Issue - meetings

Report of the Strategic Director of Place

Presented by the Planning and Infrastructure Portfolio Holder

The Leader invited Councillor J Legrys to address the Cabinet.

Councillor J Legrys stated that he was aggrieved by the lack of consideration throughout the Local Plan process and that he had always worked hard with other group Members to bring the plan forward.

He asked the following questions:

1)    In relation to the Money Hill master plan, had the employment land figures been included in the report before them?

2)    Why had the terms of reference in relation to the frequency of meetings of the Local Plan been ignored and it had been longer than 2 months between meetings?

3)    Would it be worth Labour Members bothering to attend any future Local Plan meetings?

The Leader thanked Councillor J Legrys for addressing the meeting and for his continued engagement and commitment with not just planning issues but all aspects of the Council’s services.

The Portfolio Holder for Planning and Infrastructure addressed Members detailing the following:-

“Members will recall that a report was considered by Cabinet on 16 July outlining a 2 stage approach to the review of the adopted Local Plan – a partial review focussing solely on Policy S1 and a more substantive review with a wider focus.  This was in response to it no longer being possible to submit a single revised plan by February 2020, as was originally proposed to meet the requirements of Policy S1 of the adopted Plan. This has been due to changes in circumstances since adoption, including Leicester City Council still not having declared the extent of any unmet housing need and the publication of a new National Planning Policy Framework in July 2018 and subsequent updates in February 2019 and June 2019.

Failure to submit a reviewed plan (even if it is only a Partial Review) by February next year means that the whole of the adopted Plan would in effect be out of date.  This would mean that the Council is then at risk of receiving ad hoc planning applications for developments which would be contrary to the Local Plan, but which it would be difficult to resist in the absence of an up-to-date plan and in view of what the NPPF says. Such developments could be for any number of uses, not just housing and employment, although these are the most likely. Members will recall that this was the situation the Council found itself in before the current Local Plan was adopted.

Undertaking a partial review would only involve changing the date by which the (now) substantive review would be submitted – no other changes would be required.

Following the July Cabinet meeting, in accordance with the Council’s constitution this Partial Review was recommended to the Local Plan Committee (LPC). At its meeting on 2 October 2019 LPC considered a report which outlined the proposed approach to the Local Plan review and which sought approval of a consultation document.

Local Plan Committee Amendment

At the October meeting of the LPC an amendment to the recommendations was tabled – which  ...  view the full minutes text for item 47