Agenda and minutes

Councillor Venner welcomed all to the meeting, particularly Councillor S McKenna as a substitute member, and brief introductions were made. Additionally, the Panel welcomed Councillor K Wakefield to his first meeting as a newly appointed member of the Panel.

To consider any appeals in accordance with Procedure Rule 15.2 of the Access to Information Rules (in the event of an Appeal the press and public will be excluded)

(*In accordance with Procedure Rule 15.2, written notice of an appeal must be received by the Head of Governance Services at least 24 hours before the meeting)

There were no appeals against the refusal of inspection of documents.

The agenda contained no exempt information.

No formal late items of business were added to the agenda.

To disclose or draw attention to any disclosable pecuniary interests for the purposes of Section 31 of the Localism Act 2011 and paragraphs 13-16 of the Members’ Code of Conduct

No declarations of disclosable pecuniary interests were made.

Apologies for absence were received from Councillor J McKenna. Councillor S McKenna attended the meeting as substitute.

To agree the minutes of the previous meeting held 27^th September 2016 as a correct record

The Panel noted the following amendments to the minutes:

Minute 30 Minutes – Remove the phrase “delete 1700”.

Minute 32 Bradford Core Strategy Inspector’s Report – Insert additional sentence “Members noted the overall housing target had reduced by 13%”

Minute 33 Planning Policy for Hot Food Take-aways - Amend the third paragraph, second sentence, to read “The Principal Planner, Strategic Planning, presented the report and clarified that current planning policies which control permission/development of HFTA, such as Policy H5, did not determine between a ‘healthy’ hot take-away and an “unhealthy” hot food take-away.”

RESOLVED- That, subject to the inclusion of the amendments detailed above, the minutes of the Development Plan Panel meeting held on 27^th September 2016 be approved.

Minute 32 Bradford Core Strategy Inspector’s Report – Regarding the current position, officers confirmed that a Holding Direction had been issued by The Secretary of State; triggered at the request of Philip Davies MP (Conservative, Shipley). This would allow the Minister time to consider the issues raised by the MP, previously considered through the examination process and by the Planning Inspector. The Chief Planning Officer reported that there was no direct implication for Leeds and that Bradford MDC continued with the submission process.

Minute 33 Hot Food Take-aways – A copy of the planning policy in relation to the use of window/door shutters was displayed at the meeting. It was noted that this did refer to hot food take-aways.

Minute 35 Any Other Business:

Revised draft Outer North East HMCA – Consultation on the revised proposed had ended and receipt of approximately 3,700 representations was noted. A report setting out a proposed pre-submission timetable would be presented to the next Panel meeting.

Aire Valley Leeds Area Action Plan – The dates of the Public Inquiry hearing sessions were confirmed as 24^th, 25^th and 26^th January 2017, in the Town Hall, Leeds

To consider the report of the Director of City Development setting out proposals for a selective review of the Core Strategy and seeking consideration of the scope, commencement and timetable for that review. The report emphasises that the areas which are considered to fall within the scope of the proposed review relate to a targeted number of areas in the Plan - these are areas where significant changes to the evidence base or specific issues arising from the application of policies have prompted further consideration, leading to the potential for revisions in a number of select areas.

Further to minute 33 (iii) of the meeting held 19^th May 2015, the Director of City Development submitted a report seeking consideration and support for the Council to consider the scope, commencement and timetable for a selective review of the Core Strategy. The report included a copy of Edge Analytics “Leeds Demographic Review September 2016” which provided an initial assessment of the new sub-national household projections released by the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) in June 2016 and information from the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

The Group Manager (Policy & Plans) emphasised that the areas considered to fall within the scope of the proposed review related to a targeted number of areas in the Plan - where significant changes to the evidence base or specific issues arising from the application of policies had prompted further consideration. DPP in May 2015 had recommended that a selective review be undertaken once the Core Strategy was adopted and subject to any changes suggested by central government. With this in mind, the report proposed a review – limited to the areas of housing requirements and to combine housing standards (rather than as a separate Development Plan Document); and having regard to the contents of the Housing and Planning Act 2016.

This proposed selective approach was consistent with the National Planning Policy Framework Section 153 which allowed for Local Plans to “be reviewed in whole or in part to respond flexibly to changing circumstances”.

A review would be obliged to undertake a viability assessment of the Core Strategy as a whole; therefore it was appropriate to combine the two threads – housing number and housing standards – which would make the viability assessment more effective.

