Draft Site Selection Methodology

2. Background information

2.1To enable the Councils to decide which sites should be allocated in the Plan, a site selection methodology is required. Before running the call for sites exercise, which we anticipate occurring in early 2027, we wish to seek your views on a draft site selection methodology we have developed.

2.2This draft methodology has been based upon:

• The adopted Nottinghamshire Minerals local Plan site selection methodology
• Guidance on site selection^[1]

2.3How these have both shaped this draft methodology is detailed below.

Adopted Minerals Local Plan site selection methodology

2.4The approach used for the adopted Plan was based on five stages:

• Stage 1: Identifying the level of need for minerals over plan period
• Stage 2: Issuing a call for sites
• Stage 3: Testing the deliverability of sites
• Stage 4: Strategic assessments, consultees and technical studies of sites
• Stage 5: Ensuring a geographic spread of sites
• Stage 6: Overall assessment and decision.

2.5The Councils consider that the methodology worked well to identify sites but recognise it should be updated to reflect the new Plan Making system.

Guidance on identifying, assessing and selecting sites

2.6Guidance issued by the MHCLG outlines how authorities can identify and assess sites for allocation. It ensures that authorities are then taking a robust approach to site selection and provides advice on the four stages of allocating sites:

• Stage 1 – identifying sites
• Stage 2 – assessing sites
• Stage 3 - determining draft allocations
• Stage 4 - confirming draft allocations and recording your decisions

2.7The guidance does note that it has been prepared for assessing sites for housing and employment, but similar principles can be used to identify, assess and select sites for other purposes, including minerals and waste.

2.8We have therefore sought to use similar principles within our own draft site selection methodology where appropriate.

Draft site selection methodology for Nottinghamshire Minerals Local Plan

2.9Considering the adopted Plans approach and the latest guidance, we have drafted a potential site selection methodology to be used to identify and allocate sites.

2.10 The methodology compromises of five stages, with each stage acting as a filter to sift through sites until a decision is reached. A summary of this is shown in Figure 1, with further detail on each stage provided below.

^[1] Introduction to identifying, assessing and selecting sites guidance published by MHCLG on the 26^th of March 2026