plan scoping consultation;
• established project-management and governance arrangements;
• identified the anticipated scope and principal content of the plan;
• commenced the evidence programme; and
• progressed the environmental assessment process.

The council recognises that evidence preparation, engagement, environmental assessment and cooperation with statutory and strategic partners will continue after Gateway 1. The project programme will be kept under review, and any risks to the timetable will be identified and addressed through the council’s project-management and governance arrangements.

The statutory 30-month plan-preparation period commenced on 31 October 2026. The council’s published timetable anticipates adoption of the new Brent Local Plan in April 2029.