IN light of the letters and articles that have been carried in the Times over recent weeks concerning West Devon's 'Our Plan', I feel it is important that your readers understand where we currently are with the process. To give some background to this issue, our Core Strategy which sets out the strategic development needs of the borough up to 2026 was approved in 2011. Following approval, the Government produced the National Planning Policy Framework which would have required us to make some major alterations to the strategy. Rather than deal with these changes in a piecemeal way, we elected to write a new plan — entitled Our Plan — that encompasses a wide range of important areas including the provision of housing, jobs, economic growth, infrastructure, energy and community needs up until 2031. The process of developing a new plan such as this involves many stages including establishing housing need, economic development and the potential sites available to satisfy these requirements. As part of this, the council has a duty to ask all landowners in the borough if they have sites they would be willing to see used for future development. Once this list is finalised, the council needs to look at the suitability of these sites against set national criteria while taking into account the views of local communities, neighbourhood plans, etc. We are currently at the point where an initial draft has been prepared for the borough to consider at a special meeting on January 20. We will then formally consult on the draft proposals gathering the views of individuals, businesses and organisations alike. This period of consultation will take place during February and March this year. All comments will be taken into account and a final draft will be produced for a second public consultation. The plan will then go before the full council and, once approved, will be submitted to the planning inspectorate who will hold a public hearing into the proposals. I hope this helps with the current debate about how 'Our Plan' is being consulted on. Cllr Philip Sanders Leader West Devon Borough Council