Agenda, decisions and minutes

To take any questions or statements from members of the Public.

The Committee received one written statement from a member of the public which was delivered verbally at the meeting.

The Committee received one written statement from a member of the public which was delivered verbally at the meeting.

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.

No declarations of any Disclosable Pecuniary Interests in respect of any item of business to be considered at the meeting were made by Members.

The Committee is asked to confirm as a true record the Minutes of the Meeting of the Committee held on 19 January 2023 (attached) and the Minutes of the Meeting of the Committee held on 15 June 2023 (attached) and to authorise the Chair to sign them.

The Committee confirmed as a true record the Minutes of the Meeting of the Committee held on 19 January 2023 and 15 June 2023 and authorised the Chair to sign them.

Public consultation on the Draft Local Plan (2022-2040) was undertaken between 1 February 2023 and 19 March 2023. Following the closure of the public consultation an extraordinary Council meeting was held on the 22 March 2023 where the decision was made to pause the Local Plan to allow specified tasks to be undertaken.

This report seeks the recommendation of the committee to Full Council that work on the local plan is un-paused, to enable all necessary work to be progressed, so that the Local Plan can be submitted for examination within the transitional arrangements set by the government.  

Following consideration, the Committee;

Resolved (6 for, 2 against) to:

(1)      To recommend to Full Council that work on the Local Plan is un-paused.

Unanimously resolved to:

(2)      Note the work that has been undertaken since and in line with the decision by full Council to pause the Local Plan.

(3)      Note that a decision to progress (un-pause) work on the Local Heritage List update will be considered at a future meeting of this Committee.

The Committee received a report seeking the recommendation of the Committee to Full Council that work on the local plan is un-paused, to enable all necessary work to be progressed, so that the Local Plan can be submitted for examination within the transitional arrangements set by the government.

Public consultation on the Draft Local Plan (2022-2040) was undertaken between 1 February 2023 and 19 March 2023. Following the closure of the public consultation an extraordinary Council meeting was held on the 22 March 2023 where the decision was made to pause the Local Plan to allow specified tasks to be undertaken.

The following matters were considered:

a)            Unpausing or stopping. A Member of the Committee asked if the choice being presented to the Committee tonight was between unpausing or stopping work on the Local Plan. The Member went on to ask Officers if  any further delay to the Local Plan work and submission would cause the Council to fall on the wrong side of the May 2025 deadline. The Planning Policy Manager informed the Committee that the assumption is that a Full Council will make a decision to unpause the Local Plan before the end of 2023 and on that basis, Officers are working on the Local Plan timetable to map out the work needed to be completed between now and submitting the Local Plan. The Planning Policy Manager informed the Committee that it has been estimated that on the current time scales, the Council could submit a Local Plan to the Government by May 2025.  The Planning Policy Manager explained to the Committee that the Government are currently stating that the transitional period will be from the 30 of June 2025, however, that is heavily dependent upon the government publishing a revised National Planning Policy Framework and the Levelling-up and Regeneration Bill progressing as it should. The Planning Policy Manager informed the Committee that these dates have the potential to move but the Government have set out that it is their intention that 30 June 2025 is the deadline for submission under the current system. The Chair confirmed to the Committee that if progress is made now then the Council is likely to hit the May 2025 date, however, if there is additional delay then the Council runs the risk of missing it which means the Committee would have to be revisited down the line for further steer.

b)           Clarification on Recommendation One. A Committee asked if the Local Plan can only be unpaused officially by Full Council and asked for clarification that if members vote to unpause at the next Full Council meeting, that the Council and Officers cannot conduct any work on the local plan until then. The Chair confirmed that the Committee are being asked to unpause the work, primarily the spatial strategy and policy work, which have not progressed since March, and then it would be sent as a recommendation to the next Full Council meeting to officially unpause work on the Local Plan. The  ...  view the full minutes text for item 42.

Vice Chair, Cllr Peter O’Donovan, left the Meeting following the conclusion of Agenda item 4.

The Chair proposed Cllr Woodbridge sit as Vice Chair for the remainder of the Meeting.

The Committee raised no objection and agreed for Cllr Woodbridge to sit as Vice Chair for the remainder of the Meeting.

This report informs the Committee of the Council’s revenue budget targets presented to the Strategy & Resources Committee in July.  The report seeks guidance on the preparation of the Committee’s service estimates for 2024/25.

Following consideration, the Committee unanimously resolved to:

(1)      Note the implications of the budget targets presented to Strategy & Resources Committee on 13 July 2023.

(2)      Consider how additional income or savings can be generated to address the projected Council wide funding gap of £1.1m in 2024/25, rising to £2.5m by 2027/28.

(3)      Note that owing to the Council’s projected budget deficit, any additional new revenue growth items (i.e. service enhancements resulting in increased net expenditure) supported by Policy Committees will need to be fully funded from existing budgets.

The Committee received a report informing them of the Council’s revenue budget targets that were presented to the Strategy & Resources Committee in July.  The report was seeking guidance on the preparation of the Committee’s service estimates for 2024/25.

