Agenda item

Report of the Strategic Director of Place.

The Planning Policy Team Manager presented the report to members, highlighting the 62 consultee responses which had been received and the summary as set out in the report.  He drew members’ attention to the update to the National Planning Policy Framework set out at section 2 of the report and outlined the changes of relevance to the Local Plan review, and in particular, the change to the definition of local housing need and confirmation that the 2014 household projections should be used to inform the calculation of local housing need.  He also highlighted the requirement for strategic policies to have a life of a least 15 years from the date of adoption.  This could have implications for the end date of the local plan review.

The Planning Policy Team Manager made reference to the Leicester and Leicestershire Strategic Growth plan which had been approved by the Council in December 2018, outlining the elements of direct relevance to the Local Plan review.  He advised that there was no definitive boundary for the Leicestershire International Gateway, however it included areas of both North West Leicestershire and Charnwood. The Strategic Growth Plan stated that the area should accommodate around 11,000 new dwellings up to 2050, but offered no guidance on how this figure was to be split between the two areas.  The figure would need to be agreed through the duty to co-operate. 

The Planning Policy Team Manager highlighted the issues relating to employment land and the concerns of officers regarding some aspects of the HEDNA, particularly the high level of office development that was said to be required.  Officers felt it would be prudent to reconsider this issue and had commissioned the advice of consultants. 

Councillor A C Saffell highlighted the mismatch between employment and housing provision in Castle Donington in particular and the impact this had on the road network.  He commented that Junction 24 was currently the busiest in the country and the island was frequently gridlocked.  He added that the users at the gateway did not want to utilise rail for their freight so this was bringing additional lorries onto the road network.  He stated that the transport modelling had been undertaken on the original plan where all users of the gateway would be utilising the railway line and the fact that none of the users were doing so had significantly changed the way traffic would operate in that area. 

The Planning Policy Team Manager acknowledged that there would be a significant impact on infrastructure with a development of this scale and he advised that detailed traffic modelling would be undertaken with the County Council.  He added that if the model had been based on false assumptions, this would need to be addressed. 

In response to questions from Councillor V Richichi, the Planning Policy Team Manager advised that the Council had sufficient land supply globally up to 2031 to meet the requirements in the adopted local plan.  He explained that our housing need figure would have no impact on Leicester City’s unmet housing supply.  In respect of affordable housing expectations, these were set by the Council as the local planning authority through the Local Plan Review process.

Councillor J Legrys thanked officers for the comprehensive report.  He disagreed that Whitwick should not be considered as part of the Coalville urban area.  He requested to be kept informed of changes regarding the Leicestershire International Gateway.  He felt that the Gateway was not being properly planned and expressed concern that the project affected communities on the other side of the River Trent which seemed to be ignored.  He felt it was important to ensure that the individuals who had responded during the public consultation each received a response and an explanation if their comment had not been accepted. 

In response to a comment made by Councillor N Smith, the Planning Policy Team Manager stated that a building a new settlement was a possible way forward and referred members to the next item on the agenda. 

It was moved by Councillor J Legrys, seconded by Councillor R Johnson and

RESOLVED THAT:

The Local Plan Committee:

(i)         Notes the level of responses to the recent consultation on the local plan review;

(ii)        Notes the commissioning of additional evidence regarding employment land including a Leicester and Leicestershire wide strategic distribution study (paragraphs 2.21 and 2.22 of report);

(iii)      Agrees in principle to including a flexibility allowance when planning for housing provision (to be referred to as a contingency allowance) and this be set at 15% of the overall housing requirement (paragraphs 1.4 , 2.11 and 3.8 of Appendix A);

(iv)      Note that the review will be likely to have to allow for some development going beyond the end of the plan period (paragraph 5.5 of Appendix A);

(v)       Agrees in principle, subject to the outcome of the sustainability appraisal, to allow for some limited development in small villages where the proposed development meets the needs of somebody with a demonstrable local connection (paragraphs 13.5 and 14.8 of Appendix A);

(vi)      Agrees to not require the provision of self and custom build plots as part of general market developments (paragraph 20.4 of appendix A) and that further consideration be given to the most appropriate form of any policy in respect of self and custom build (paragraph 23.3 of Appendix A);

(vii)     Notes the intention to continue to explore the potential use of health impact assessments (paragraph 27.3 of Appendix A); and

Notes the proposal to establish an internal officer group to look at the issue of fast food/takeaways (paragraph 29.6 of Appendix A)