Agenda item

Report number: COU/WS/23/020

 

Part One

A.      Referrals from Cabinet: 14 November 2023

 

There are no referrals emanating from meeting of Cabinet held on 14 November 2023.

 

B.      Referrals from Cabinet: 5 December 2023

 

1.       Treasury Management Report - September 2023

          Portfolio holder: Councillor Diane Hind

 

2.       West Suffolk Local Plan Publication (Regulation 19) Consultation and Submission

          (Report number: COU/WS/23/021)

          Portfolio holder: Councillor Jim Thorndyke

 

(See separate supplement packs for Appendix A which contains the proposed West Suffolk Local Plan Submission 2024 documents themselves – available to view electronically on the Council’s website here. Paper copies available upon request.)

 

Part Two

3.       Local Council Tax Reduction Scheme 2024 to 2025

          Portfolio holder: Councillor Diane Hind

 

4.       Council tax base for tax setting purposes 2024 to 2025

          Portfolio holder: Councillor Diane Hind

Council considered the referrals report of recommendations from Cabinet, as contained within report number: COU/WS/23/020. In addition to the overall summary of Cabinet referrals, Council also considered Report number: COU/WS/23/021, which contained the specific referral on the ‘West Suffolk Local Plan Publication (Regulation 19) Consultation and Submission’.

 

A.      Referrals from Cabinet: 14 November 2023

 

There were no referrals emanating from the last meetings of Cabinet held on 14 November 2023.

 

B.      Referrals from Cabinet: 5 December 2023

 

1.      Treasury Management Report (September 2023)

 

Approval was sought for the Treasury Management Report (September 2023).

 

Councillor Diane Hind, Portfolio Holder for Resources drew relevant issues to the attention of Council.

 

On the motion of Councillor Hind, seconded by Councillor Marilyn Sayer, it was put to the vote and with the vote being 53 for the motion, none against and two abstentions, it was

 

Resolved:

 

That the Treasury Management Report (September 2023), as contained in Report number FRS/WS/23/005, be approved.

 

2.      West Suffolk Local Plan Publication (Regulation 19) Consultation and Submission (Report number: COU/WS/23/021)

 

(Councillor Broughton declared a Disclosable Pecuniary Interest as she and her husband owned a parcel of land within an area in Great Barton identified within the West Suffolk Local Plan (Regulation 19) consultation document. She left the meeting during the consideration of this item and did not return, and therefore, she did not take part in the debate or the vote.)

 

(Councillor Stennett declared a Disclosable Pecuniary Interest as he owned parcels of land (in a partnership); had land where he was a company director; and his parents and distant family owned parcels of land in the district. All of these parcels of land had been identified within the West Suffolk Local Plan (Regulation 19) consultation document. Councillor Stennett also declared in the interests of transparency that as director of development company, Ingham Developments, he had business relationships with numerous other companies that may have interests in land in the district which were included in the Regulation 19 Local Plan. Councillor Stennett left the meeting during the consideration of this item and did not return, and therefore, he did not take part in the debate or the vote.)

 

On 5 December 2023, the Cabinet had considered Report number: CAB/WS/23/056 ‘West Suffolk Local Plan Publication (Regulation 19) Consultation and Submission’.

 

The Cabinet had considered that the West Suffolk Local Plan Proposed Submission (Regulation 19) document was both final and sound and that, subject to the outcome of the independent examination, it had recommended to Council that it should approve the Local Plan and supporting documentation for public consultation and its subsequent submission to the Secretary of State for the purposes of independent examination. The Cabinet had made a minor amendment to Recommendation (3) which removed a potential time constraint and Appendix A (the West Suffolk Local Plan Proposed Submission (Regulation 19) document itself) had since been updated following the Cabinet meeting to include the Policies Map.

 

Members were therefore requested to consider Report number: COU/WS/23/021 attached to the referrals report, which provided an updated version of the Cabinet report (CAB/WS/23/056). For clarity, this captured the amended Recommendation (3) and provided a link to the West Suffolk Local Plan Proposed Submission (Regulation 19) document which included the Policies Map.

 

Council considered Report number: COU/WS/23/021, which sought approval of the West Suffolk Local Plan Proposed Submission (Regulation 19) document, together with supporting documents, for consultation.

 

Approval of the Proposed Submission Local Plan and Policies Map would allow the Local Plan to be subject to its final round of consultation (scheduled for 30 January 2024 to 5 March 2024); and if approved and following consultation, the Local Plan would be submitted to the Secretary of State for the purpose of independent examination.

