Agenda item

(Planning Portfolio Holder) To consider the attached report (C-002-2014/15).

(1)        That the methodology of the review of the Green Belt be amended to reflect the results of the high level review being shared with the Town and Parish Councils prior to undertaking the final detailed assessment stage; and

(2)        That the updated and comprehensive approach to the review of the Green Belt, as set out at Appendix 1 of the report and revised as set out in (1) above, be agreed in order to inform the Local Plan.

The Portfolio Holder for Planning Policy presented a report on the proposed updated methodology for the Green Belt review.

The Portfolio Holder reminded the Cabinet that, in September 2012, the Local Plan Cabinet Committee had agreed to carry out an assessment of the purposes of including land in the Green Belt in the District, to inform the preparation of the new Local Plan. The methodology as agreed considered the purposes of the Green Belt, as identified in National Planning Policy Guidance, and was to be applied to “all the potential areas for growth put forward in the Community Choices consultation (Issues and Options) and any additional areas considered to be reasonable that may be submitted during the consultation period” (report LPC-004-2012/13, paragraph 9 refers).

The Portfolio Holder reported that, since then, the outcomes of Local Plan and core strategy examinations in public had indicated that Inspectors expected a comprehensive review of the Green Belt to be undertaken before the release of Green Belt land was considered. Therefore, this revised methodology reflected the need for a comprehensive Green Belt Review of the District, considering the contribution each area made to the nationally identified purposes of the Green Belt.

The Portfolio Holder added that emerging national experience of the duty to co-operate indicated that Green Belt land was a cross-boundary issue in which it was important to involve adjoining authorities when any review was contemplated. The updated approach therefore identified a number of bodies who would be invited to engage in the review, through appropriate mechanisms.

In respect of the questions used to assess parcels of Green Belt land against the National Purposes, concerns were raised about section 3, questions to assist in safeguarding the countryside from encroachment, as it was felt that work had already been carried out in this area. The Portfolio Holder agreed but added that the analysis had to be now performed for the whole of the District and not just certain areas. The Council’s consultant from Fortismere Associates added that any parts of the Green Belt considered for development would then need to move to stage two. In respect of question 3(c), it was highlighted that grade III agricultural land would also be identified but that the higher grade I or II agricultural land would carry more weight.

The Portfolio Holder agreed that it was important for the Town and Parish Councils to be consulted and involved with the process, and undertook to share the results of the high level review with local councils prior to undertaking the final detailed assessment stage. The Portfolio Holder reassured the Cabinet that all studies would be published to the Council’s website when they were produced, and that the definition of comprehensive was that the whole District had to examined, including the forest land. The review would be field-led, although initial desktop analysis using GIS would give an indication of the land. It would be possible to provide Members with a more detailed version of the map published at the end of the proposed revised methodology if requested.

Decision:

(1)        That the methodology of the review of the Green Belt be amended to reflect the results of the high level review being shared with the Town and Parish Councils prior to undertaking the final detailed assessment stage; and

(2)        That the updated and comprehensive approach to the review of the Green Belt, as set out at Appendix 1 of the report and revised as set out in (1) above, be agreed in order to inform the Local Plan.

Reasons for Decision:

To agree an updated approach to undertaking a Green Belt review in the District, in the light of the outcomes of recent Examinations in Public into Local Plans, and emerging good practice and wider experience in carrying out the Duty to Co-operate.

Other Options Considered and Rejected:

To not agree an updated approach and comprehensive assessment.  However, this would risk the work carried out being found unsound by an Inspector, and prejudicing the Local Plan as a whole.