Issue - meetings

The HDT action plan has been updated as required by the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) following the publication of the HDT results by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) in January 2021. The update comprises significant changes to the layout, formatting and structure of previous two action plans. However, the action points arising from the plan have only been slightly amended.

Following consideration, it was resolved unanimously that the Committee:

(1)      Approved the Epsom & Ewell Housing Delivery Test Action Plan as drafted for publication on the Council website.

The Committee received an update comprising significant changes to the layout, formatting and structure of two previous action plans.

The Committee received a verbal introduction from the Planning Policy Officer.

The following matters were raised by the Committee:

a)            Structure of Action Plan: Members spoke about the possibility of points in the Action Plan being put into priority order and given proposed timeframes. The officer noted that the completion of some of these actions would be dependent on the progress of the Local Plan, but that this would be looked at to discuss a way forward for the next iteration of the plan.

b)            Relation to 2020 Action Plan: Following a question from a Member, the Officer confirmed that the Housing Delivery Test Action Plan refers back to points completed last year which formed part of the 2020 Action Plan. The Officer explained that some of these actions have remained amber having been through Committee but not formally published. The Officer would revert to last year’s Action Plan and ascertain whether any of the completed work can be utilised for this Action Plan.

c)            Empty Property Strategy: Following a question from a Member, the Officer confirmed that the Housing Department deals with the Empty Property Strategy. The Officer noted that most local authorities ceased keeping lists of empty properties, as it encouraged Freedom of Information requests from potential squatters. The Officer suggested that Members may find it beneficial to familiarise themselves with the Strategy to understand the triggers for when it comes in to action.

d)            Paragraph 2.4: Members noted the end of paragraph 2.4 of the report which included reference to the ‘wider Residents Association’ and asked whether it was necessary to include them. The Officer confirmed that this wording could be changed to something to the effect of ‘Any allocations will be put forward in a draft plan which would come back to this Committee for debate/consideration’.

e)            Action Point 14: Members requested that reference to further training “e.g. after elections” be removed and more suitable wording be used to reflect the fact that training will be recurring.

Following consideration, it was resolved unanimously that the Committee:

(1)      Approved the Epsom & Ewell Housing Delivery Test Action Plan as drafted for publication on the Council website.