Agenda item

Report of the Director of Services.

The Director of Services presented the report to members.  He recalled that this meeting had been deferred as the outcome of the Charnwood Local Plan examination was awaited.  He added that officers felt it was appropriate to give an update as Charnwood was clearly of the most relevance as it was relying upon part of the same evidence base as the Council, the Strategic Housing Market Assessment (SHMA).  He stated that using the SHMA as part of the evidence base had been tested through the Charnwood examination and there had been some challenge from developers on this point.  He advised that the full view from the Inspector was not yet known, however it was telling that no specific issues had been raised regarding the validity of the SHMA.  He added that this was good news as it was one of the key risks, as if the SHMA was found wanting it would have a significant knock-on effect on the Council’s Local Plan.  He stated that this was positive news, and the SHMA would still be utilised as the starting point, and there would be no need to revisit this work.  The Inspector’s final decision was still awaited, and it was not yet know what modifications he would be requesting.

Councillor J Legrys welcomed the statement from the Director of Services.  He stated that he had had the opportunity to have a lengthy meeting with his Labour colleagues at Charnwood regarding and he was not as excited as the Director of Services regarding the SHMA based on their response.  He commented that the SHMA was only comfortable until it was challenged by a developer and this could happen at any time.  He referred to the outstanding judicial review against the Inspector’s decision on the Packington Nook application, and sought clarification whether there was a challenge on the SHMA from the developer.  He expressed concerns that the SHMA was fragile.  He added that he was confident about dealing with any challenge, however he would appreciate clarity on the position regarding the Packington Nook application.

The Legal Advisor clarified that there was an ongoing judicial review in respect of the Packington Nook application. The Council was the second defendant and would be putting forward a robust defence.

Councillor C Large requested an update on the timescales for the Local Plan and the current position on the Strategic Housing Land Availability Assessment (SHLAA) in respect of further assessments and deliverability.

The Planning Policy Team Manager advised that it was intended to recommend a draft Local Plan to Council in the early summer.  A consultation would then follow and depending on the outcome of this it was likely to take a further 4 to 5 months to recommend the final Local Plan to Council which would be submitted to the Secretary of State 3 to 4 months afterwards.  He advised that the SHLAA would need to be updated.  He added that deliverability was considered in a general sense, but not in as much detail as for the Local Plan.

Councillor C Large commented that SHLAAs were the first step in considering allocations in the Local Plan, and as such she would have thought deliverability was a key issue.

The Planning Policy Team Manager advised that this was one of the criteria, however it was simply a matter of the resources required to assess the hundreds of sites in the SHLAA.  He added that when it came to the Local Plan allocation, the Inspector would want to see much more detail about the deliverability of sites.

The Chairman stated that deliverability was a major concern and was a difficult call for officers.  He added that he believed officers were making headway, however this was still a relatively now concept.

Councillor D De Lacy sought clarification on the Charnwood examination, and how it could be known that the Inspector was happy with the housing figures without knowing his full opinion.

The Director of Services stated that the Inspector made some suggestions that the figures may need a slight increase, but if he had had significant concerns regarding the SHMA, the Local Plan would not have got through the inspection stage and the Inspector would have found it to be unsound even with modifications.  He concluded that the principle of utilising the SHMA as part of the evidence base was sound.

The Planning Policy Team Manager added that it was important to note that the Charnwood housing requirement was slightly below what was indicated in the SHMA and the Inspector had asked officers if it would cause them a problem if the figures were increased in line with the SHMA.