Agenda, decisions and minutes

Venue: Council Chamber - Epsom Town Hall, https://www.youtube.com/@epsomandewellBC/playlists. View directions

Contact: Sandra Dessent, tel: 01372 732121  email:  sdessent@epsom-ewell.gov.uk

Items
No. Item

14.

Question Time

To take any questions from members of the the Public

 

Please note:  Members of the Public are requested to inform the Democratic Servicers Officer before the meeting begins if they wish to ask a verbal question to the Committee.

Decision:

No questions were submitted or were asked at the meeting by members of the public.

Minutes:

No questions were submitted or were asked at the meeting by members of the public.

Following a request for a question to be put on an agenda item, which is not permissible under the Council’s Constitution, the Chairman agreed for a written response to be sent instead.

15.

Declarations of Interest

Members are asked to declare the existence and nature of any Disclosable Pecuniary Interests in respect of any item of business to be considered at the meeting.

Decision:

No declarations of interests were made by Councillors regarding items on this agenda.

Minutes:

No declarations of interests were made by Councillors regarding items on this agenda.

16.

Draft Epsom & Ewell Masterplan pdf icon PDF 101 KB

The Committee is asked to note the content of the Draft Masterplan and agree to the use of the proposed visualisations as part of the Regulation 18 Local Plan consultation in Autumn 2019.

Additional documents:

Decision:

The Committee:

(1)            Noted the content of the Draft Masterplan and welcomed receiving the final version for approval at a future Committee;

(2)            Endorsed the Vision for Growth set out within the Masterplan (under Part B, Section 3, page 41);

(3)            Agreed the principles (under pages 42 and 43) that had been identified as shaping the Masterplan’s Strategy and for these to be taken forward into the emerging Local Plan; and

(4)            Agreed to the use of the proposed visualisations contained throughout the document as part of the Regulation 18 Local Plan public consultation in the Autumn 2019.

Minutes:

The Committee received a draft of the Epsom & Ewell Masterplan which set out a growth strategy to deliver the housing, employment, shops and infrastructure.  The Masterplan forms part of the evidence for the emerging Local Plan.

Members made the following comments and suggestions:

·                 In order to add clarity to the visualisations it was agreed to add information on the densities per hectare of the different types of properties proposed and a comparison with the existing dwellings on the sites identified in the Masterplan.

·                 The Council’s ability to meet its housing target could not be assessed through the Masterplan alone, however it would form part of the evidence to inform the Local Plan.

·                 It was acknowledged that factors outside the control of the Council effected housing delivery such as developers land banking and the Housing Delivery Action Plan sought to tackle such issues.

·                 The anticipated increased demand for transport services, in particular trains and buses was highlighted and the necessity to emphasize the greater infrastructure need through the emerging Local Plan.

·                 It was noted that from planning permission to building completion can be as much five years for major developments and this could impact housing delivery against government targets.   The public needed to be aware that the Borough was required to build 11,500 dwellings in 15 years and it was agreed that an appropriate method to endorse the message would be through infra graphics and text.

·                 It was envisaged that the visualisations in the Masterplan being used for the Regulation 18 consultation would prompt public interest in the Local plan and support increased engagement.  To facilitate comprehension of the Local Plan process it was agreed to produce a public document setting out all the key components of the Local Plan to assist with understanding that the Master Plan was a single element that would be combined with many other pieces of evidence to produce the Local Plan

·                 It was noted that the government’s plans to reduce car ownership in the future would be challenging. However it was acknowledged that the evolution of transport infrastructure would take place gradually over the whole plan period

·                 The importance of tree planting was emphsized and it was noted that Surrey County Council had acknowledged this by announcing a review of their policies and that the Council were committed to working with them to promote the Council’s ecological agenda.

·                 It was acknowledged that the visualisations for Town Ward were based on the existing Plan E Utilities site plans in contrast to the Stoneleigh Station visualisation which was not based on an existing development proposal.  It was reiterated that the visualisations were not to be viewed as development proposals and were not based on planning applications.

·                 It was agreed to include specific reference to the role and function of conservation areas in the Borough and how they form part of the overall vision for Epsom & Ewell.

Officers confirmed that all comments and feedback from Members would be taken back to the Consultant who produced the Masterplan to  ...  view the full minutes text for item 16.