Issue - meetings

To consider the report of the Director of City Development setting out proposals on how Leeds will improve its housing offer in terms of broadening its supply of land and promoting housing delivery.  Within this overall context and the conclusions of the Authority Monitoring Report (AMR) 2012, this report explores how Leeds’ housing land portfolio and housing delivery may be enhanced, including the setting of criteria for the release of some Protected Area of Search (PAS) sites for development.

The Director of City Development submitted a report setting out proposals on how Leeds would improve its housing offer in terms of broadening its supply of land and promoting housing delivery. Within this overall context and in noting the conclusions drawn from the Authority Monitoring Report (AMR) 2012, the submitted report explored how Leeds’ housing land portfolio and housing delivery could be enhanced, which included the establishment of criteria for the potential release of some Protected Area of Search (PAS) sites for development.

As part of the introduction to the report, the Executive Member for Neighbourhoods, Planning and Support Services emphasised the Council’s commitment to ensuring the successful delivery of housing provision in Leeds, but in addition, provided assurances that the status of some PAS sites would be protected.

Following this, the Executive Member for Neighbourhoods, Planning and Support Services proposed the introduction of an addition to the policy criteria detailed within the submitted report, namely that when permission was granted to develop PAS sites, such permission be for a duration of 2 years, rather than the current 5 years, in order to avoid landbanking.

Further to the proposal above, a request was made for a second addition to be incorporated into the policy criteria, specifically, the insertion of a clause which would enable the Council to refuse permission to develop PAS sites for ‘any other material planning reasons’, in order to protect the interests of the Council and others. 

Having considered the respective proposals to amend the policy criteria as detailed within the submitted report, it was

RESOLVED – That the policy criteria for the potential release of PAS sites, as detailed within paragraph 3.3 of the submitted report, be approved, subject to the inclusion of criteria which:

(i)  reduces from 5 years to 2 years the period by which any permission granted to develop PAS sites remains valid; and

(ii)  enables the Council to refuse permission to develop PAS sites for ‘any other material planning reasons’.

(Under the provisions of Council Procedure Rule 16.5, Councillor A Carter required it to be recorded that he abstained from voting on the decisions referred to within this minute, whilst under the provisions of the same Procedure Rule, Councillor Golton required it to be recorded that he voted against the decisions referred to within this minute)