The duty to cooperate was created in the Localism Act 2011. It places a legal duty on local planning authorities, county councils in England and public bodies to engage constructively, actively and on an ongoing basis to maximise the effectiveness of local plan preparation in the context of strategic cross boundary matters.
A duty to cooperate framework has been prepared, which will be updated as the local plan progresses. This will form part of the local plan evidence base to help demonstrate that the council is engaging constructively, actively and on an on-going basis.
It identifies the strategic cross boundary issues which the local plan is likely to reflect (and how they have come about).
Duty to Cooperate Framework January 2023
Documents will be updated as the local plan progresses.
Part of the Duty to cooperate process is to produce, maintain, and update one or more statement(s) of common ground, throughout the plan-making process.
The Council has signed statements of common grounds with two planning authorities that are at an advanced stage of Local Plan Preparation:
- In July 2021, the council signed a statement of common ground with Mole Valley District Council. Mole Valley Statement of Common Ground
- In August 2023, the council signed a statement of common ground with Elmbridge Borough Council. Elmbridge Statement of Common Ground