What are Master plans?

Master plans

Master plans do the following:

• Help to guide investment and improvements to towns across the county.
• Help set down how our towns can develop in the future, ensuring that buildings and spaces are of the right type and are in the right place, and complement our existing guidance and documents, including the emerging County Durham Plan.
• Can be taken into account as material planning considerations when applications are being considered.

Future development

Master plan updates have been approved which detail investment and work across the county, as well as plans for the future. In addition to highlighting the activities that we do - including improvements to town centres, highways, education and health provision - they also identify the development of new businesses, housing and community facilities.

The master plans will evolve, with the Area Action Partnerships continuing to play a key role in shaping them, to ensure that they reflect the priorities of local residents.