Local Plan

Local Plan

What is a local plan?

A Local Plan is a collection of documents that will guide future development in Newcastle to 2030. 

The Core Strategy and Urban Core Plan (2015), produced jointly with Gateshead Council, sets the quantity and location of new housing, employment provision, shops, facilities and other services together with transport and other infrastructure provision. 

The Development and Allocations Plan (2020) supports the Core Strategy and Urban Core Plan (2015), setting out Newcastle City Council’s planning policies for managing development, together with site allocations and designations.

Local Plan Review

In accordance with Paragraph 34 of the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF), Local Plans must be reviewed at least every five years to determine if updates are necessary.

Gateshead Council and Newcastle City Council have jointly reviewed the Core Strategy and Urban Core Plan (CSUCP) 2015, Development and Allocations Plan (DAP) 2020, and Making Spaces for Growing Places (MSGP) 2021. 

The review was published on 31 March 2025 and assessed various factors, including the performance of policies in the plan.  

The review concludes that whilst some policies require updating, the existing Local Plan remains the starting point when determining planning applications. 

Going forward each planning application will be assessed against the Local Plan but where policies which are the most important to the application are out of date, then in accordance with the NPPF the “tilted balance” will apply.  

Notice of Intention and Timetable

On 30th June 2026, Newcastle City Council gave notice of its intention to start preparing a new Joint Local Plan with Gateshead Council.

The NewcastleGateshead Local Plan will cover the City of Newcastle upon Tyne and the Borough of Gateshead. 

The plan-making timetable and the notice are available to view and download below. This is the timetable which is effective as of 30 June 2026.

A copy of the notice, timetable and map can be viewed on request at Newcastle City Council Civic Centre Reception, Barras Bridge, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 8QH between the hours of 8:30am and 4:30pm.

Newcastle City Council also gave notice of the preparation of a Forth Yards Supplementary Plan.

The Forth Yards Supplementary Plan will cover the Forth Yards area of Newcastle upon Tyne and will set out a planning framework to support the comprehensive and sustainable redevelopment of the area with associated infrastructure. 

The Forth Yards Supplementary Plan will cover 35 hectares and include a comprehensive masterplan and linked infrastructure delivery plan.

The Supplementary Plan timetable and notice are available to view and download below.

A copy of the notice, timetable and map can be viewed on request at Newcastle City Council Civic Centre Reception, Barras Bridge, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 8QH between the hours of 8:30am and 4:30pm.

Scoping Consultation

We want your views

We want local people, communities, businesses and organisations to help shape the new NewcastleGateshead Local Plan. Your views will help us understand what matters most to the community and make sure the plan reflects local needs.

This includes how we

  • plan for more homes
  • make sure there are supporting infrastructure including enough roads, schools and services
  • look after buildings and green spaces
  • support jobs and the local economy
  • help deal with climate change and resilience
  • help create places that are healthy, attractive and good to live in. 

To help you respond to the consultation we have prepared a Scoping Consultation document and a series of questions.

We also want your views on how we communicate with you in the future and which types of events or material you find most useful.

The consultation will run from 9am on 1st July until 5pm on 29th July 2026.

You can access the online consultation via the link below. 

https://ng-local-plan.commonplace.is/ 

Call for Sites

About the Call for Sites

In November 2025, Gateshead and Newcastle Councils ran a six-week focused Call for Sites to inform the updated joint HELAA (2026), which will be published in July 2026. 

Since then, the Councils have announced their intention to begin work on the NewcastleGateshead Local Plan. To inform the development of the new plan, we are running a Call for Sites alongside the Scoping Consultation. 

This is intended to give people a further opportunity to put land forward for a wider use of sites. 

It should be noted that this Call for Sites consultation will not in itself determine whether a site should be allocated for development or be granted planning permission. 

All sites will be further assessed in line with national guidance as part of the Local Plan process.

Types of land we are looking for

We are looking for new sites that have not been previously submitted to either Council for consideration.

Where sites have previously been assessed, both Councils reserve the right not to accept a new submission for the same site for the same use. Please note that the original submissions for these sites will still be assessed as part of the plan making process. 

To submit a new site, please access PlaceMaker using this link

If you hold updated information relating to a site previously submitted (based on the published HELAA information), you can either use this form linked below to provide these updates or you can log onto your existing PlaceMaker account to edit a previous site submission (this must be using the same email address you used to submit the original site). 