The following matters were considered:

a)            Pay for Local Plan Officers. A Member of the Committee asked who is responsible for ensuring the pay for the Officers involved in working on and delivering the Local Plan and queried whether if falls under S&R. The Chair informed the Committee that the budgets to cover that come under LPPC and explained that items regarding resourcing and local plan development will come back to this Committee, before then feeding into the larger scope of work for the full budget, which will then go to Full Council in February 2024.

b)            Clarification on Recommendation 2. A Member of the Committee asked for Clarification regarding Recommendation 2 and whether the Committee were being asked to come up with additional cost-saving or income-generating ideas at the current meeting. The Chair confirmed to the Committee that opportunities to contribute and information on additional income savings or generation ideas will come as a future report to the Committee.

Following consideration, the Committee unanimously resolved to:

(1)      Note the implications of the budget targets presented to Strategy & Resources Committee on 13 July 2023.

(2)      Consider how additional income or savings can be generated to address the projected Council wide funding gap of £1.1m in 2024/25, rising to £2.5m by 2027/28.

(3)      Note that owing to the Council’s projected budget deficit, any additional new revenue growth items (i.e. service enhancements resulting in increased net expenditure) supported by Policy Committees will need to be fully funded from existing budgets.

The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) has published a consultation titled ‘Levelling-Up and Regeneration Bill: Consultation on Implementation of Plan-Making Reforms’. The consultation was published on 25 July 2023 and comments are invited by the end of 18 October 2023.

The consultation seeks views on the governments proposals to implement the parts of the emerging Levelling-up and Regeneration Bill that relate to plan making.

The consultation document is split into 15 Chapters and contains 43 questions.

It is important to note that there will be a transition phase and the consultation document makes it clear that the government’s intention is that all Local Plans submitted for examination on or before 30 June 2025 will be examined under the current system rather than the proposed new system that is the subject of the consultation document.

Following consideration, the Committee unanimously resolved to:

(1)      Approve the principle of the draft response to the Levelling-Up and Regeneration Bill: Consultation on Implementation of Plan-Making Reforms.

(2)      To note, if changes are recommended by this committee due to insufficient time to bring it back to committee it will be dealt with under the urgency provision in the constitution set out at Paragraph 3.1 of appendix 2 and the decision to approve the final draft response will be taken by the relevant director in consultation with the Chair of this Committee.

The Committee received a report detailing EEBC’s draft response to the Levelling-up and Regeneration Bill. The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) published a consultation titled ‘Levelling-Up and Regeneration Bill: Consultation on Implementation of Plan-Making Reforms’. The consultation was published on 25 July 2023 and comments are invited by the end of 18 October 2023. The consultation is seeking views on the government’s proposals to implement the parts of the emerging Levelling-up and Regeneration Bill that relate to plan making. The consultation document is split into 15 Chapters and contains 43 questions.

The following matters were considered:

a)            Draft Response. A Member of the Committee commended Officers for their composure and restraint evidenced in the draft response document.

b)            Exceptional Circumstances. A Member of the Committee asked what the exceptional circumstance are, as referenced in paragraph 2.37. The Planning Policy Manager responded to inform the Committee that the exceptional circumstances are still to be defined and there is no detail currently about what they may be at this stage, however, they may feature in future iterations of the NPPF. The Planning Policy Manager confirmed that officers will be seeking clarity on what those exceptional circumstances may be, we are waiting on more detail to come out.

c)            Planning Inspector. A Member of the Committee commented that the Gateway assessments should be conducted by the same Planning Inspector wherever possible and queried whether that request could be included in our Draft Response. ThePlanning Policy Manager responded to confirm to the Committee that already included in the response is a sentence putting forward that it should be a Planning Inspector who undertakes the checks throughout and it is possible to add an additional line making the point that we would like to have the continuation throughout where possible. 

d)            Amendment to Draft Response Document – Appendix 1. Councillor Woodbridge proposed an amendment to the Draft Response Document as follows:

a.    “Question 19: Do you agree with these proposals around the frequency and timing of gateways and who is responsible?

Yes, we are supportive of the introduction of the three gateways, the first two of which are advisory, however we have some reservations about these requirements being introduced through regulations which could result in plan development becoming too process driven. In addition, we consider that it would be beneficial if all three gateways could be undertaken or overseen by a planning inspector(s) to ensure continuity through the process as far as reasonably possible. Ideally, all assessments and checks would be undertaken by the same planning inspector throughout.

b.    This amendment was agreed (5 for, 2 Abstaining) by the Committee.

Following consideration, the Committee unanimously resolved to:

(1)      Approve the principle of the draft response to the Levelling-Up and Regeneration Bill: Consultation on Implementation of Plan-Making Reforms.

(2)      To note, if changes are recommended by this committee due to insufficient time to bring it back to committee it will be dealt with under the urgency provision in the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 45.

On 15 June 2023 the Licensing and Planning Policy Committee agreed in principle the proposal for amending the Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Licensing Policy to phase in a requirement that licensed vehicles meet the same emissions requirements as the London Ultra-Low Emissions Zone. A 6-week public consultation ran from 19 June until 30 July 2023, and the Committee are asked to consider the responses and approve a revised policy which can be recommended for adoption by Full Council.

