The Assembly sent out more than 5,000 copies of the Plan to stakeholders in the region. It also raised awareness of the consultation process through advertising and information postcards in public places, and sent out more than three million "Your Shout" leaflets to South East households.

Key stages of the consultation process were:

• January - April 2005
  Public consultation on the initial draft of the Plan run by the Assembly
• July - December 2005
  Public consultation and further work by local authorities on the sub-regional details of the draft Plan. This included housing allocations to district council areas.
• 31 March - 23 June 2006
  Government-run public consultation on the submitted South East Plan
• 17 July - 24 October 2008
  Public consultation on Government's Proposed Changes to the South East Plan.

An Examination-in-Public was held into the Plan to discuss and test the soundness of the Plan's proposals and policies in public. The Secretary of State appointed independent inspectors who considered all written responses to the public consultation on the submitted Plan. The examination ran from November 2006 to March 2007. The Inspectors' report with their recommendations on the Plan was published on 29 August 2007.

The Secretary of State published the Government's proposed changes to the South East Plan in July 2008. The Assembly's summary of the changes and response to the consultation can be downloaded below, and further information is available on GOSE's website.
Assembly's Response to the Proposed Changes - 753 KB
Assembly's Summary of the Proposed Changes - 855 KB

The Secretary of State is expected to publish the revised plan in spring 2009.

Analysis of Responses

The first stage of public consultation on the South East Plan ran from 24 January to 15 April 2005. A high level of response was received and all responses were analysed and reported to the Assembly's Regional Planning Committtee on 13 June 2005. Responses received include 2,646 formal written responses and 61,746 completed "Your Shout!" questionnaires. The responses, in full, are available for inspection at the Assembly's offices in Guildford by appointment. The Assembly's analysis of the responses can be downloaded from our responses page.

Consultation Feedback

Feedback from each of the Assembly's 17 South East Plan workshops, held in spring 2004, is available on the Consultation Feedback page.