Issue - meetings

Report number:     CAB/WS/20/057

Portfolio holder: Councillor David Roach                 

Lead officers: Julie Baird and Marie Smith

Recommended to Council (29 September 2020):

That:

1.       the West Suffolk Local Plan Issues and Options documents be endorsed and recommended to Council for approval for public consultation, as set out in Appendix A to Report number: CAB/WS/20/057; and

2.       delegated authority be given to the Service Manager (Strategic Planning) to make minor non-material consequential changes to the documents as necessary.

The Cabinet considered this report, which sought endorsement and a recommendation to Council for approval of the West Suffolk Local Plan Issues and Options documents for public consultation.

The Local Plan was important in supporting delivery of the Council’s strategic priorities and essential for the continuation of an effective planning service.  In addition, the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act, (2004), required local planning authorities to prepare and keep an up-to-date Local Plan.

The new West Suffolk Local Plan would plan for the period to 2040 which aligned with local plans being produced by neighbouring authorities. The Issues and Options Local Plan consultation was the first of several rounds of public consultation in the local plan preparation process.

The Issues and Options document had three main parts, namely:

Part one:    spatial vision

Part two:    local issues

Part three: settlement profile

Each part was summarised in paragraph 2.3 of the report, with the full parts contained in Appendix A. 

Councillor David Roach, Portfolio Holder for Local Plan Development and Delivery, drew relevant issues to the attention of Cabinet, including that subject to Council approval, public consultation on the draft Issues and Options Local Plan and supporting documents would be undertaken for ten weeks from Tuesday 13 October to Tuesday 22 December 2020. The proposed engagement programme would involve a range of methods, the majority of which were set out in paragraph 4.3 of the report.

Some concern was expressed regarding the effectiveness of the consultation and engagement exercise during the current Covid-19 crisis, particularly as face to face contact would be extremely limited.

In response, Councillor Roach explained that the consultation would be carried out for an extended period and new methods of non-contact engagement were being implemented to try and reach as many as possible.

Other Cabinet members recognised the importance of member engagement within their own wards, which included encouraging parish councils to actively engage as much as possible within their own communities. While Government Covid-19 safety guidelines needed to be adhered to, this would support efforts in trying to achieve a good response rate from the wider community.  

Recommended to Council (29 September 2020):

That:

1.       the West Suffolk Local Plan Issues and Options documents be endorsed and recommended to Council for approval for public consultation, as set out in Appendix A to Report number: CAB/WS/20/057; and

2.       delegated authority be given to the Service Manager (Strategic Planning) to make minor non-material consequential changes to the documents as necessary.

(Councillor Ian Shipp left the meeting at the conclusion of this item.)