 

The final West Suffolk Local Plan Regulation 19 consultation would be focused on the whether the plan was a ‘legally compliant’ and ‘sound’ document. This was a technical consultation which would ask the public and stakeholders specific questions required by the Planning Inspectorate and required that representations consider whether the tests of soundness had been met.

 

Councillor Jim Thorndyke, Portfolio Holder for Planning, drew relevant issues to the attention of Council, including paying tribute to the Local Plan Working Group for their contributions towards shaping the Plan. Upon moving the recommendations, Councillor Thorndyke made an amendment to Recommendation (1), as indicated with emboldened text:

 

‘The West Suffolk Local Plan Proposed Submission (Regulation 19) document (Appendix A to Report number: COU/WS/23/021), as amended to replace the word ‘required’ with the word ‘encouraged’ in the third paragraph of Policy LP25, ‘Custom and Self-Build Homes’, together with supporting documents be approved for public consultation and its subsequent submission to the Secretary of State for the purposes of independent examination.  

 

This amendment was made to ensure Policy LP25, ‘Custom and Self-Build Homes’ was sufficiently robust. It had been ascertained since the publication of the Local Plan (Regulation 19) document (Appendix A) that a requirement of ten percent self-build and custom build homes of large sites would impact the viability and deliverability of other policies, for example, affordable housing and climate change policy requirements. The third paragraph of Policy LP25 would now therefore read:

 

‘All proposals for development of 100 homes or more will be encouraged to provide at least ten percent of the total homes as custom and/or self-build plots.’

 

This change was considered relatively small when compared to delivering the Council’s strategic priorities which sought to achieve more affordable and sustainable homes.

 

The motion, to include the amended recommendation set out above, was duly seconded by Councillor David Smith.

 

The debate ensued with positive comments particularly made on the key policies set out in paragraph 2.7 of the report. The majority of members specifically supported the climate change policy which would require sustainable construction with a fabric first approach to achieve carbon reduction through energy efficiency and photovoltaic panels on all roofs where practically possible; the new health and wellbeing policy, which proposed that linking the design and delivery of homes to health and wellbeing set out the Council’s intention to deliver growth for the benefit of people; and the policy which proposed an increase of the current requirement of 30 percent affordable homes to 40 percent affordable housing on greenfield sites to deliver much needed homes for West Suffolk’s communities.

 

The majority of members commended the Local Plan, acknowledging approximately three years of work to reach this point. Recognition was given to the Local Plan Working Group, which comprised members from across the Council’s political spectrum, for their thorough input and detailed discussion on the various elements of the Plan. This included placing thanks on record to former district Councillor David Roach, as former Portfolio Holder for Planning and Chair of the Local Plan Working Group prior to the May 2023 district council elections. Recognition was also given to the public and stakeholders who had made representations as part of previous consultations; and to officers for their sterling work in supporting the process.

 

Some reservations, however, were expressed regarding:

 

·         The proposed amendment to Policy LP25, ‘Custom and Self-Build Homes’ as the change would effectively dilute the policy and this would result in insufficient numbers of homes being built in an alternative way.

·         Policy SP6, ‘Biodiversity Net Gain’ (BNG), where it was proposed that new development proposals should achieve the legally required minimum of ten percent BNG. It was felt that this may be a missed opportunity and it was suggested that a minimum of 20 percent BNG should be achieved instead.

·         That work should continue to press Suffolk County Council as Highways Authority and Local Education Authority to provide the required infrastructure and education provision for new developments, as appropriate.

·         The robustness of the Local Plan upon submission for examination by the Planning Inspectorate.

·         Limited growth proposals for Brandon; however, Councillor Victor Lukaniuk, Deputy Leader of the Council and one of the ward members for Brandon, was pleased that despite the environmental constraints which limited growth in the town, provision had been made in the Plan whereby the Council would use its best endeavours to achieve a solution to successfully deliver sustainable growth in Brandon whilst working within the current constraints.

 

In his right of reply, Councillor Thorndyke duly responded to the issues raised above. Reservations were acknowledged; however, he reiterated that working within legal parameters that could be constrictive, future developments also needed to remain viable and deliverable.

