Issue - meetings

Item HP 22/19 referred from the Housing and Planning Scrutiny Select Committee of 6 December 2022

Consideration of recommendation HP 22/19 from the meeting of the Housing and Planning Scrutiny Select Committee of 6 December 2022.

The Cabinet RESOLVED that:

(1)             the initial outputs of the Regulation 18 consultation on the draft Local Plan and Interim Sustainability Appraisal be noted;

(2)             the approach to promoting the Local Plan through other Council communications, as set out in 1.3.10 and subject to GDPR restrictions, be noted; and

(3)             the programme for bringing more detailed outputs to Members at the meeting of the Housing and Planning Scrutiny Select Committee in March 2023 be approved.

Decision Notice: D230004CAB

Consideration was given to the recommendations of the Housing and Planning Scrutiny Select Committee of 6 December 2022 (as set out at Minute Number HP 22/19).

Members were reminded that the Regulation 18 consultation in respect of the Local Plan and the associated Interim Sustainability Appraisal had finished on 3 November 2022.  The report of the Director of Planning, Housing and Environmental Health provided high-level summaries and statistics of the responses received and the key themes identified.  Members were advised that a further detailed analysis would be presented to a future meeting of the Housing and Planning Scrutiny Select Committee.

RESOLVED that:

(1)            the initial outputs of the Regulation 18 consultation on the draft Local Plan and Interim Sustainability Appraisal be noted;

(2)            the approach to promoting the Local Plan through other Council communications, as set out in 1.3.10 and subject to GDPR restrictions, be noted; and

(3)            the programme for bringing more detailed outputs to Members at the meeting of the Housing and Planning Scrutiny Select Committee in March 2023 be approved.

The report presents initial findings in respect of the Regulation 18 consultation on the draft Local Plan and the Interim Sustainability Appraisal and seeks approval of a programme for presenting more detailed findings.

Members were reminded that the Regulation 18 consultation in respect to the Local Plan and the associated Interim Sustainability Appraisal had finished on 3 November 2022.  The report of the Director of Planning, Housing and Environmental Health provided high-level summaries and statistics of the responses received and the key themes identified.  Further detailed analysis would be presented to a future meeting of the Housing and Planning Scrutiny Select Committee.

A majority of the comments were in response to the Local Plan rather than the Interim Sustainability Appraisal and the key matters raised by statutory bodies were set out at Annex 1.  A list of landowners, developers and other key bodies who had responded were set out at Annex 2, whilst a statistical analysis of the responses was provided at Annex 3.  Members were reminded that the call for sites process had been reopened alongside the Regulation 18 Consultation and a further 52 potential new sites had been identified (once duplicates had been removed).

Particular reference was made to recent announcements made by the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities indicating new measures in the Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill, which could have implications for housebuilding targets, the Green Belt and the duty to co-operate as there was an emphasis on local decision making. 

Members expressed concern at the lack of detail from Government and whether the Local Plan process and timetable needed to be revisited to reflect changing circumstances.  It was unclear how any changes would be implemented arising from the Government proposals at the current time.  However, it was likely that more detail would be available in time for these to be considered in more depth at the next meeting of the Scrutiny Select Committee. 

There was in-depth discussion on a number of issues and the following points were raised, discussed and noted:

·        The need for wider communication and engagement with residents;

·        The need to identify and understand the process for the Borough Council to consider sites as a landowner, and not a Local Planning Authority, identified in the Urban Capacity Study;

·        The potential for consultation on the 52 additional sites identified in the revisited Call for Sites exercise;

·        The commissioning of a stage 2 Green Belt appraisal, which would be a key tool in assessing sites.

RECOMMENDED:  That                                                                                             

(1)             the initial outputs of the Regulation 18 consultation on the draft Local Plan and Interim Sustainability Appraisal be noted;

(2)             the approach to promoting the Local Plan through other council communications, as set out in 1.3.10 and subject to GDPR restrictions, be noted; and

(3)             the programme for bringing more detailed outputs to Members at the meeting of the Housing and Planning Scrutiny Select Committee in March 2023 be approved.

*Referred to Cabinet