Dorset Council Local Plan options consultation 2025

Overview

About the Local Plan consultation

We’re asking for your views on how Dorset should grow and develop over the next 17 years.

This consultation explores how we could meet development needs across the Dorset Council area between 2026 and 2043. Your feedback will help shape the Local Plan. Once adopted, the plan will guide planning decisions in Dorset.

The Local Plan will be Dorset Council’s response to the Government’s commitment to:

• addressing the shortage of housing
• enable economic growth 
• deliver essential infrastructure to support economic growth

It will also set out how planning decisions will seek to conserve and enhance the  environment, including measures to address climate change.

We are seeking feedback on the identified opportunities to help us prepare for the next round of the local plan production process.

How to take part in the consultation

You can view the consultation information in different ways. 

Online information and survey

On this website you will find information about the different options, split into subjects, with questions throughout. 

There are also interactive maps with opportunity areas for future development of:

• homes
• employment
• accommodation for Gypsies, Travellers, and Travelling Showpeople
• proposed areas of opportunity for renewable energy development. 

You can use the maps to explore proposed sites in more detail. 

If you would prefer not to use a map, the information will be available in a text version. 

Downloadable versions and further information 

PDF options which are suitable for downloading and printing, as well as further supporting documents, are available on the Dorset Council Local Plan consultation 2025 web page.

How to give your views

We recommend using Citizen Space, our online consultation portal. Using the online survey greatly assists our analysis of the responses, enabling more efficient and effective consideration of the issues raised. 

Guide to using the survey website

We have published a guide to using this online survey. Please read this before starting the survey. It may also be helpful to have the guide open so that you can refer to it as you are using the survey.

You can also view the following 'how to' video which takes you through how to give your views, and/or use the guide below:

Data protection

Please note, any data collected follows Dorset Council's privacy policy. If you provide your contact details at any point throughout the survey, they will only be used for the purpose in which you have provided them.

The information collected in this survey will be used by your local planning authority to inform the next stages of producing the Local Plan. 

By responding you are accepting that your response and the information within it will be in the public domain, and that it may be disclosed if requested under the Freedom of Information Act. However, any published information will not contain personal details of individuals.

Your information will be retained by the council in line with its information retention schedule. Your data will be destroyed once the plan becomes redundant.