Agenda item

Report No: LOP/FH/16/013

(Report No: LOP/FH/16/013)

The Forest Heath Core Strategy was adopted in May 2010.  Following a successful High Court Challenge in May 2011, parts of Policy CS7 detailing how the overall housing need would be distributed between the settlements over a 20-year period (to 2031) were quashed (removed from the Strategy). Consequential amendments were also made to Policies CS1 (Spatial Strategy) and CS13 (Infrastructure and Developer Contributions).

Since then, the Council had been revisiting the quashed parts of the Core Strategy (known as the Single Issue Review) to determine the overall housing numbers and distribution, as well as developing a Site Allocations Local Plan (SALP) to identify which sites should be developed, in order to achieve the vision and objectives of the Core Strategy and meet the outcomes of the Single Issue Review.

An 'Issues and Options' (Regulation 18) consultation on the SALP was completed between July to September 2012, with a second Issues and Options (Regulation 18) SALP consultation taking place between August and October 2015. A preferred options SALP (Regulation 18) consultation was completed between April and July 2016.

A final SALP Submission consultation (Regulation 19) was scheduled to take place early next year and it was the Submission draft of the SALP as set out in Working Paper 1 to Report No LOP/FH/16/013, along with the final Local Plan Policies Map (as set out in Working Paper 2 to Report No LOP/FH/16/013).

Since the 2015 Issues and Options and the 2016 Preferred Options consultations on the SALP, Officers had been preparing the final submission version of the document. This was last stage of consultation prior to the document, together with the supporting information and evidence and representations received, being submitted to the Planning Inspectorate for Examination in Public.    

The SALP Submission document had been reviewed by the Planning Advisory Service and an external expert planning solicitor who had provided feedback and provided the Council confidence that the documents prepared were robust to minimise risk of a successful challenge.  The Council’s Communications Team had also read and commented upon documents.

Working Paper 1 to Report No LOP/FH/16/013was the Site Allocations Local Plan Submission document. It superseded and updated the 2015 and 2016 consultation documents and set out the Council’s sites for housing, employment and other uses to 2031.

The final Regulation 19 consultation on the SALP Submission document would be focused on the whether it was a ‘legally compliant’ and ‘sound’ document. The consultation would ask the public and stakeholders specific questions required by the Planning Inspectorate and required that representations considered whether the tests of soundness had been met as set out in the introduction to the document in Working Paper 1 to Report No: LOP/FH/16/013.

Consultants had also been appointed to undertake the full Sustainability Appraisal (SA), Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) and Habitat Regulations Assessment (HRA) work in relation to the final Submission draft of the CS SIR document.  A full report setting out these findings would accompany the document for consultation in January 2017.

The Council were planning for long term growth to give certainty in how and where settlements would grow within the district. This would ensure that service providers could plan and deliver the necessary infrastructure to enable the planned growth to happen when it was required. This would include such facilities as roads, sewers and water infrastructure.

A draft Infrastructure Delivery Plan (IDP) accompanied the 2015 and 2016 SALP consultation documents. Since then, further work with infrastructure providers had taken place which had helped inform the selection of final sites in the SALP submission document. A further revised IDP would accompany the SALP submission document to further set out the infrastructure requirements to support development. Comments could also be made on this next iteration of the draft IDP during the 2017 consultation.

The Policies Map (formerly known as the Proposals Map) illustrated particular land uses throughout the district including areas for protection, such as Special Protection Areas and conservation areas, as well as employment and residential activities. It also identified key sites for development. The Policies Map encompassed all Local Plan documents including policies in the Core Strategy (2010) and the Joint Development Management Policies document (2015).   Working Paper 2 to Report No: LOP/FH/16/013 contained the updated Policies Map which had been produced for consultation alongside the 2017 SALP submission document. This allowed the allocated sites to be viewed alongside other already adopted policies and constraints to assist when making consultation comments.  

The final Submission (Regulation 19) CS SIR document would be considered by Cabinet on 13 December 2016 and Council on 21 December 2016 for approval for consultation and submission to the Secretary of State.  A final consultation was planned from 10 January 2017 to 21 February 2017.  The change in consultation date for the next consultation had also required an update to be made to the Local Development Scheme (timetable for plan preparation).  This had been published on the Council’s website.  The amendment to the timeline did not affect the anticipated adoption of the document in December 2017.

Comments received during this next consultation would be submitted directly to the Secretary of State with the Local Plan documents for consideration through a Local Plan Examination led by an independent Planning Inspector.  It was anticipated that submission of these documents would take place in early March 2017.  However, should any factors arise which could cause delay and which were beyond the Council’s control, a further meeting of the Working Group would be arranged to outline options for the progressing of the Single Issue Review and any consequential impact on the Local Plan timetable itself.

During the meeting, the Working Group were provided with additional information, which included a summary of the key issues which had been raised during the SALP Preferred Options consultation on:

-      planning policy context

-      settlement and preferred site options

-      economy and jobs

-      retail and town centres

-      gypsies and travellers and travelling showpeople

-      settlement boundary reviews.

along with any subsequent changes which had been made to the Submission draft, along with the reasons for the changes.

With the vote being unanimous, it was

          RECOMMENDED:

          That, subject to the approval of Council:-

1.       The Site Allocations Local Plan (SALP) Submission document (Regulation 19) as set out in Working Paper 1 to Report No: LOP/FH/16/013, be endorsed.

2.       The Site Allocations Local Plan (SALP) Submission document (as set out in Working Paper 1 to Report No: LOP/FH/16/013) and accompanying SEA/SA, together with supporting documents, be approved for Regulation 19 consultation.

3.       The Head of Planning and Growth, in consultation with the Portfolio Holder for Planning and Growth and the Chairman and Vice Chairman of the Local Plan Working Group, be given delegated authority to submit the Site Allocations Local Plan Submission document, all representations received to it during the final consultation and supporting documents, to the Secretary of State for independent Examination, subject to there being no material issues raised by consultees at the final consultation stage which require further consideration/modifications to the SALP.

4.       The Head of Planning and Growth, in consultation with the Portfolio Holder for Planning and Growth and the Chairman and Vice Chairman of the Local Plan Working Group, be authorised to make any minor typographical, factual, spelling and grammatical changes to the document, provided that it does not materially affect the substance or meaning.

Prior to the conclusion of the meeting, Councillor Robin Millar took the opportunity to thank both Officers and Members for all of their hard work during the Local Plan process, particularly in light of the challenges which had been faced along the way.

(Councillor Rona Burt left the meeting at 5.30 pm, during the consideration of, and prior to, the voting on this item.  Councillor Robin Millar took the Chair for the remainder of the meeting).