Following consideration, the Committee unanimously resolved to:

(1)      Consider the responses to the public consultation,

(2)      Agree the changes to the Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Licensing Policy as follows; -

a)           From 1 July 2024 licences will normally only be granted to vehicles being licensed for the first time that meet the TFL Ultra Low Emission Zone requirements (Petrol: Euro 4, Diesel: Euro 6). An exception will be allowed until 1 January 2025 for proprietors of licensed Euro 4 diesel vehicles that are replacing them with Euro 5 diesel vehicles.

b)           From 1 January 2025 licences will not normally be renewed in respect of any licensed diesel vehicle that does not meet or exceed Euro 5 emission standards.

c)           From 1 July 2026, licences will normally only be granted to vehicles (including renewal of existing licences) that meet the TFL Ultra Low Emission Zone requirements (Petrol: Euro 4 Diesel: Euro 6).

d)            Vehicles that have been specially adapted [i.e., post manufacture] to carry wheelchair users will be exempted from the emission requirement.

e)             Vehicles used for the completion of home to school transport under contract from a County Council will be given a one-year extension to each of the phased emission requirements.

f)              All hackney carriages must be wheelchair accessible. Hackney Carriages are no longer required to be purpose built/London style ‘black’ cabs. All non-purpose-built hackney carriages will be required to display a ‘Taxi' sign of a minimum width of 76.2cm with lettering of a minimum height of 12.7cm and bearing the words 'Licensed by Epsom & Ewell Borough Council', capable of being illuminated, to be mounted across the roof of the vehicle.

(3)      Agree that the Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Licensing Policy as set in Appendix 6 is recommended for approval at Full Council

The Committee received a report asking them to consider the Taxi and Private Hire Emissions Policy Consultation responses and approve a revised policy which can be recommended for adoption by Full Council. On 15 June 2023 the Licensing and Planning Policy Committee agreed in principle the proposal for amending the Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Licensing Policy to phase in a requirement that licensed vehicles meet the same emissions requirements as the London Ultra-Low Emissions Zone. A 6-week public consultation ran from 19 June until 30 July 2023.

The following matters were considered:

a)            Relicensing Vehicles. A Member of the Committee asked whether it has been confirmed that Transport for London offered the practice of allowing proprietors to relicense their vehicles early, prior to the introduction of their emission standards. The Principal Licensing Officer informed the Committee that a number of members of the trade have shared that this is what TfL allowed, therefore it would seem a reasonable step to also allow this. The Principal Licensing Officer informed the Committee that they would find out and confirm to the Committee whether TfL did in fact allow this practice when introducing their emission standards.

b)            Uptake of early relicensing. A Member of the Committee asked what number of vehicles were expected to take up the option to relicense early. The Principal Licensing Officer informed the Committee that there are 37 Hackney carriages in the borough and roughly a quarter might decide to get licensed earlier in order to get the benefit for that matter but most of the licensed trade it wouldn't be worth their time.

c)            Private Hire and Hackney Carriage Vehicles. A Member of the Committee asked if the policy is to cover all private hire vehicles or just hackney carriage licensed vehicles. The Principal Licensing Officer confirmed that the policy would be applied to all licensed vehicles. The Member asked how long a licence last for. The Principal Licensing Officer confirmed that vehicle licences last for one year.

d)            Electric Vehicles. A Member of the Committee raised the use of Electric Vehicles and whether they are covered by the policy. The Principal Licensing Officer confirmed that at present the policy reads that we licence to the same standard as the ultra-low emission zone standard, so that clearly allows electric vehicles to be licensed. The Member responded to asked if the Council are allowed to use the licensing policy to move more quickly towards electric powered engines and to try and encourage their use further. The Principal Licensing Officer responded to confirm that in terms of encouraging the use of electric, the Council do currently have a price differential for hybrid and electric vehicles, however, that is something to look at going forwards, as there is an argument that financially the cost of licensing can only be recovered through the fees and therefore, the cost of licensing an electric vehicle should be the same as the cost of licensing a non-electric vehicle. The Principal Licensing Officer explained to  ...  view the full minutes text for item 46.

The Authority Monitoring Report (AMR) is a factual report that has two purposes; to monitor progress towards new Local Development Documents and to monitor the effectiveness of key policies set out in Local Development Documents.

Following consideration, the Committee unanimously resolved to:

(1)      Note the content of AMR and agree to it being published.

The Committee received the Authority Monitoring Report (AMR). A factual report that has two purposes; to monitor progress towards new Local Development Documents and to monitor the effectiveness of key policies set out in Local Development Documents.  

The following matters were considered:

a)            Scale Developments. A Member of the Committee commented that it was encouraging to read that last year the Council delivered its highest number of housing for roughly ten years, in particular delivering more affordable housing units, largely due to a number of scale developments. The Member went on to state that when talking about the local plan, it's a useful lesson because permission was given for development at scale, and therefore, more housing was delivered, and it showed that it is possible to insist on developers putting affordable housing and ensuring they deliver on it.

Following consideration, the Committee unanimously resolved to:

(1)      Note the content of AMR and agree to it being published.