Agenda and minutes

Agenda and minutes

Venue: Council Chamber, Priory House, Monks Walk, Shefford

Contact: Rebecca Preen  0300 300 4193

Items
No. Item

54.

Members' Interests

To receive from Members any declarations of interest and of any political whip in relation to any agenda item.

 

 

Minutes:

 

Whilst not a Member of the Committee, Cllr Maudlin declared an interest as a member of her family owned a parcel of land detailed within the Local Plan document as a possible development site.

 

55.

Chairman's Announcements and Communications

To receive any announcements from the Chairman and any matters of communication.

 

 

Minutes:

 

 

The Chairman reminded Members that the meeting would be webcast and that due consideration would need to be taken with regards to comments made on the Local Plan document, ensuring a strategic focus. All Members would have the opportunity to comment in detail on individual elements of the Plan as part of the public consultation process which was due to commence on 11 January 2018.

 

56.

Minutes pdf icon PDF 74 KB

 

To approve as a correct record the Minutes of the meeting of the Sustainable Communities Overview and Scrutiny Committee held on 23 November 2017 and to note actions taken since that meeting.

 

Minutes:

 

RESOLVED that the Minutes of the meeting of the Sustainable Communities Overview and Scrutiny Committee held on 23 November 2017 be confirmed and signed by the Chairman as a correct record.

 

57.

Petitions

To receive petitions from members of the public in accordance with the Public Participation Procedure as set out in Part 4G of the Constitution.

 

 

Minutes:

 

None.

 

58.

Questions, Statements or Deputations

To receive any questions, statements or deputations from members of the public in accordance with the Public Participation Procedure as set out in Part 4G of the Constitution.

 

 

Minutes:

 

None.

 

59.

Call-In

To consider any decision of the Executive referred to this Committee for review in accordance with Part 4D of the Constitution.

 

 

Minutes:

 

None.

 

60.

Requested Items

To consider any items referred to the Committee at the request of a Member in accordance with Part 4D of the Constitution.

 

 

Minutes:

 

None.

 

61.

Executive Members Updates

To receive a brief verbal update from the Executive Member for Community Services and the Executive Member for Regeneration.

Minutes:

 

The Executive Member for Community Services advised the Committee that a previous Call-In in relation to a decision made regarding Stuart Street Dunstable and parking permits issued to a non resident had been reconsidered by the Traffic Management Committee in December as recommended by the SC OSC. The original decision had been upheld and two permits had been issued to a resident of Clifton Road Dunstable. The Committee were also advised of a recent fire at Woburn Safari Park in which a number of animals had perished. The incident would be investigated by the Council as it was the responsible licensing authority. Members were also advised that the library at Leighton Buzzard was due to reopen on 9 January 2018 following a recent flood.

 

62.

Central Bedfordshire Local Plan

 

To receive a report detailing the recommendations to the Executive in relation to the pre-submission draft Central Bedfordshire Local Plan.

 

The full report will be made publicly available on 3 January 2018 and can be accessed via the following link:-

 

http://centralbeds.moderngov.co.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=577&MId=5348&Ver=4

 

Minutes:

 

The Executive Member for Regeneration advised the Committee that the latest iteration of the Local Plan set out the Council’s strategic direction for homes and business development, the detail of which had been informed by a recent public consultation. Members were advised of the decision-making timeline and that comments made by the Committee would be considered by the Executive. Following Executive the document would be assessed by full Council before going out to public consultation, after which the planning inspector would make their judgement on the Plan. Members were reminded of the consequences of not having an up to date Plan or five-year land supply. Concerns had also been raised regarding the new government housing calculation, which would substantially increase the number of homes the authority would be required to deliver.

 

The Head of Strategic Growth delivered a presentation, which set out the implications of the Oxford to Cambridge arc and the appropriate steps taken to mitigate these. The presentation also outlined the duty to provide for Luton’s unmet need, the approach to the spatial strategy and the release of some green belt land where it was deemed sustainable to do so. Members were advised that during the recent public consultation residents had expressed the importance of limiting the expansion of existing settlements, which had been reflected in the updated Plan.

 

In light of the presentation Members discussed the following in summary: -

·           Concerns regarding the decision making timeline and the date on which the technical evidence base, that would include small and medium growth areas and the size of countryside gaps, would be released. In response it was confirmed that the approach was standard practice and deemed appropriate.

·           The site assessment matrix, which it was confirmed would be included in the documentation when published.

·           Whether it was possible to fund strategic roads from developer contributions.

·           The need for clarity within the document regarding settlement boundaries.

·           Whether supporting the document at full Council would prejudice a Member’s ability to comment in detail at a later stage. In response it was confirmed that Members would not be prejudiced from making further comments if they supported the Plan at Full Council. At Full Council Members would be asked to support the document to be released for public consultation, a further opportunity would be provided to comment on individual aspects of the Plan in the usual manner.

·           That there were no plans to introduce a Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) at this stage as the authority was still awaiting a government response to a CIL review conducted in 2017.

·          That details of all partner and statutory consultees would be provided to Members on request.

·          That each site within the Plan identified strategic health needs with officers liaising extensively with the CCG and NHS partners in order to identify provision for health care, thus informing the infrastructure delivery plan.

·           That formal and informal public open space would be provided in addition to countryside gaps.

·           That new developments would be required to detail the infrastructure requirements  ...  view the full minutes text for item 62.

63.

Work Programme 2017/18 and Executive Forward Plan pdf icon PDF 56 KB

 

Members of the Committee will receive information regarding the Work Programme 2017/18 and Executive Forward Plan.

 

Additional documents:

Minutes:

 

AGREED the Committee Work Programme subject to the following amendments: -

·           That the number of items scheduled for March 2018 be revisited due to the length of the agenda.

·           The Waste Collection Contract – TBC

·           Car Parking Policy – TBC