Agenda item

To consider a report by the Head of Development following recent Government announcements relating to a timescale for the production of Local Plans, an update on progress with preparing the Huntingdonshire Local Plan and the proposed way forward.

 i.  Notes the Government’s new timescales for the Plan preparation process;

ii.  Notes the progress on preparation of the Huntingdonshire Local Plan to 2036.

iii.  Endorses the proposed way forward that alongside the evidence referred to in paragraphs 3.5 and 3.6 of the Officer’s report, the District Council explores the identification of a supply of sites for years 1-10 from the date of adoption only if it appears that identifying sites for years 11-15 will unduly delay the submission of the Local Plan.

iv.  That as a priority, infrastructure requirements for Wyton Airfield are further scoped with a view they can be identified and fully costed.

v.  That the Cabinet receives quarterly update reports.

(Councillor T Sanderson, Chairman of Overview and Scrutiny Panel (Environmental Well-Being), was in attendance for this item).

The Cabinet received a report from the Head of Development (a copy of which is appended in the Minute Book) regarding the Government’s new timescales for the plan preparation process and the progress on the preparation of the Huntingdonshire Local Plan to 2036. 

Government had announced that it expected new Local Plans ‘… to be written …’ by early 2017.  By the end of March 2017 Local Plans needed to be at least at the second statutory stage of the Local Plan Examination process – known as the Submission stage.  This was the point at which the Local Plan could be deemed to be ‘written’ by the Local Planning Authority, although it would still be subject to an Examination in Public by an independent Planning Inspector.  Where Local Planning Authorities were not making sufficient progress in preparing new Local Plans the Government had indicated that it would use sanctions if required to intervene.

The Local Plan was being prepared in the format of a single Local Plan document containing Huntingdonshire’s Planning Strategy, Development Management Policies and Site Allocations.  When adopted the Local Plan would be the District Council’s most up to date statement of Planning Policy and form the statutory Development Plan for Huntingdonshire, along with any Neighbourhood Plans that were formally ‘made’ following a local Referendum, the Cambridgeshire County Council’s Minerals and Waste Core Strategy (2011) and Site Specific Proposals Plan (2012).  It would be compliant with national planning policy and replace the existing Huntingdonshire Development Plan Documents which were the Huntingdonshire Local Plan 1995, the Huntingdonshire Local Plan Alteration 2002, the Huntingdonshire Core Strategy (2009) and the Huntingdon West Area Action Plan (2011).

Over the years a series of Supplementary Planning Documents (SPDs) had been prepared to complement and provide relevant detail on the current Development Plan policies.  It was permissible to maintain a suite of SPDs to complement Local Plan policies and there would need to be a process and programme for considering which SPDs should be removed or updated and whether new SPDs were required.

The next stage in the process was the formal statutory stages, known as the Proposed Submission, Submission, Examination and Adoption stages.  The Examination stage was where the finalised and detailed Local Plan and its supporting evidence base was tested by an independent Planning Inspector.  If it was found to be ‘sound’ the Plan could be adopted as part of the Development Plan for Huntingdonshire.

It was explained to the Cabinet that there were key pieces of supporting evidence for the Local Plan that needed to be completed such as the traffic modelling and an updated Strategic Flood Risk Assessment.  In order to complete the Supporting Evidence the Cabinet was advised that the Council would need to commission Consultants and that the Planning Policy budget included provision for this.

The Cabinet was advised that the National Planning Policy Framework requirement was to identify a supply of sites for years 1-10 and, where possible, for years 11-15.  The District Council had developed the Local Plan with the intention of identifying a supply of specific, developable sites for years 1-15.  The traffic modelling work still to be completed was in part required to consider whether and how the proposed allocation at Wyton Airfield could be delivered. 

The Chairman of Overview and Scrutiny Panel (Environmental Well-Being), having been invited to address the Cabinet, explained that the Panel had welcomed the approach that the Council was taking in devising the Local Plan. 

In endorsing the proposed way forward the Cabinet refined the recommendation contained within the Officer’s report and endorsed that alongside the evidence referred to in paragraphs 3.5 and 3.6 of the Officer’s report, the District Council explores the identification of a supply of sites for years 1-10 from the date of adoption only if it appears that identifying sites for years 11-15 will unduly delay the submission of the Local Plan.

In concluding the discussions the Cabinet agreed that in addition to the recommendations contained within the Officer’s report that as a priority, infrastructure requirements for Wyton Airfield should be further scoped with a view they could be identified and fully costed, whereupon it was,

RESOLVED:

that the Cabinet:

 i.  notes the Government’s new timescales for the Plan preparation process;

ii.  notes the progress on preparation of the Huntingdonshire Local Plan to 2036;

iii.  endorses the proposed way forward that alongside the evidence referred to in paragraphs 3.5 and 3.6 of the Officer’s report, the District Council explores the identification of a supply of sites for years 1-10 from the date of adoption only if it appears that identifying sites for years 11-15 will unduly delay the submission of the Local Plan;

iv.  that as a priority, infrastructure requirements for Wyton Airfield are further scoped with a view they can be identified and fully costed;

v.  that the Cabinet receives quarterly update reports.

At the conclusion of the above, at 8.45pm, item Councillor D Dew left the meeting.