Issue - meetings

The Executive Member for Planning and Growth presented the recommendations to Council. She explained that the Charter had been launched by the Hertfordshire Growth Board in 2023 and had been designed to raise the standards of construction in Hertfordshire. She said that the Charter was not a design guide or specific to East Hertfordshire, it was a document designed to cover all ten districts and boroughs and the county council.

The Executive Member for Planning and Growth said that the Charter set out seven pledges focussed on design and sustainability and that two developers had already endorsed the Charter. She said that the Charter did not seek to replace higher standards than current regulations and would help encourage developers be more ambitious in excellence and design.

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

Councillor Estop said that she welcomed the Charter in principle but felt it was quite weak and that the Growth Board could have been more challenging to developers across the county. She said that the Charter did not acknowledge the role of Development Management Committees in councils and felt that the Charter did not add anything to what already existed in the District Plan.

Councillor Deering said that the Charter was the first of its kind and felt it was a very positive step. He said he was pleased that the Council were recommending its adoption and said the Conservative group would be voting in favour of the recommendations.

Councillor E Buckmaster said that it was good to have a common approach across Hertfordshire and referred to the pledges in the Charter and said the council were already doing these.

Councillor Goldspink said she strongly supported the Charter and was pleased to see that it encouraged environmentally friendly building. She welcomed that the Charter was raising ambitions within the county.

Councillor Crystall said that it would be great if the ambition was higher but there was a trade off in order to get as many authorities as possible to sign up to it. He said he supported it strongly.

Councillor Hart said she agreed with the comments from Councillor Estop. She said that if the bar was set too low to get developers to sign up to it, it meant there won’t be any meaningful impact. She said it was good to hear that East Herts were ahead of the game in balancing the need for housing and protecting the natural world but felt the council should stay ahead and not sign up to a watered-down charter.

Councillor McAndrew said that the review of the District Plan would help the council raise the bar again. He said that this Charter let developers know that there was a minimum standard across all the districts and boroughs and would stop developers moving across the county to take advantage of lower standards.

The motion to support the recommendations having been proposed and seconded was put to the meeting and upon a  ...  view the full minutes text for item 107

The Executive Member for Planning and Growth presented the Hertfordshire Development Quality Charter which had been launched by the Herts Growth Board in 2023. She said the Charter would raise standards on construction within Hertfordshire with seven pledges on design and sustainability. Seven local authorities and two developers had endorsed or formally agreed the Charter as a material planning consideration.

The Executive Member for Planning and Growth said that the Charter did not seek to replace the current regulations but encouraged developers to be more ambitious to demonstrate excellence in design and sustainability. She said that it was voluntary to sign up and it would encourage joint working and shared views across the district and county neighbours. She said it was important to ensure the council employed as many tools as possible to secure the highest development standard.

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

Councillor Wilson said that the Charter would be a material planning consideration, but it was not mandatory to sign up. He asked how that worked.

Councillor Glover-Ward said that the Charter was not compulsory to sign up to and it was entirely voluntary. She said that the council would be looking to update the District Plan soon and alongside that, the council would be producing a district design code that would be mandatory for developers. She said that a timeframe was being discussed and Members would be made aware soon.

The Head of Planning said that by making it a material consideration, it would have to be given weight in the decision-making process. She said that applications had to be made in accordance with the District Plan unless considerations said otherwise. She said that the council were working with other Hertfordshire authorities who were at different stages of their Local Plans to implement the Charter as a benchmark across the county.

Councillor Crystall asked what level of weight the Charter would be given in the decision-making process.

The Head of Planning said that there was not a set weight given. She said that the District Plan had the most weight afforded to it because it had gone through a structured process and had been examined. She said that Supplementary Planning Documents hung off the District Plan policies.

Councillor Goldspink said that she welcomed this Charter and said it was a good step in the right direction. She said that more sustainable buildings should be encouraged and was pleased to see that measures to achieve this had been mentioned in the document.

Councillor Redfern read a statement out on behalf of the Labour group (this can be found at Appendix A).

Councillor Glover-Ward said that she would take the points raised into consideration but as this had been agreed by Hertfordshire local authorities, she did not think it could be added in at this late stage. She said that the points could be picked up at the District Plan review.

The Head of Planning said that the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 37