Agenda item

To approve the minutes of the meeting held on 9 September 2014.

Councillor D De Lacy asked if there was any progress or setbacks to report on the agreement of the SHMA figures and the housing land supply.

The Director of Services advised that in respect of the SHMA figures, a memorandum of understanding was undergoing agreement across Leicestershire; there would be a report to Cabinet in October and to a meeting of Council in November.  He added that ours was the last Council to agree, therefore subject to that, there would be an agreement in respect of the housing requirements across the Housing Market Area.  He advised that as reported at the last Planning Committee, the Council was currently achieving a 6.2 year housing land supply provision.

The Consultant commented that these processes all took so long that the position was bound to change.  He referred to comments made by a planning inspector that local authorities should not ignore the housing implications of economic development aspirations.  He added that the differences between economic aspirations and housing needs were at odds in some authorities.  He advised that the housing need issues would need to be considered and compared against the aspirations.  He added that it would be a matter for local authorities to convince an inspector how robust the housing need figures were in light of reality and aspirations.  He stated that as far as the Local Plan was concerned, he felt that there was time to undertake this work and officers were talking to others in the area to see if this issue would affect the robustness of the housing land supply.

Councillor J Bridges stated that he understood officers were looking into this however he felt that further discussion was required with Members.  He expressed concern regarding aspirations and felt the situation should be monitored.

Councillor J Legrys concurred with Councillor J Bridges’ comments and felt there were a number of issues that Members needed to keep on top of.  He referred to the Packington Mill and Charnwood inquiries.  He stated that he had taken the personal view that the SHMA was only as good as inspectors were prepared to sign it off.  He requested a written briefing to all Members to explain the situation.

Councillor V Richichi sought clarification whether more weight would be given to economic aspiration or housing need.  He commented that this was a chicken and egg situation in his opinion.

The Consultant commented that the aim of planning was to balance the demand for one against the other.  He added that SHMAs were built up from demographic projections and some economic assumptions, however inspectors were now saying that if you have high economic aspirations, you need to have enough housing to satisfy this.  He commented that it was a question of balancing aspirations and reality, and the aspirations needed to be carefully considered to ensure that housing was not oversupplied.

Councillor V Richichi agreed with those comments and felt that houses should be built to encourage people to come to the area.

Councillor D De Lacy sought clarification on why the Parish Councils were not being consulted on the limits to development, and why this was being treated differently to the town centre boundaries.  He felt that the limits to development issue was equally as important.

The Planning Policy Team Manager advised that as part of the report on the limits to development, consultation was suggested.  He stated that his recollection was that Members had wanted to delay the consultation until after the workshops had taken place.  He referred to the last resolution which agreed that a report be brought back to the Advisory Committee to agree the next steps.  He stated that his advice was that the consultation should still take place.

Councillor D De Lacy commented that he welcomed this.

It was moved by Councillor J Legrys, seconded by Councillor S Sheahan and

RESOLVED THAT:

The minutes of the meeting held on 9 September 2014 be approved and signed by the Chairman as a correct record.