 

On the motion of Councillor Thorndyke, seconded by Councillor David Smith, it was put to the vote and with the vote being 48 for the motion, none against and two abstentions, it was

 

Resolved:

That

 

1.       The West Suffolk Local Plan Proposed Submission (Regulation 19) document (Appendix A to Report number: COU/WS/23/021), as amended to replace the word ‘required’ with the word ‘encouraged’ in the third paragraph of Policy LP25, ‘Custom and Self-Build Homes’, together with supporting documents be approved for public consultation and its subsequent submission to the Secretary of State for the purposes of independent examination.   

 

2.       Delegated authority be given to the Director (Planning and Growth), in consultation with the Portfolio Holder for Planning to make any presentational improvements or minor non-material consequential changes to the document as necessary prior to the consultation commencing.

 

3.       Delegated authority be given to the Director (Planning and Growth), in consultation with the Portfolio Holder for Planning to agree and consult upon a set of proposed modifications during the examination process.

 

(Councillors Paul Firman, John Griffiths and Aaron Luccarini left the meeting during the consideration of this item and therefore did not vote on the item. Councillors Andy Drummond, Susan Glossop and Mildmay-White left the meeting at the conclusion of this item after the vote.)

 

3.      West Suffolk Council Local Council Tax Reduction Scheme (LCTRS) 2024 to 2025

 

Approval was sought for West Suffolk Local Council Tax Reduction Scheme 2024 to 2025.

 

Each year the Council was required to review its Local Council Tax Reduction Scheme (LCTRS). Report number: CAB/WS/23/057 provided an annual review of the 2023 to 2024 scheme and proposed to make changes to the scheme for 2024 to 2025.

 

Councillor Diane Hind, Portfolio Holder for Resources, drew relevant issues to the attention of Council, including that it was being proposed to extend the maximum reduction on council tax paid of 100 percent for a further 12 months. This would take effect from 1 April 2024 (and last for one year only). This would be a means tested scheme and was designed to support low-income working age residents, in light of the current pressures on the cost of living. This proposal was set out further in paragraph 2.2 of the report.

 

A consultation on the proposals was held from 2 October to 30 October 2023. Major preceptors and stakeholders had responded and the responses received and the key points raised were covered in section 4 of the report. It was noted that 90.2 percent of the respondents agreed or strongly agreed with the proposal to extend the maximum discount on council tax.

 

On the motion of Councillor Hind, seconded by Councillor Julia Wakelam, it was put to the vote and with the vote being unanimous, it was

 

Resolved:

That

 

1.       The Local Council Tax Reduction (LCTRS) Scheme for 2023 to 2024 as outlined in Report number: CAB/WS/23/057, be reviewed.

 

2.       The changes to the Scheme outlined in section 2 of Report number: CAB/WS/23/057 and that the maximum discount change only relates to 2024 to 2025 in line with the recent consultation, be agreed.

 

4.      Council tax base for tax setting purposes 2024 to 2025

 

Approval was sought for the council tax base for tax setting purposes for 2024 to 2025.

 

Report number: CAB/WS/23/058 explained that the council tax base was the total taxable value at a point in time of all the domestic properties in the Council’s area. It was a yearly calculation and represented the estimated number of chargeable dwellings after allowing for exemptions and discounts, projected changes in the property base and after applying an estimated collection rate.

 

The calculation of the tax base for council tax setting purposes consisted of three stages, details of which were set out in the report.

 

Councillor Diane Hind, Portfolio Holder for Resources, drew relevant issues to the attention of Council, and referred to paragraph 2.5 of Report number CAB/WS/23/058 which explained that the resulting tax base figure for council tax collection purposes, expressed in terms of the number of band D equivalent properties, was 58,684.97 for 2024 to 2025. This was an increase of 697.96 on the tax base for the current year of 57,987.01.

 

The tax base figure for West Suffolk, as outlined in paragraph 2.6 of the Cabinet report was analysed further across the individual town and parish councils to form their tax base figures for the purpose of budget setting and determining the parish band D tax levels in each of those areas.  The town and parish tax base figures were set out in Appendix 3 of the Cabinet report.

 

On the motion of Councillor Hind, seconded by Councillor Jon London, it was put to the vote and with the vote being unanimous, it was

 

Resolved:

That

 

1.       The tax base for 2024 to 2025, for the whole of West Suffolk be 58,684.97 equivalent band D dwellings, as detailed in paragraph 2.3 of Report number: CAB/WS/23/058.  

 

2.       The tax base for 2024 to 2025 for the different parts of its area, as defined by parish or special expense area boundaries, be as shown in Appendix 3 to Report number: CAB/WS/23/058.