Agenda item

To consider the report of the Chief Planning Officer on residential proposals for the former Optare site, Crossgates

(Report attached)

  Further to minute 110 of the Plans Panel East meeting held on 25^th September 2008 where Members approved in principle an application for a residential development on the Optare site at Manston Lane LS15, Members considered a further report of the Chief Planning Officer requesting consideration of revisions to the Section 106 Agreement in respect of education contributions.  Members were also informed of a request by the applicant for an increase to the standard time limit for the outline application from three years to five years for the submission of reserved matters

  Officers stated that new tests relating to the legality of planning obligations had recently been introduced and that it was necessary to consider each of the proposed planning obligations on this application in the light of the new tests

  Additionally, the applicant had questioned the methodology used by Education Leeds to determine local capacity as this related to the level of contributions required and had subsequently challenged the methodology

  Members were informed that in respect of primary school provision an allowance for the intake of children at a local faith school (a RC Primary School) had not been included in the calculation.  Having made an allowance for Catholic children attending a Catholic primary school, the trigger threshold before education contributions would be required would increase from 200 to 223 which equated to a sizeable drop in the amount of primary school contributions

  In respect of secondary school provision Panel was informed that the original assessment had been based on the capacity of John Smeaton Community College which had been challenged by the applicant on the basis that there was spare capacity at Parklands Girls’ High School.  The applicant was therefore suggesting a reduction in the level of contributions for secondary school provision of 25%

  Members were informed that it would be necessary to be equitable to the adjacent Threadneedle development in this matter if they were minded to accept the revised education contribution and a request was made by Threadneedle for an equivalent adjustment and that any contribution had to be fairly and reasonably related in scale and kind to the development applied for

  Members commented on the following matters:

·  that the financial contribution for secondary school provision should take into account the fact that parents who wish their children to attend RC secondary schools may well have a preferred school which is some distance from the development site.  The Panel’s legal representative advised that the legal tests relating to planning obligations require that contributions must be directly related to development.  In the context of education contributions this means that there should be a geographical link between the development site and the educational provision that is being funded

·  the time taken from September 2008 for the application to come back to Panel

·  concern that other faith schools were not being given consideration in assessing the level of education contributions

·  the need for a representative from Education Leeds to provide further information

·  agreement that the Threadneedle site should be considered in the same way

·  the likely start date of the Manston Lane Link Road

·  concern at the request for an extension to the time limit on the outline application

Members considered how to proceed

RESOLVED -  That the application be deferred for one cycle to enable

clarification to be sought on the issues which had been raised and that the Chief Planning Officer request that a representative from Education Leeds attends the meeting to respond to questions from the Panel

  (Following consideration of this matter, Councillor Gruen left the meeting)