Issue - meetings

(A) To agree the proposal for setting up Community Forums for Strategic Sites as outlined in Appendix A; and

(B) To agree the proposal for establishing a Development Management Forum as outlined in Appendix B.

The Executive Member for Planning and Growth presented the report on Community and Development Management Forums and said that the report acknowledged the importance of community engagement in the planning process. The report proposed setting up community forums for strategic sites across the district to assist with communication and engagement with residents. The Community Forums would provide an opportunity for developers, residents, community groups, members and council officers to engage with each other over the lifetime of a development.

The Executive Member for Planning and Growth said the report also outlined the set-up of a Development Management Forum for applications that met certain criteria so that the sharing of any planning concerns raised by residents could be addressed early on in the process. The Development Management Forum would be set up for complex or sensitive major planning applications of more than 50 homes. She said the report had been discussed thoroughly by the Overview and Scrutiny Committee and had taken on board some of their suggestions.

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

Councillor Redfern felt that the report was a good idea but she asked for further clarification about how the Development Management Forum would work and whether it would be multiple forums or one.

Councillor Glover-Ward said that currently, members of the public only get three minutes to speak at the Development Management Committee. The Forum would be a way of members of the public being able to present their issues with the development and help to provide solutions. The Forum would have members of the Development Management Committee attending and the council would expect developers to come along and listen.

Councillor Redfern asked if this was a meeting where residents could present their views. She said that the report mentioned that there would be three resident representatives allowed to speak.

Councillor Glover-Ward said that the Forum was designed to be more structured than an open public meeting so residents would need to select three representatives as opposed to everyone getting a chance to speak.

Councillor Daar welcomed the paper and said that it would be helpful in bridging the gap between developers and residents.

Councillor Goldspink spoke in her role as a Bishop’s Stortford Town Council planning member and said she welcomed the report as the Town Council planning committee often did not feel heard by the district council.

Councillor Dumont asked how the three resident representatives were selected.

The Head of Planning said that any representative that wanted to address the Forum needed to receive 25 signatures from residents to submit a request and residents would need to coordinate this themselves.

Councillor Glover-Ward said that the Community Forums would be more like a public town hall meeting.

Councillor Redfern thanked the Executive Member for clarification on her questions.

Councillor Crystall referred to page 420 which provided a diagram to explain the process.

The motion to support the recommendation having been proposed and seconded was put to the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 221

The Executive Member for Planning and Growth submitted a report which provided Members of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee with the opportunity to consider and provide observations on the proposal to set up Community Forums for Strategic Sites across the district and the proposal to establish a Development Management Forum.

The Executive Member for Planning and Growth explained that the establishment of regular Community Forums for large strategic sites for developers, residents, community groups, elected Members and Officers would allow all groups to engage and raise issues of concern over the lifetime of a development and this would enhance the quality of community life and communication. Additionally, the development of a Development Management Forum for planning applications (for 50 or more homes) arranged prior to a planning decision would enable residents to share their concerns in an in an open and transparent way. 

The Executive Member for Planning and Growth explained how the forums and their respective remits would operate.

Members debated the proposal at length commenting as follows:

·               that in terms of the Community Forums for strategic sites, the opportunity to steer and influence a development was a positive step forward;

·               in relation to Development Management forums, concerns were raised from the viewpoint of resources;

·               that there was already a Statement of Community involvement and that a Community Forum was a seen as a duplication of effort.  The Head of Planning and Building Control provided explained that the SCI was being phased out as a result of the Government’s planning reforms and replacing it with an engagement strategy for use in the preparation of the District Plan;

·               that there would be considerable resources from the viewpoint of planning Officers and administrative staff needed to set up Community Forums and of the impact this would have on the planning service including from an enforcement issue;

·               of concerns not just on East Herts Officers but other Councils such as Hertfordshire County Council Officers.

Examples of good practise were provided in relation to Bishop’s Stortford South where a forum had been established, versus Bishop’s Stortford North where one had not. In terms of the latter example, the Executive Member for Planning and Growth referred to the amount of Officer and Councillor time that had been spent on Bishop’s Stortford North complaints, Freedom of Information Requests etc and the negative impact this had on Officers and Members’ time.

The Head of Planning and Building Control explained that the council had a Stewardship Planning Officer and there was capacity to use that Officer and work with case officers and the enforcement team in supporting the forums. 

Members:

·               hoped that the establishment of Development Management Forums might deter some developers from putting forward speculative developments.
 

·               sought assurances that all stakeholders would be included in the forum process as some neighbourhood planning groups had been aggrieved in the past. 

Members acknowledged that the Community Forum sought to manage the lifespan of a project. A concern was expressed with regard to the Development Management Forum and how  ...  view the full minutes text for item 208