13.—(1) Where it is practicable to do so in the period beginning on the date on which these Regulations come into force and ending on the reorganisation date, each preparing council and each shadow council shall prepare for the whole of its area, a sustainable community strategy under section 4 of the Local Government Act 2000(1).
(2) Where a preparing or shadow council has been unable to prepare a sustainable community strategy before the reorganisation date, its related single tier council shall prepare that strategy not later than the date that falls 24 months after the reorganisation date.
(3) In the period beginning on the reorganisation date and ending on the date on which the single tier council complies with paragraph (2), the sustainable community strategy prepared—
(a)before the reorganisation date, by any council that is a predecessor council in relation to the single tier council; or
(b)before the date on which the section 7 order came into force, by the related preparing council,
shall be treated as if it had been prepared by the single tier council for the whole or such part of its area as corresponds to the area to which the strategy relates.
(4) Nothing in paragraph (3) shall affect the continued validity, after the date on which the single tier council complies with paragraph (2), of a sustainable community strategy prepared as mentioned in paragraph (3)(a) or (b), for any transitional purpose specified in the strategy prepared by the single tier council.
Section 4 is amended by section 7 of the Sustainable Communities Act 2007 (c.23) and section 114 of the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007 (c.28).