Issue - meetings

(Director of Planning & Economic Development) To consider the attached report (LPC-008-2012/13).

(1)        That the responses made to the Statement of Community Involvement consultation be noted;

(2)        That the proposed modifications to the draft Statement of Community Involvement, which were partly as a response to the consultations and to update the document, be approved;

(3)        That the actions proposed for inclusion in the Council’s draft Local Plan Communications Strategy be approved;

(4)        That the further items to be explored for inclusion in the Council’s Local Plan Communications Strategy be noted; and

(5)        That the draft Statement of Community Involvement, incorporating the revised Local Plan Communications Strategy, be recommended to the Council for approval, on the understanding it represented the minimum level of actions the Council would take to encourage community involvement in the Local Plan process.

The Assistant Director of Planning & Economic Development (Policy & Conservation) presented a report on the draft Statement of Community Involvement and the draft Communications Strategy.

The Assistant Director reminded the Cabinet Committee that the Statement of Community Involvement represented the minimum that the Council would do in engaging with the community on matters of concern to the Local Plan, and a consultation on the draft version of the Statement of Community Involvement had been undertaken in the summer and autumn of 2012. The responses gave rise to considerable valuable feedback for the service which could now be implemented for forthcoming consultations. Consequently, a number of changes to the text of the Statement of Community Involvement had been made to make it clearer and more up to date, and address a number of the concerns raised.

The Assistant Director stated that, in addition, there were a range of actions proposed for inclusion in the draft Communications Strategy to strengthen the transparency of communication on the Local Plan and improve on the recent experience regarding planning policy consultation. It was intended that the Local Plan Communications Strategy would provide more detail as to how the Council would engage with all its stakeholders and would provide a detailed methodology. However, planning consultations always contained controversial matters and the overall aim could only be to ensure that messages were clearly and consistently communicated, and that processes were fair and transparent.

The Assistant Director added that some additional items had been identified for further study and, if considered feasible, could be included in time for the next major planning policy consultation, namely the ‘Preferred Options’ consultation. The draft Statement of Community Involvement and draft Communications Strategy, if agreed by the Local Plan Cabinet Committee, would then be submitted to the Council at its meeting in April 2013 for formal adoption.

Some of the other Members present opined that the Council would want as many responses as possible from the public for the ‘Preferred Options’ consultation, to generate a sound evidence base for the Local Plan. It was therefore suggested that plain English should be used for the supporting documents to make them more comprehensible to the public. The Chief Executive stated that the production of “Idiots Guides” for each document was being considered and the Leader of the Council confirmed that the Council would engage plain English consultants if necessary. It was also suggested that telephone and email contact information for the Parish and Town Council Clerks could also be provided within the advertising literature sent out by the District Council. The Assistant Director reassured the Meeting that the additional items identified for further study would be submitted for Member approval before being included in a future revised Statement of Community Involvement.

Decision:

(1)        That the responses made to the Statement of Community Involvement consultation be noted;

(2)        That the proposed modifications to the draft Statement of Community Involvement, which were partly as a response to the consultations and to update the document, be approved;

(3)  ...  view the full minutes text for item 30

(Planning Portfolio Holder) To consider the attached report (LPC-001-2012/13).

(1)        That the “Statement of Community Involvement” be approved for public consultation;

(2)        That, prior to publication, the Portfolio Holder for Planning be authorised to agree any further minor amendments which might be necessary; and

(3)        That the consultation period be commenced on Monday 30 July 2012 and run for 8 weeks until Friday 21 September 2012.

The Assistant Director for Planning (Policy & Conservation) presented a report on the Statement of Community Involvement for the Local Plan.

The Cabinet Committee was informed that the Statement of Community Involvement outlined the different processes that would be engaged by the Council when determining a planning application or preparing a Local Plan. The document outlined how the Council would consult and engage with both statutory and general consultees throughout the delivery of the Local Plan. It also gave an indication of how people could get involved at each stage of the process and where to find supporting information. The Assistant Director highlighted that the consultation period was actually proposed to start on Monday 30 July for 8 weeks, not 8 July as stated in the report.

The Director of Planning & Economic Development added that the Statement was part of the process of being open and transparent with the public. The Assistant Director explained that the volume of paperwork precluded printed copies of every document being available, and hence everything had been published to the Council’s website. However, copies would be available for public viewing at both the Civic Offices and local libraries. The Chairman also assured the Cabinet Committee that a series of Local Plan Road Shows would be held around the District in September.

Some concern was expressed about part of the consultation period being conducted during the summer holidays. It was highlighted that the proposed eight-week consultation period was two weeks longer than the statutory minimum, and that all the requisite documents would be available for viewing before the official consultation period begun. These documents had been included as part of the published agenda for this meeting in a near final form. The Cabinet Committee was informed that stages one and two in the Statement – Evidence Gathering and Issues & Options Preparation – had been completed and that the Council was about to embark on stage three – First Public Consultation (Issues & Options). There was some concern about the Planning Inspectorate potentially taking up to twelve months to make a decision upon the soundness of the Council’s Local Plan. The Chairman stated that this issue had been raised at a recent conference, and it was a worry that the Planning Inspectorate could be inundated with Local Plans to examine. The Assistant Director stated that some discussions had already taken place with the Planning Inspectorate regarding the timetable.

Some of the Members present were worried about the level of development proposed by some of the options within the Strategic Land Availability Assessment. It was emphasised again that the Assessment only indicated the land available for development within the District, and that no decisions had yet been made about which sites would be chosen for further expansion. The final draft of the Local Plan would be agreed by the full Council before being submitted to the Planning Inspectorate for approval, which was still intended to be in the autumn of 2013.

Decision:

(1)        That the “Statement of Community Involvement”  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5