Agenda and minutes

Venue: Conference Room, Argyle Road, Sevenoaks. View directions

Contact: Email: Democratic.Services@sevenoaks.gov.uk 01732 227199 

Items
No. Item

Welcome

The Chairman introduced and welcomed to the meeting the new Strategic Planning Manager, James Gleave.

11.

Minutes pdf icon PDF 57 KB

To agree the Minutes of the meeting of the Committee held on 19 June 2018, as a correct record.

Minutes:

Resolved: That the Minutes of the meeting of the Advisory Committee held on 19 June 2018 be approved and signed by the Chairman as a correct record.

12.

Declarations of Interest

Any interest not already registered.

Minutes:

No additional declarations of interest were made.

Councillor Mrs Morris pointed out that she had made a declaration at the last meeting, as minuted, that ‘should site specific sites be debated she may need to leave the Chamber’.  Agenda Item 7 (Minute 17 below) was not site specific nor did she have an interest.  However, as there appeared to be some public perception that she had an interest, she would remove herself from the room during consideration of this item.

 

For reasons of transparency, Cllr Horwood advised that he worked for UK Power Networks, one of the utility consultees to Agenda Item 7 (Minute 17 below), but would remain and debate the item.

13.

Actions from Previous Meetings pdf icon PDF 34 KB

Minutes:

The Portfolio Holder for Planning advised that a Planning Enforcement Update would be made available after the meeting and took the opportunity to highlight a few key points.

14.

Update from Portfolio Holder pdf icon PDF 31 KB

Minutes:

The Portfolio Holder for Planning again introduced James Gleave who had previously worked for the London Borough of Hillingdon. He announced that the next meeting of the Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) Spending Board was on 18 December 2018 and applications needed to be in by 29 October 2018.  There was a minor delay with the report on reviewing the governance of the CIL Spending Board and it would now come to the January meeting in the new year.

 

He advised that there had been a press release on the Development Control Committee’s decision to not contest an appeal against its refusal of a planning application to redevelop Swanley Centre after the Government changed national planning policy.

 

He reported that about 8500 responses had been received to the draft Local Plan consultation and the results would be reported to the meeting in November and would be site specific.  Everything was on target for submitting it in February 2019. He warned that central government and the Office of National Statistics were currently reviewing the housing number requirement.

 

In response to questions and comments on the draft Local Plan process, he advised that while some local authorities were projecting significantly lower housing numbers compared with the Standardised Methodology result, it had been decided here to produce a sound robust plan so as not to run the risk of the Home Secretary asking Kent County Council (KCC) to take over and therefore losing any control of development within the district, any ability to represent residents in the process and any chance to protect the Green Belt.  With regards to potential exceptional circumstances sites, he had requested that officers meet with affected ward councillors ahead of the finalisation of the report which would go to the meeting in November.  It was clarified that Members were only being briefed on potential exceptional circumstance sites within their own wards.  However, the Portfolio Holder for Planning suggested that any Members who felt that a potential site which was not in their ward would have an impact on their ward, they were also welcome to attend the briefings.

15.

Referrals from Cabinet or the Audit Committee

Minutes:

There were none.

16.

Budget 2019/20: Service Dashboards and Service Change Impact Assessments (SCIAs) pdf icon PDF 66 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Chief Finance Officer presented a report, which explained that this was the second stage of the budget process and ensured that all Members of the Advisory Committees had a role to play in the governance of the Council and the budget decision making process. He explained that since the current financial strategy was introduced in 2011/12, over £7 million of savings had been agreed.

 

To continue to have a balanced budget position and remain financially self-sufficient, a net savings requirement of £100,000 per annum was included in the budget.  The Chief Finance Officer also advised Members that other pressures may come out later in the budget process such as when the Local Government Finance Settlement was announced in December. These may result in additional savings being required.

No growth and savings proposals were included in the report for this Committee but Members were asked for their suggestions in order to achieve the £100,000 net saving required for the next year, which would be considered by Cabinet, before finalising the budget for 2019/20.

 

In response to a question on whether enforcement was fully meeting expectations, the Chief Planning Officer reported that in the last 18 months there had been: fourS215 Amenity notices served; 44 Enforcement and Breach of Condition Notices served; and four injunctions successfully secured.  In addition, the Enforcement team had been responsible for securing unpaid CIL and S106 monies, which to date had brought in the region of £3m owed by developers.  Further to the weekly list of cases that Members now received, in the coming months a monthly list of live cases would also be circulated.

 

Public Sector Equality Duty

Members noted that consideration had been given to impacts under the Public Sector Equality Duty.

 

Resolved: That it be recommended to Cabinet that

a)    no growth and savings proposals had been identified; and

b)   there were no further suggestions for growth and savings.

 

 

 (Having declared she would remove herself from the meeting for the following item (Minute 17 below), Cllr Mrs Morris left the room and did not take part in the debate or voting thereon.)

 

17.

Local Plan - Infrastructure delivery plan update pdf icon PDF 98 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Members considered the report which asked Members to note the progress made and the draft text of the Infrastructure delivery plan (IDP) which would be finalised in line with the publication of the pre-submission Local Plan (Regulation 19) consultation at the end of the year.

 

The Infrastructure Delivery Plan formed part of the evidence base to support the preparation of the Local Plan. It identified any deficiencies in infrastructure across the District, who would deliver the infrastructure, any associated costs (if known), the timescales for delivery and was treated as a “live” document, allowing it to be updated when new information was made available to the Council.  The IDP would also assist the review of the Council’s Regulation 123 List (where appropriate), and preparation of the evidence would also account for sites that had put forward “exceptional circumstances” cases for consideration.

 

In response to questions the Strategic Planning Manager clarified that the IDP was a broad strategic document and that account was taken of projects committed to and being forwarded by others as a baseline with the IDP looking over and above that.

 

Resolved:  That

a)     the progress made on the Infrastructure Delivery Plan as an evidence base for the new Local Plan 2015-2035, be noted; and

b)     it be noted that the Infrastructure Development Plan was now a live document and any subsequent updates would be made by the Chief Planning Officer in consultation with the Portfolio Holder for Planning.

 

 

 

(Cllr Mrs Morris returned to the meeting.)

18.

Public consultation on proposed updated conservation area appraisals pdf icon PDF 107 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Members considered a report which set out the legislative background to and purpose of conservation area appraisals and advised of proposed public consultation.  Six conservation areas had been re-surveyed and updated character appraisals had been drafted for: Brasted High Street; Leigh; Seal; Shoreham High Street and Church Street; Shoreham Mill Lane; and Swanley Village. There was no statutory duty to consult when preparing conservation area appraisals and management recommendations, but it was good practice to do so and a prerequisite for adoption of the appraisals as SPDs. Public consultation would be carried out by consultants Alan Baxter Ltd to the principles set out in the Council’s Statement of Community Involvement, with assistance from Officers at public meetings. It was proposed that the formal public and stakeholder consultation would run for 6 weeks from Friday 19th October until Friday 30th November 2018.

 

Resolved: That the draft conservation area appraisals, management recommendations and proposed associated public consultation be noted.

19.

Work Plan pdf icon PDF 26 KB

Minutes:

The work plan was noted with the following additions:

 

15 January 2018

Enforcement Update (or training)

 

12 March 2018

Conservation Area Appraisals – Consultation responses

Final draft Local Plan.

 

 

 

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