The Final Countdown webinar – supporting local planning authorities through a critical year
The Planning Inspectorate publishes Webinar 10 - The Final Countdown: For local plans aiming for examination in 2026 (legacy system)
The Planning Inspectorate has published The Final Countdown, a new webinar providing practical guidance for local planning authorities (LPAs) preparing to submit their local plan for examination under the legacy system before 31 December 2026.
2026 is an exceptional year for local plan-making. With both the legacy and new systems running in parallel, more than 100 LPAs are planning to submit under the existing regulations this year, compared with just 36 in 2025. Andrew Megginson, Head of Plans Examination Service, sets the tone:
Whether you’re approaching submission, working through Regulation 19 or maybe still refining your evidence base, we hope this session gives you something genuinely useful that you can take away. Everything we’ve covered is absolutely grounded in what we’re hearing and seeing directly from you.
The 70-minute pre-recorded webinar is presented by Andrew Megginson and Simon Berkeley (Professional Lead for Local Plans), with contributions from local plans inspectors. It is divided into indexed chapters so you can watch the whole session or navigate directly to the sections most relevant to you.
The webinar covers the legal and procedural framework for local plan examinations, practical guidance on programme officers, advisory visits and the pre-examination checklist, and inspector tips on the three topics most requested by LPAs following the September 2025 webinar: housing need and requirement, site selection and spatial strategy, and housing land supply and trajectories. It concludes with a Q&A drawing on questions submitted in advance and themes raised at recent advisory visits.
Simon Berkeley said:
We’ve got a great deal of respect for the work that goes into preparing a local plan. Our aim is simply to give you the clearest picture we can of what we’re looking for and, hopefully, how we can help you get there.
This is the tenth webinar in the Planning Inspectorate’s ongoing programme of external engagement. You can find all our previous webinars at Planning Inspectorate webinars. Further webinars are planned. For questions not covered in the session, contact the local plans team at plans.admin@planninginspectorate.gov.uk.
Watch the webinar
The Final Countdown: For local plans aiming for examination in 2026 (legacy system).