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

1.

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.

2.

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 interest were made by Councillors regarding items on the agenda.

Minutes:

No declarations of interest were made by Councillors regarding items on the agenda.

3.

Minutes of Previous Meeting pdf icon PDF 94 KB

The Committee is asked to confirm as a true record the Minutes of the Meeting of the Committee held on 7 March 2019 (attached) and to authorise the Chairman to sign them.


Decision:

The Minutes of the Meeting of the Licensing and Planning Policy Committee held on 7 March 2019 were agreed and signed by the Chairman as true record.

The Committee also received an update on the outstanding queries in the Minutes, the details of which will be recorded in the Minutes for this meeting.

Minutes:

The Minutes of the Meeting of the Licensing and Planning Policy Committee held on 7 March 2019 were agreed and signed by the Chairman as a true record.

The Committee also received an update on the outstanding queries in the Minutes, as follows:

·                 Page 32 Paragraph 4.26 - makes reference to new national policy guidance set out in the Revised NPPF Paragraph 63. 

·                 Page 36 AMR Table Estimated Affordable Housing completions by site – three points of clarification:

The development proposal located on Upper High Street was in error duplicated within this table.  The published version has corrected this mistake.

The agreed affordable housing provision on the Upper High Street development site is comprised of 6 on-site affordable units; comprising 2 homes for affordable rent and 4 for shared ownership in accordance with an Affordable Housing Plan. The applicants will be required to reach slab level of construction on 10 units within two years of planning permission having been granted, if not a (viability) review process will be triggered.

Address detail has been amended to correct spelling.

·                 Appendix A List of Housing Completions – for clarification, the entries relating to the NESCOT site are not duplications.  They refer to the completion of different housing typologies on the site during the four quarters of the reporting period.

·                 AMR Final paragraph – for clarity, windfall sites are an unreliable source of housing delivery.  Consequently, there is a higher level of risk in their inclusion within a five year housing land supply trajectory.  Their future contribution to housing land supply will primary be as a “top up source” – above and beyond the more reliable and quantifiable identified sources of supply.

4.

Local Plan Report Update and Overview pdf icon PDF 108 KB

The Committee is asked to note the continued forward progress being made in preparing the new Local Plan.

Decision:

The Committee noted the continued forward progress being made in preparing the new Local Plan.

Minutes:

The Committee received a report setting out the progress towards the new Local Plan including work on the evidence base and the Transformation Masterplan.

Officers clarified that the Transformation Master Plan incorporated plans for the whole borough and would inform and function alongside the Local Plan.

It was noted that national planning policy identified a standard method that local planning authorities were obligated to use for calculating the scale of objectively assessed housing need for their area.  However, it was highlighted that the calculation did not provide a breakdown of the different elements of housing need such as affordable housing.  Consequently there was a requirement for a revised Strategic Housing Market Assessment (SHMA) that would break down the objectively assessed housing need figure into its component parts.

Officers confirmed that the Transformation Masterplan and Housing Delivery Action Plan were on target to be available in early autumn and would present a further opportunity for Members to engage with the Local Plan process.

Accordingly the Committee noted the continued forward progress being made in preparing the new Local Plan.

5.

Local Plan Programme 2019 pdf icon PDF 96 KB

The Committee is asked to consider the draft Local Plan Programme June 2019 and agree to its publication on the Borough’s Council website.

Additional documents:

Decision:

The Committee considered the draft Local Plan Programme and agreed for it to be adopted with immediate effect and published on the Council’s website.

Minutes:

The Committee received a report setting out the process and timetable for the new Local Plan. 

It was acknowledged that the programme was ambitious especially over the winter 2019 period.  However it was noted that the Borough was not in a unique position and many other local authorities were due to submit their new Local Plan at the same time which could result in a delay in the Secretary of State appointing an Inspector.  This in turn could have a bearing on the estimated adoption date of the Plan.  However the Committee would receive regular updates on the progress of the Local Plan.

Officers reiterated their commitment to working with other boroughs in line with the Duty to Co-operate policy, and reported that several meetings with neighbouring boroughs had already taken place.

Therefore having considered the draft Local Plan Programme the Committee agreed for it to be adopted with immediate effect and published on the Council’s website.

6.

Draft Statement of Community Involvement pdf icon PDF 80 KB

The Committee is asked to consider and approve the proposed draft Statement of Community Involvement for statutory consultation.

 

Additional documents:

Decision:

Subject to the Head of Planning incorporating suggested amendments (details of which will be recorded in the Minutes), the Committee;

(1)            Approved the proposed draft Statement of Community Involvement, at Annex 1

(2)            Agreed to give the Head of Planning in consultation with the Chairman of the Committee, delegated authority to agree minor editorial changes prior to consultation publication.

(3)            Agreed to implementation of a statutory consultation on the approved draft Statement of Community Involvement

(4)            Noted that the Statement of Community Involvement will return to the Licensing and Planning Policy Committee for final approval and adoption.

Minutes:

The Committee received a report and draft document entitled ‘Draft Statement of Community Involvement’, intended to replace the current document ‘Your Involvement in Planning’ which was compiled in 2016.

Members considered the draft and the following suggestions were made:

·                 Expand the list of consultees to include Political Parties

·                 Create a more user friendly document by producing a one page summary on the website with a link to the full document

·                 Add a paragraph acknowledging the Borough’s commitment to continually exploring ways to reach the public, for example through social media

·                 Paragraph 3.7.7 and 3.7.8 referring to post decision amended plans, to state that plans will be considered on a ‘case by case’ basis.

Subject to the Head of Planning incorporating suggested amendments the Committee;

(1)            Approved the proposed draft Statement of Community Involvement, at Annex 1

(2)            Agreed to give the Head of Planning in consultation with the Chairman of the Committee, delegated authority to agree minor editorial changes prior to consultation publication.

(3)            Agreed to implementation of a statutory consultation on the approved draft Statement of Community Involvement

(4)            Noted that the Statement of Community Involvement will return to the Licensing and Planning Policy Committee for final approval and adoption.