Issue - meetings

The Borough Council is in the process of forming strategic relationships with its neighbours.  This report sets out a framework for further developing those relationships so that the Borough Council can submit a sound Local Plan for examination.  The Committee is asked to consider the proposed engagement plan and agree to its implementation.

The Committee considered the proposed engagement plan and agreed to its implementation.

The Committee was informed that the duty to co-operate was a key requirement of national planning policy indicating the increasing emphasis on local authorities working together to address planning issues such as delivering future growth and the infrastructure required to support it.

The purpose of the report was to set out a framework for further developing strategic relationships with neighbouring boroughs.

The importance of being able to demonstrate to the Planning Inspectorate that the Council had communicated with neighbouring boroughs to assess their potential to fulfil unmet housing need was highlighted.   In particular the process of securing statements of common ground, as a means of demonstrating that strategic issues were being given full collective consideration by the planning authorities. 

It was recognised that none of our neighbouring boroughs have sought to accommodate a greater amount of growth than the target objectively assessed housing need identified for them through the government’s standard method.  It was also noted that some had indicated insufficient capacity to meet their own needs.  It was suggested that the Council could take an approach to actively seek to identify sites outside of the Borough in order to meet Epsom & Ewell’s objectively assessed housing need in full.  Should the Council decide to take this approach it would support the case of strong intent to meet its housing requirement in full, which could secure a sound Local Plan.

Having considered the proposed engagement plan the Committee agreed to its implementation.