Agenda item

Report E/19/08 asks the Executive to recommend to Council that work begins on the preparation of a new comprehensive Local Plan for Selby District and that the revised Local Development Scheme be approved for publication.

The Lead Executive Member for Place Shaping presented the report which outlined proposals for commencing preparation of a new comprehensive Local Plan for the District.

The Lead Executive Member for Place Shaping explained that the Council had adopted the Core Strategy in 2013 and there had been significant delivery of housing and employment land over the last five years. He stated that work had been on the Site Allocations Plan however officers now believed the best way to proceed would be to commence with a new local plan which would allow the Council to meet future challenges.

Concern was raised that the Council had commenced work on the current local plan in 2008 however it still had not been delivered and it was felt that the Council were on the verge of delivery the Site Allocations Document which would assist the Council with the housing land supply therefore this work should be continued. In relation to timescales, the Lead Executive Member for Place Shaping explained that given the process for producing a local plan, parts of the process such as the examination in public and any legal challenges were out of the Council’s hands. He added that there was still a considerable amount of work to do to finish the current local plan. The Executive was informed that the Council had produced a revised National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) which placed an onus on the Council to review its local plan every five years which was also a factor in which lead to the recommendation.

The Head of Planning informed the Executive that in relation to the proposals, the Council would be using the information gathered to date and would therefore not be commencing from the beginning. It was noted that an indicative timetable leading to adoption of the plan was outlined in the report.

In response to a queries concerning finishing the current Site Allocations Plan, the Head of Planning explained that the document sat under the local plan and there could be a situation where conflicting documents were taken to the examination in public stage which would create a risk to the Council.

A comment was made that there had been a boost to the Council’s housing figures as a result of the Council not having a five year housing land supply at one stage and therefore having to approve planning applications related to housing developments due to this issue.

Discussion took place on the suggested timescales outlined in the report and concern was raised that this was not achievable. The Lead Executive Member for Place Shaping explained that an indicative proposal had been outlined.

In response to a query on the work needing to done on producing the current Site Allocations Plan, the Head of Planning explained that the Council needed to produce a regulation 19 document which needed to be compliant with the Core Strategy. The Executive was informed that technical work also needed to be undertaken along with consultation and an examination in public.

Discussion took place on the resource implications as outlined in the report and the Head of Planning stated that more resources may be required further into the local plan process.

The Leader of the Labour group stated that it was important to give thought to the concerns raised by residents regarding housing developments and infrastructure and raised concern at the prospect of having to approve housing developments on an ad hoc basis if the Council did not have a five year housing land supply. The Lead Executive Member for Place Shaping reiterated that officers had been asked to draw up contingency arrangements regarding the five year housing land supply during the local plan process.

In response to a query, the Head of Planning confirmed that the three main sites in Selby and Tadcaster outlined in section 4.1 of the report were included in the housing projections.

RESOLVED:

That Executive recommend to Council that:

1)    To commence work on the preparation of a new comprehensive Local Plan for Selby District utilising the evidence base and work that has already been undertaken to support the emerging Site Allocations Local Plan.

2)    To approve the revised Local Development Scheme which sets out the timescales for the preparation of a new Local Plan at Appendix A for publication.

REASON FOR DECISION:

The preparation of a new Local Plan will help to ensure that the Council has a robust development plan for the whole District, prepared in line with current national planning guidance which properly reflects its Economic Strategy and Corporate Priorities.