Agenda and minutes

To elect a Chairman for the meeting.

Resolved:

(1)        That Councillor B Sandler be elected Chairman for the duration of the meeting.

To be agreed.

Resolved:

(1)        That the notes of the last meeting, held on 25 February 2013, be agreed as a true and accurate record.

To discuss any matters arising from the last meeting, and any issues arising from meetings of the Sub-Committees and the District Development Control Committee.

The Meeting noted that the Guidance for Members at Planning Site Visits had been adopted.

To discuss potential changes to arrangements that will be discussed further by the Planning Services Scrutiny Panel in December 2014. A draft suggested article is attached.

DDCC Terms of Reference

S Hill presented the new draft Article for the District Development Control Committee (DDCC), as attached to the agenda. It was highlighted that the new draft Article was a balancing act and should not become dated by new legislation. It was suggested that the new Article should be implemented in May 2015.

N Richardson informed the Meeting that the Direction to which paragraph 1(f) under DDCC referred to no longer existed. It was proposed that this paragraph should be removed and the following sub-section added to the section concerning Area Plans Sub-Committees:

            “4 (i) (c)           it is required to be referred to the Secretary of State as set out        in any current Government Circular or Directive; or”

It was emphasised that such applications would come to DDCC for consideration as well. N Richardson also outlined the five circumstances whereby an application would be referred to the Secretary of State for approval.

Cllr Philip commented that it was sensible for the majority of planning applications to be considered by the Area Sub-Committees. He also suggested that the new Article should be piloted for 1 year after its introduction, in order to measure the impact of the changes on the workload of DDCC.

Public Participation Rules

S Hill informed the Meeting that the Rules for Participation on Planning Matters had also been revised, and the proposed additions had been highlighted in yellow in the draft Article. It was noted that Statutory Consultees had been included at paragraph 1 (c), and it was felt that the words “…where they have so requested.” should be added to this paragraph. In paragraph 1 (e), it was also felt that references to the opinion/recommendation of the Head of Planning & Economic Development should be removed.

The Meeting considered paragraph (3) and Cllr Sandler thought that it should be at the discretion of the Chairman to make a judgement as to whether to allow more than three speakers for a particular item. It was agreed that the following additional sentence should be added to that paragraph: “In the light of exceptional circumstances, the Chairman can permit more than three speakers for a particular item.”. For paragraph (4), it was agreed that the current arrangements should be retained, whereby public speakers were required to register by 4.00pm on the day before the meeting, with the Chairman having the discretion to allow further speakers after this time.

The Meeting was unanimous in its support of paragraph (6), whereby written submissions and photographs would not be considered if brought to the attention of the (Sub-)Committee for the first time at the meeting, and it was felt that this should be included in the “Your Voice, Your Choice” leaflet if it was not already. The Meeting also agreed that photographs submitted by Public Speakers should not be included in the Planning Officer’s presentation.

Cllr Sandler felt that public speakers should be encouraged to be concise in their submissions to Members, and also state  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4.

To discuss any issues arising from the operation of minority references to the District Development Control Committee from the Area Planning Sub-Committees.

The Group considered the operation of minority references at Planning Sub-Committee meetings. S Hill advised that this item would be considered by the Constitution & Member Services Scrutiny Panel and this was not a procedure operated by many other Councils.

Cllr Keska stated that minority references to the District Development Control Committee (DDCC) had been made by Plans East for policy reasons. Cllr Sandler opined that the current rules should remain in operation with at least four Members required to agree a Minority Reference to DDCC.

Resolved:

(1)        That the rules concerning a Minority Reference from a Plans Sub-Committee to DDCC remain unchanged with at least four Members required to agree the Reference.

To discuss a further offer of accommodation for Area Plans Sub-Committee South.

S Hill reported that Epping Forest College had been examined as a possible location for the forthcoming Parliamentary Election Count in 2015. During these discussions, the College had indicated that they were keen to extend their facilities to the local community, and would be delighted to host Plans South meetings in their theatre. The public would be situated in banked seating, which would make for easier viewing, but the cost of hire would be more expensive than the current venue at Roding Valley High School.

Cllr Sandler commented that if Plans South was to move from its current location then it should be brought back to the Civic Offices as there would be no hire charge for the use of the Council Chamber, and it would be easier for Officers to support the meeting. In addition, the webcasting of the meeting could be streamed live to the public and it would require less Officers to manage the meeting. Any move for Plans South should save the Council money, not spend more.

Cllr Philip suggested that costings should be provided for holding Plans South meetings at Roding Valley High School, Epping Forest College and the Civic Offices, as this would the best way to consider any potential move, along with the advantages.

S Hill agreed to prepare a report for the Portfolio Holder to discuss with the Chairman and Vice-Chairman of Plans South.

Resolved:

(1)        That a report be prepared for the Governance & Development Management Portfolio Holder to discuss with the Chairman and Vice-Chairman of Plans South  on the costs and benefits of holding Plans South at the following venues:

            (a)        Roding Valley High School;

            (b)        Epping Forest College; and

            (c)        The Civic Offices in Epping.

The Meeting noted that there was no other urgent business to consider.