If you do update site information on PlaceMaker, please email the details of what you have updated to ldf@gateshad.gov.uk as the Councils do not get automatically notified that updates have been made. 

If you wish to provide updated information on an existing site via a form, please do so using this document: Newcastle Gateshead Housing and Economic Land Availability Site Updates 2026 – Fill in form.

Further guidance on the Call for Sites process and acceptable sites can be found here

The Call for Sites consultation will run from 1st July 2026 to 5pm on 12th August 2026. 

What happens next

Your feedback, along with evidence, will help shape the next stage of the Local Plan, including the policies it contains. 

 

There will be further opportunities to comment on the Local Plan in 2027 and 2028.

 

Newcastle City Council open data

We must follow the approved data standard to publish our local plan and plan timetable so that we meet the requirements of the Planning Data (England) Regulations 2026. This data is provided under the Open Government Licence:

Local Plan data:

Forth Yards data:

Planning for the Future - Core Strategy and Urban Core Plan for Gateshead and Newcastle upon Tyne 2010-2030

The Core Strategy and Urban Core Plan (CSUCP) is a strategic planning framework that will guide development in Newcastle and Gateshead to 2030. It is the first part of both councils Local Plan, containing an overall vision and spatial strategy to deliver economic prosperity and create lifetime neighbourhoods. The Plan covers the whole of the area within the administrative boundaries of Gateshead and Newcastle and includes strategic policies and specific policies for the Urban Core, Sub-Areas and sites.

Adoption of the Core Strategy and Urban Core Plan (CSUCP)

The Plan was formally adopted by Newcastle City Council on 26 March 2015:

CSUCP in smaller sections:

You can view the map areas on our combined Newcastle upon Tyne Policies Map

Examination of the Core Strategy and Urban Core Plan

Gateshead and Newcastle councils submitted the Plan to the Secretary of State for examination in February 2014.

The Inspector issued his Final Report in February 2015 and found the Plan “sound”, subject to a small number of changes known as ‘Main Modifications’.

Evidence Documents and Preparation of the CSUCP

Development and Allocations Plan 2015-2030 (DAP)

Part 1 of the Local Plan, adopted in March 2015 is called the Core Strategy and Urban Core Plan (CSUCP). The Development and Allocations Plan (DAP) is Part 2 and provides more detailed policies to support our growth ambitions for Newcastle including:

  • policies which will be used to make decisions on planning applications
  • allocations of housing and employment sites to support Part 1
  • designations of retail centre boundaries and sites for environmental protection

Adoption  

The Development and Allocations Plan was formally adopted by Newcastle City Council on 24 June 2020

Examination of the DAP

For further details on the Examination of the DAP please see the DAP Examination page

Evidence Documents

The preparation of the DAP has been informed and supported by a range of evidence documents

Newcastle upon Tyne Policies Map

Interactive Online Map is a combination of the Core Strategy and Urban Core Plan (CSUCP) and Development and Allocations Plan 2015-2030 (DAP). 

You can:

  • use the option button in the top right hand corner to turn on the Key, and switch layers on or off.
  • zoom in and out to get a closer look of the area you're interested in.  Click-and-drag or use the arrow keys to move the move around.
  • search an address or place at the top left of the screen, and there is a button to zoom to your current location.

The different sites are colour-coded depending on the policy type.  Clicking a site on the map will display a pop-up box with more information on it, and a link to view that section of the document.  Some sites have more than one layer there, you can use the left and right buttons in the pop-up box to go between them.

An aerial photography overlay is also available as an option, from the Basemap Gallery in the bottom left.

The PDF files on this page may not be suitable for users of assistive technology. Request an accessible format.

Contact

Email: planningpolicy@newcastle.gov.uk

Dinnington Parish Neighbourhood Plan

The Dinnington Parish Neighbourhood Plan was formally 'made' by Newcastle City Council on 2 June 2025 and now forms part of the statutory development plan. 

Consequently, decisions on whether or not to grant planning permission in the Parish will need to be made in accordance with the Dinnington Parish Neighbourhood Plan unless material considerations indicate otherwise. 

Details of the Neighbourhood Plan can be found here. 

Did you know?

If you would like to be informed of future planning policy consultations and have your say, please register your details here.

Related Pages

Need more information?

Contact

Email: PlanningPolicy@newcastle.gov.uk 

 

National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) (external link)

Is this page useful?