The new Local Plan

We started preparing a new local plan for Woking Borough on 25 September 2026.

Government policy says we should adopt the plan within 30 months, by 25 March 2029. Meeting this deadline will help ensure the plan is up to date and responds to the needs of the area and its communities.

This page explains the work we did before starting the plan. It also explains how you can follow our progress.

What we did

We:

• published a timetable for preparing the local plan
• established project management and governance arrangements
• planned how we would consult people
• began identifying what the plan should cover
• started the Strategic Environmental Assessment

We published a timetable

We published a timetable setting out how we plan to adopt the new local plan within 30 months.

The timetable includes:

• the activities we need to complete
• when we will consult people
• how we will monitor progress
• how we will respond if changes are needed

Go to our timetable for our new Local Plan

We established project management and governance arrangements

We use government guidance on creating or updating a local plan using the new planning system.

Go to create or update a local plan using the new system - GOV.UK

We also use project management guidance and tools from the Local Government Association.

Go to project Managing the Local Plan | Local Government Association

The Head of Planning can make changes to the timetable after consulting the Cabinet Member for Planning Policy. This will help us avoid delays.

The Environment and Place Scrutiny Committee will make recommendations to Woking Borough Council’s Executive. The Executive can approve documents for public consultation.

Full Council will consider the final draft local plan.

We regularly review progress, risks and resources to help keep the plan on track. We will continue to use government guidance throughout the process.

How we will consult people

Public consultation is essential. It gives people an opportunity to influence how the area develops.

We want people to know when consultation is taking place and how they can take part. Planning this early will help people get involved from the start.

We carried out an initial consultation to gather views on:

• what the local plan should cover
• the main issues and challenges facing the borough
• how and when we should consult people
• how people would prefer to take part

We are using the feedback to prepare our consultation and engagement strategy.

We began identifying what the plan should cover

We carried out a scoping consultation from 13 July to 16 August 2026.

The consultation asked local communities, businesses, infrastructure providers and other interested organisations what matters most to them.

It also asked:

• what the priorities for the new local plan should be
• what issues and challenges the plan should address
• how people would like us to consult them during the plan-making process

Go to Woking Local Plan consultation 

We started the Strategic Environmental Assessment

We must identify, describe and evaluate the likely significant environmental effects of:

• implementing the local plan
• reasonable alternatives to the plan

We will consider the plan’s objectives and the geographical area it covers.

The assessment will consider environmental protection objectives and other environmental challenges. It will help us predict significant environmental effects and identify ways to prevent, reduce or offset them.

We began this work early so we can explain how we are carrying out the assessment when consulting communities and other interested organisations.

We have:

• identified relevant plans and programmes
• collected information about the area’s environment
• identified important environmental designations

For example, we are using Surrey County Council’s Local Nature Recovery Strategy. This will help us identify areas that may need protection, development or environmental improvements.

Go to Local Nature Recovery Strategy - Surrey County Council 

We are now identifying what the assessment needs to cover and the objectives it should address. We are also deciding how much detail to include in the draft environmental report.