(Councillor J Procter joined the meeting at this point)

The adopted Core Strategy included a 70,000 net housing requirement – this reflected the outcome of the Inspector’s consideration which had balanced local views and concluded 70,000 as an appropriate Strategic Housing Market Assessment (SHMA) figure (local groups felt 50,000 appropriate, housing developers suggested 90,000). Following the adoption of the Core Strategy subsequent Government demographic projections pointed to a lower figure. Officers reiterated however, that in deriving the housing requirement of a Core Strategy Review, consistent with national planning guidance, population projections are the starting point in identifying Objectively Assessed Needs (OAN) for housing. This analysis also needs to take into account economic and social factors/evidence. The proposed review would seek to find a balance between the local drivers of economy and population.

A draft SHMA was in preparation and the process of LCC inter-departmental consultation had begun. A correction to paragraph 3.1.4 was reported to amend the 7^th bullet point to read “the number of newly arising households likely to be in need of affordable housing”.

Members’ attention was directed to Figure 2 within Appendix 1 of the report on the changing demographic evidence for Leeds, which showed the 2008 projection suggested Leeds’ 1m population by 2033 against the 2014 projection which suggested a figure of  ...  view the full minutes text for item 45.

To consider the report of the Director of City Development on the implementation activities considered necessary to support the delivery of the LDF. The report provides an update on current delivery and implementation activities and context to the forthcoming commencement of a programme of development briefs to help guide the implementation and delivery of the major sites (and other sites of a locally complex and or sensitive nature) identified within the Local Plan (Aire Valley Leeds Area Action Plan and Site Allocations Plan). The report seeks consideration and agreement to an initial programme of the preparation of development briefs.

The Panel considered the report of the Director of City Development on implementation activities considered necessary to support the delivery of the Local Development Framework (LDF). The report gave context to the proposed programme of development briefs intended to help guide the implementation and delivery of major sites; and other sites of a locally complex and/or sensitive nature, as identified within the Local Plan (Aire Valley Leeds Area Action Plan and Site Allocations Plan).

The Team Leader (Major Projects), Policy & Plans Group, presented the report and highlighted the main concerns identified by local residents through previous consultation processes about the release of sites in respect of housing need; housing mix; infrastructure and green infrastructure and local sensitivities. Concerns such as these would be dealt with throughout the Plan process however “development briefs” were now suggested to assist the delivery of those sites; and an initial list of sites were identified in Appendix 1.

The Panel were assured that the local planning authority still sought the release of Brownfield before green sites, however where green sites were proposed; a development brief could ensure concerns about the issues are addressed. Additionally, a map which plotted the sites was tabled at the meeting and a correction was reported to Table 1 to show that HG2-41 (land south of Rawdon Road, Horsforth) was a Phase 1 site (not Phase 2 as stated in the report).

Information was also provided on the following matters:

·  The role of Small and Medium Sized house builder’s (SME’s) role in housing delivery and the need to promote collaboration to continue provision of smaller schemes.

·  The work undertaken on ‘stalled schemes’ and to incentivise bringing Brownfield sites back into use, noting that developers remain less inclined to build on Brownfield

·  The role of the Private Rented Sector (PRS) as an emerging sector in the home building industry

·  The involvement of a number of Neighbourhood Planning Groups interested in the development of Development Briefs and Community engagement was key to success

Additionally officers reported that the Phase 1 release equated to the release of large Green Belt sites (sites over 750 units) – which had raised local concerns. High standard design and delivery, focussing on swift build out, was required to ensure that development complies with the Core Strategy. The report detailed what issues could be considered and explored in a development brief, including quality, viability, commitment to delivery, construction, engagement, Community Infrastructure Levy and technical issues.

During consideration of the proposed approach to development briefs, Members commented on the following:

-  Transport forward planning. Liaison with transport providers earlier in the process was key to provide them with an overview of development proposals to factor into their transport service provision. This would support the Councils’ own focus on sustainable developments

-  Approach to new developments or expansions. Members noted that infrastructure was more easily incorporated into new developments; however expansion of existing settlements was more restrictive with less scope to provide whole new infrastructure

-  Ambitious planning. Development Briefs were  ...  view the full minutes text for item 46.

To note the date and time of the next meeting as Tuesday, 13th December 2016 at 1.30 pm

RESOLVED – To note the date and time of the next meeting as Tuesday 13^th December 2016 at 1.30pm