Local Plan Examination

Main Modifications Consultation

The London Borough of Harrow submitted the draft Harrow Local Plan 2021-2041 for independent examination on 26 February 2025. The examination is being carried out by an independent Planning Inspector appointed on behalf of the Secretary of State. 

As part of the examination, public hearing sessions took place in June, July and October 2025 and following those hearings the Inspector has asked the Council to consult on a set of proposed Main Modifications (reference: LBH/ED30).

What are Main Modifications?

Main Modifications are changes required to make the Plan sound or legally compliant in the light of issues identified during the examination.

Sound / Soundness

For a Local Plan to be found sound it must:

  • be positively prepared (based on what the area actually needs and on proportionate evidence),
  • be justified (the most appropriate strategy when compared with reasonable alternatives),
  • be effective (deliverable over the plan period), and
  • be consistent with national policy.

The Main Modifications set out a series of changes required to resolve issues that make the Local Plan unsound or where it is not legally compliant. These changes are being published for consultation now without prejudice to the Inspector’s ultimate conclusions and recommendations on the Plan.

Please note that comments can only be made on the proposed Main Modifications to the Local Plan, not the full draft Plan as submitted for Examination on 26 February 2025.

If you want to make a representation with regards to the Main Modifications, you should set out clearly: 

  • which Main Modification you are commenting on, and, 
  • why you consider the Main Modification is legally non-compliant or is unsound, (having regard as appropriate to the soundness criteria set out above). 

It will also be helpful if you also say precisely how you think the Plan should be modified. Further details on how to respond can be found in the section below.

Policies Map changes

The Council has also published proposed revisions to the Policies Map (online only) (reference: LBH/ED33) and Atlas of Change (LBH/ED34). These do not form part of the Main Modifications rather they are published alongside them and are limited to those needed to give effect to the Main Modifications. Comments should relate only to these changes as part of this consultation stage.

Additional Modifications

Alongside the Main Modifications the Council is also publishing a schedule of Additional Modifications (reference: LBH/ED35).

Additional Modifications are changes that taken together the Council considers do not materially affect the Plan and which it can therefore make when the Plan is adopted. These are minor changes and include factual updates and changes for consistency, clarity and corrections.

These Additional Modifications are not required to make the Plan sound, and they do not form part of the formal examination. This means that any comments on Additional Modifications will be considered by the Council rather than the Inspector.

Other supporting documents

An updated Integrated Impact Assessment (IIA) (which includes the Sustainability Appraisal and the Habitats Regulations Assessment) (reference: LBH/ED31 and appendices) and Non-Technical Summary (LBH/ED32) has also been published for viewing and comment.

Other supporting documents such as the Council’s responses to the Inspector’s requests (LBH/ED15 to LBH/ED29), are also available to view in the Examination Library.

Where you can view the documents during the consultation

All consultation documents are available:

  • on the Local Plan Examination website
  • for inspection at all Harrow Libraries (during opening hours) as well as the Harrow Council Hub (by appointment).

The documents available are:

  • the Schedule of Main Modifications (LBH/ED30),
  • the updated Policies Map (LBH/ED33) and Atlas of Change (LBH/ED34),
  • the Schedule of Additional Modifications (LBH/ED35), and
  • the updated Integrated Impact Assessment (including the Sustainability Appraisal) (LBH/ED31) and the Habitats Regulations Assessment (in Appendix G LBH/ED31) and Non-technical Summary (LBH/ED32).

How to comment

The consultation will run for six weeks starting at 11:59am Monday 10 November 2025 and conclude at 12:01pm Tuesday 23 December 2025.

Please use the Council’s representation form, which is available on the website (in Word and PDF) and at all locations where physical copies of consultation documents can be found, and return it by email or post (details can be found on the form) before 12:01pm Tuesday 23 December 2025.

The Council has also published a Statement of Representations Procedure.

Please note that representations and comments will be made publicly available. We will remove personal contact information. We will also need to provide the contact details of those who have made comments to the Programme Officer (who is responsible for organising and managing the Examination and is independent of the Council) so that they can be kept informed of the examination process.
You can request to be notified of the progress of the Examination, including the publication of the Inspectors’ report and adoption of the Local Plan.

What happens next?

After the consultation has closed, the Inspector will review any representations received and write her final report.