Issue - meetings

Report of the Planning Policy and Land Charges Team Manager

The Chair noted two errors contained within the report, which had been corrected in the additional papers which she referred to.

The Planning Policy and Land Charges Team Manager presented the first part of the report.

Members discussed extending the plan period and the implications of doing so. They were broadly supportive, as doing so would give the Council additional flexibility and latitude, though it was noted that it would increase the number of sites which would need to be allocated for housing and employment.

The Planning Policy and Land Charges Team Manager presented the second part of the report.

An extensive debate was had about increasing the required annual number of dwellings. One group of Members suggested that they were opposed to the increase as the current figure of 686 had been derived from known requirements and there was no uncertainty around that figure at this moment. Alternatively, some Members felt that proactively increasing the requirement in expectation of possible future increases in the housing requirement would be prudent, as these prospective changes would already be accommodated in the plan, which was subject to significant time pressures.

The Planning Policy and Land Charges Team Manager advised why the proactive approach was preferable, set out the reasons for expecting a higher minimum requirement in the future and the timeline for expecting the new Statement of Common Ground with other local authorities in Leicestershire, and said that there was no reason to expect or plan for a higher figure than 727. He also clarified that the 727 figure would require the allocation of additional sites in the draft plan, and if this meant significant moderation to the draft plan was required, consideration would be given to undertaking further public consultations, though he was wary of the time pressures. The issue of consultation would be decided at the Local Plan Committee meeting on 16 December 2024.

The Legal Advisor said that this was an evolving process, and Members must keep an open mind and be led by the evidence presented to them.

The Principal Planning Policy Officer presented the final parts of the report.

Members suggested that the proposed increases seemed very large, but Officers emphasised that the proposed figures were solely for transport modelling purposes. They were trying to plan for contingencies against a tight deadline and the imperative was to keep the process moving forwards.

In response to a Member, the Head of Planning and Infrastructure advised on the Development Consent Order relating to the proposed Freeport. Development Consent Orders were a different regime to Planning Applications, the Council would be simply a consultee and the decision would be made by the Secretary of State. Potential improvements to Junction 24 of the M1 were also known to Officers, although as they were only in a very early stage, the relevant information had not been shared with Members. It was agreed that Officers would share the information with Members and impacted parish councils.

The Planning Policy and Land Charges Team Manager  ...  view the full minutes text for item 23