Planning policy and the Local Plan

What is the Duty to Cooperate

Under reforms introduced through the Levelling-up and Regeneration Act 2023, the legal Duty to Cooperate has been officially revoked, meaning that it is no longer a legal requirement for new emerging local plans. This is set out in a November 2025 letter from Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government to The Planning Inspectorate, available on our website here. 

As the preparation of Newham’s new Local Plan was developed alongside the previous plan-making system, the Duty to Cooperate remained a requirement throughout our Local Plan process.

The duty to cooperate was a legal duty expected by Local Planning Authorities in order to engage constructively, actively and on an ongoing basis to maximise the effectiveness of the local plan-making process in the context of strategic planning matters with a range of public bodies, as relevant to the cross boundary issues that needed to be addressed in their Local Plans.

These public bodies included neighbouring authorities and local planning authorities, Local Enterprise Partnerships, Local Nature Partnerships, national agencies, infrastructure providers and elected mayors. We were also required to produce one or more statements of common ground (see below for latest list), documenting the cross-boundary strategic matters being addressed, and progress in cooperating to address these. Statements of common ground should be made publicly available throughout the plan-making process to provide transparency. 

Note: The London Legacy Development Corporation (LLDC) Mayoral Development Corporation returned planning powers back to the London Boroughs of Newham, Tower Hamlets, Waltham Forest and Hackney on the 1st of December 2024. Following this, the LLDC is no longer a duty to cooperate partner, but remains a planning stakeholder through its ongoing role as a mayoral development corporation under the GLA. 

Statements on how Newham met its duty to cooperate are published below. We will continue to support duty to cooperate partners who are producing Local Plans under the legacy system and accordingly updates will be provided below.

• Duty to Cooperate Statement (2024) (PDF)
• Duty to Cooperate Statement Addendum (2025) (PDF)

Current signed Statements of Common Ground 

London Borough of Newham has pursued individual statements of common ground with its neighbouring authorities, prescribed national bodies and other relevant duty to cooperate (DtC) partners.

Where key strategic issues overlap between different signed statements of common ground organisations that Newham have signed statements of common ground with (e.g. the delivery of housing targets), Newham has prepared a summary highlighting how the position of each stakeholder has influenced outcomes on the common key strategic matter. This is currently published in the Duty to Cooperate Statement Addendum (2025), chapter 3.