Issue - meetings

The report of the Planning Policy and Land Charges Team Manager

The Planning Policy and Land Charges presented the report, and along with the Principal Planning Officers, summarised each of the policies for consideration.  Reference was also made to the additional papers as circulated prior to the meeting.

Each policy was then discussed in turn and several questions of clarity were addressed throughout the discussion.

Policy H7

Some concerns were shared in relation to paragraph 3 of part 3, as some Members felt that this part of the policy encouraged self-build properties outside the limits to development.  It was believed that there was a strong argument for deleting the part of the paragraph, particularly as other Local Authorities did not include this in their local plans.  It was also noted that the recent information received regarding the exemption for self-build properties for biodiversity net gain was significant.  Officers justified this part of the policy as a safety net should there be a situation where the plots required were not met on the allocated sites.  Further discussion was had both for and against the removal of part 3 of paragraph 3 of the policy.

A proposal was formally put forward to remove part 3 of paragraph 3, therefore a separate vote would be taken along with the remaining recommendations at the conclusion of the item.

Policy IF2

A discussion was had on the wording used in part 3 of the policy which some Members felt diluted the requirement to provide community facilities.  After further discussions it was proposed that the wording be amended to:

‘Major residential/residential-led development is required to provide for or contribute to new community facilities where no facilities exist or…’

Policy IF6

Discussions were had on the long-term aspirations for the reopening of the Ivanhoe rail line and it was felt that the policy should reflect that by including the support for the provision of a station somewhere in the heart of the National Forest should passenger trains resume.

Policy EN3

Members felt that the policy should be deferred to a future meeting to allow officers and the National Forest company more time to discuss and agree any modifications felt necessary to strengthen the policy to support the aim to increase tourism in the area.

The Chair thanked the committee for its comments and advised that they had been noted.

By affirmation of the meeting

The Chair put the motion to the vote, a recorded vote being requested the voting was as detailed below

RESOLVED THAT:

The following policies from the draft Local Plan proposed policies for consultation document (January 2024) be included in the Regulation 19 plan, subject to the findings of whole plan viability assessment:

(i) Policy EC10 (East Midlands Airport: public safety zones);

(ii) Policy IF7 (Ashby Canal);

(iii) Policy EN4 (Charnwood Forest Regional Park)

By affirmation of the meeting

The Chair put the motion to the vote, a recorded vote being requested the voting was as detailed below

RESOLVED THAT:

The following policies as amended in Appendix F be included in the Regulation 19 plan,  ...  view the full minutes text for item 12