Slough Borough Council has launched the journey towards a new planning blueprint for the town, one that will map out land development for the next twenty years. An official Notice of Intention to prepare the new document was served on 30 June 2026, under the Town and Country Planning (Local Planning) (England) Regulations 2026. The fresh framework, simply called the Slough Local Plan, will run to 2046 and replace the existing Local Development Plan currently used to decide all planning applications.
The council has fixed a delivery programme lasting 30 months, with adoption slated for 20 December 2028. Three formal gateway assessments will take place along the way, starting with a self-assessment on 31 October 2026 and culminating in the final check on 2 June 2028, just before handing the plan to an independent inspector on 21 June 2028. Residents will get their first chance to shape the content during a scoping consultation that opens on Monday 13 July 2026 and closes at 11.59pm on Monday 24 August 2026. The exercise doubles as a call for sites, allowing landowners and developers to put forward parcels of land for possible inclusion.
The switch to the new regulations followed a December 2025 notification to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government and the Planning Inspectorate. Much earlier work, including a Regulation 18 Spatial Strategy that went out to the public in November 2020, now needs re-examination. Heathrow Airport Limited’s expansion proposals have added fresh pressure, with plans that would affect parts of Slough’s Green Belt and trigger infrastructure work in Colnbrook and Poyle, including road diversions and land required for a potential third runway.
When finalised, the Local Plan will set policies on climate adaptation, housing numbers, locations for new homes and businesses, and the protection of green spaces and the historic environment. The council will also be required to engage with transport bodies, water and wastewater providers, and the Integrated Care Board throughout the process. The existing development plan — a suite of documents covering core strategy, site allocations, saved policies, and minerals and waste — remains in force for day-to-day planning decisions until the new guide is formally adopted.
Responses to the scoping consultation can be lodged through the council’s online portal, by email, or by post. The full timetable is available on the authority’s planning policy pages.
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