Issue - meetings

The report seeks approval for the additional resources required to have an up-to-date Local Plan in place by the Government deadline of December 2023.

Following consideration, the Committee resolved:

(1)      To approve the increase in budget of £712,000, as set out in section 2.23.2 of this report, for additional activities identified in the preparation and adoption of a new Local Plan.

(2)      To approve the reallocation of resources and additional funding of £29,583 to complete existing workstreams as set out in sections 2.23.1 and 2 of this report.

(3)      To approve the use of New Homes Bonus Grant totalling £741,583 currently held in the Corporate Projects Reserve to fund the increased cost of delivering the Local Plan. 

The Committee received a report seeking approval for the additional resources required to have an up-to-date Local Plan in place by the Government deadline of December 2023.

The following matters were raised by the Committee:

a)            Recruitment: Members noted the 3 x employment posts advertised. Following a question from a Member, the Officer noted that the positions were budgeted as 3-year fixed-term contracts. The Officer agreed to discuss with Human Resources whether this may be the most appropriate offer of contract, or if permanent positions or another alternative may be more suitable.

b)           New Homes Bonus Grant: Members noted the proposed use of the New Homes Bonus Grant to mitigate the additional spend. The Officer confirmed that this allocation of money was deemed appropriate to fund the development of the New Local Plan, as these are unringfenced funds, which were originally awarded to the Borough due to its historic performance of granting planning permission for new homes.

c)            Budget: Following a question from a Member, the Officer noted that the proposed budget was realistic in terms of delivering the Local Plan.

Following consideration, the Committee unanimously resolved:

(1)      To approve the increase in budget of £712,000, as set out in section 2.23.2 of this report, for additional activities identified in the preparation and adoption of a new Local Plan.

(2)      To approve the reallocation of resources and additional funding of £29,583 to complete existing workstreams as set out in sections 2.23.1 and 2 of this report.

(3)      To approve the use of New Homes Bonus Grant totalling £741,583 currently held in the Corporate Projects Reserve to fund the increased cost of delivering the Local Plan.