Issue - meetings

The Executive Member for Planning and Growth presented the Review of the East Herts District Plan recommendations. She said that the current District Plan was adopted in October 2018 and it was a requirement that it should be reviewed within five years of adoption. The planning department had carried out an assessment and concluded that it did need updating.

The Executive Member for Planning and Growth said the assessment looked at the consistency of the current plan with the National Planning Policy Framework and its engagement with the duty to co-operate. She said that a review was normally straightforward but that was currently not the case with significant uncertainty on proposed government reform of the planning systems, consultations on a new plan making system continuing and changes being implemented as part of the Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill going through Parliament. She said that whilst the department waited for clarity from the government and based on the assumption that a strong evidence base would still be required, the team would use the 12 months to update its evidence base and other preparatory work including a call for sites.

Councillor Glover-Ward proposed that the recommendations in the report be supported. Councillor Marlow seconded the proposal.

Councillor E Buckmaster said that the call for sites process would be crucial as previous mistakes had been made which had angered residents. He said that some urban expansions had caused issues in areas where residents warned it would happen and were now complaining that were not listened too. He said the review would be an opportunity for Members to ensure that the right developments were built in the right place because as the process continued, the options for Members narrowed considerably after statutory and legal requirements were met. He said that the Council owed it to residents that they were listening to them and not just following a process and could avoid problems in the future if the sites were chosen carefully.

Councillor Stowe noted that there would be a call for sites in 2024 to achieve a 33% increase in housing numbers. However, he said that there were sites that were put forward in 2018 that had been put on hold. He asked if assurances could be given to residents that current adopted sites would be progressed before other land was handed over. He requested that strategic sites were monitored in the future to pre-empt any issues.

Councillor Goldspink said she shared other Members concerns about an increased need for more houses and agreed that it was important to select sites carefully.

Councillor Glover-Ward said the 33% increase in housing numbers were calculated under different methodologies. The council’s housing need was greater than 839 houses and referred to page 30 in the District Plan which showed that its housing need was almost the same as the housing requirement under the standard methodology.

Councillor E Buckmaster said that would put into question the call for sites and questioned whether residents would understand the methodology.

Councillor  ...  view the full minutes text for item 189

The Executive Member for Planning and Growth submitted a report that assessed whether the East Herts District Plan 2018 needed updating and where there were any necessary actions arising from that assessment.

The Executive Member for Planning and Growth said that the East Herts District Plan was adopted in October 2018. She said that it’s a legal requirement for a Local Plan to be reviewed within five years of adoption to consider whether it needed to be updated.

The Executive Member for Planning and Growth said that the planning department had undertaken the assessment of the current District Plan and the report had concluded that the District Plan did need updating. She said that Officers had reached this conclusion by assessing the consistency of the District Plan with the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) and the PAS local plan route mapping toolkit and engagement with duty to cooperate bodies.

The Executive Member for Planning and Growth said that there was significant uncertainty around the government’s proposed reforms of the planning system. She referred to consultation regarding the NPPF and the government was also consulting on the implementation of a new plan making system due to start in Autumn 2024.

The Executive Member for Planning and Growth said that given this uncertainty, it was being recommended that a further report on the detailed scope of the update and the timetable be prepared once the implications of the new NPPF are better understood. The Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill has received royal assent and the statutory framework required to implement the reforms has been approved.

The Executive Member for Planning and Growth said that it was clear that under the new plan making system, a strong evidence based would still be expected. She said that the next 12 months would best be used by updating the council’s evidence base and carrying out other preparatory work needed to support an update to the District Plan, and this would include a Call for Sites. She said the report recommended that the District Planning Executive Panel be reconvened and that an engagement strategy was prepared to set out the council’s approach to engaging with the community and stakeholders.

Councillor Glover-Ward proposed that the recommendations in the report be supported. Councillor Hopewell seconded the proposal.

Councillor Redfern referred to affordable housing and councils falling short of building enough social housing. She said that she would like this matter is given significant weight and consideration. The Executive Member for Planning and Growth said that the review was merely to find out if the District Plan needed to be updated. She said that this matter could be taken forward when the updating process commenced if the recommendations were approved. She stated that the updating process was due to commence in Autumn 2024.

The Executive Member for Neighbourhoods said that she hoped that further consultation with the Environment Agency would continue in respect of sufficient water supply. The Executive Member for Financial Sustainability asked about the calculations of housing  ...  view the full minutes text for item 174