Agenda and draft minutes

To receive any apologies for absence.

Apologies for absence were received from Councillor Brittain and Councillor Daar.

To receive any announcements from the Leader of the Council.

The Leader welcomed everyone to the meeting and reminded them to use the microphones to be heard on the webcast.

To approve as a correct record the Minutes of the meeting held on 26 March 2024.

Councillor Goldspink proposed, and Councillor Hopewell seconded a motion that the Minutes of the meeting held on 26 March 2024 be approved as a correct record and be signed by the Leader. On being put to the meeting and a vote taken, the motion was declared CARRIED.

RESOLVED – that the Minutes of the meeting held on 26 March 2024 be approved as a correct record and signed by the Leader.

To receive any Member(s) declaration(s) of interest.

There were no declarations of interest.

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.

The Leader of the Council said that the recommendation needed to be amended to say ‘To recommend to Council’.

The Executive Member for Planning and Growth presented the report. She said that the existing Neighbourhood Plan was adopted in 2018 and that this was the first revision of the plan. Walkern  Parish Council have undertaken the revision to take into account the adoption of the District Plan (2018) and the impact of growth on the east of Stevenage. The revised plan seeks to  protect the character of the village and the local environment. Itdefines a countryside gap, allocates   two new local green spaces and sets out a tree charter to protect important trees. The Executive Member said that an Independent Planning Examiner had reviewed the plan and said that the changes proposed were not sufficient to require a referendum..

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

Councillor Crystall welcomed the plan and said it was a positive step for the community.

The motion to support the recommendations having been proposed and seconded was put to the meeting and upon a vote being taken, was declared CARRIED.

RESOLVED – to recommend to Council that (A) the recommendations and modifications made by the Independent Examiner of the Walkern Neighbourhood Plan First Revision, as detailed in Appendix A to this report, be received and considered;

B)     the Walkern Neighbourhood Plan First Revision 2021- 2033, as detailed in Appendix B to this report, be formally made.

To consider such other business as, in the opinion of the Chairman of the meeting, is of sufficient urgency to warrant consideration and is not likely to involve the disclosure of exempt information.

There was no urgent business.