Agenda item

Local Plan Update

Minutes:

The Planning Policy Team Leader, and Senior Planning Officer, presented the report which provided an update on progress with the draft Local Plan. The Issues and Options nine-week consultation had ended in October 2017 and over 15,000 responses had been received to the main survey consultation (30% of households) and over 200 responses covering both technical and site specific issues. These had been reviewed to inform the draft of the new Local Plan and the 400 sites that had been submitted under the ‘call for sites’ were being assessed through the Sustainability Appraisal (SA) process. A number of evidence based studies and work-streams were coming to a conclusion, including Heritage, Biodiversity and Gypsy and Traveller provision, and an update was provided on these areas.  It was highlighted that the sites listed at paragraph 3 to the report were under consideration and assessment and their inclusion in the draft Local Plan had not yet been determined.

 

In response to a request to clarify what exceptional circumstances meant, it was acknowledged that this query occurred at each meeting.  The Chief Planning Officer stated that the phrase was from the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF), that the Green Belt should only be redrawn in ‘exceptional circumstances’ but that the NPPF went no further to explain what that meant.  Without a definition, planners were considering at a local level what these might be and were looking at the experience of others, and looking at circumstances presented by others at examinations.  It was clear there would need to be other tangible benefits (in addition to housing) and the social and community infrastructure would need to be examined to understand if it would meet an evidenced need.  It would be up to Members to ultimately decide what qualified as exceptional circumstances in the draft Local Plan. 

 

The Chairman added that that was why all the data was being collected and examined and urged Members to feedback any comments to the Planning Policy Team.  The final decisions on sites would be decided at Cabinet after being reported to the Planning Advisory Committee. Local Councillors would be informed of sites in their areas before the Advisory Committee stage (meetings in mid-April)

 

She also advised that the Sustainability Assessment process was being followed so that at examination stage the Council could demonstrate that it had considered sites and give validated reasons as to why were or were not included in the Local Plan.  Site owners were able to approach the Inspector directly to argue for their site’s inclusion, and an evidenced based process would help the Council’s position. 

 

In response to a question concerning the number of empty homes Officers agreed to find this out and circulate the information.

 

Action 2:  Figures on the number of empty homes within the District to be supplied.

 

It was confirmed that site histories are being considered and that all sites are assessed with the same matrices, as part of the Sustainability Assessment process.

 

In response to questions given to the Chairman before the meeting by a District Councillor, the Chief Planning Officer drew Members’ attention to Appendix A of the report ‘Sustainability Appraisal Assessment Criteria’. He advised that Officers looked at the sustainability of the settlement against the services and facilities available there and that growth would be likely to  follow the settlement hierarchy, in terms of growth being focussed in the most sustainable settlements.  But developers were able to promote sites, in any location, with what they thought were exceptional circumstances.

 

The Chairman reiterated that the Council needed strong evidence to include or reject sites and it needed to be robust to stand up to examination.  Members would need to examine the Officers’ assessments that came forward to the Planning Advisory Committee in June with the final decision being taken by the Cabinet.

 

Resolved:  That progress on the draft Local Plan be noted.

 

Once again the Committee expressed their thanks to Officers for their work.

 

Supporting documents:

 

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