Agenda and minutes

Councillor C Gruen welcomed everybody to the meeting and looked forward to the challenge as Chair of the Development Plan Panel. On behalf of the Panel, the Chair thanked former Chair Cllr Walshaw for his work and greeted the 4 work experience students who were in attendance

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.

There were no exempt items.

There were no formal late items.

To disclose or draw attention to any interests in accordance with Leeds City Council’s ‘Councillor Code of Conduct’.

Members did not declare any interets at the meeting.

Apologies for absence were received from Councillor R Finnigan and Councillor C Campbell.

To approve the minutes of the previous meeting held 1^st March 2022 as a correct record.

RESOLVED- That the minutes of the Development Plan Panel meeting held on 1 March 2022, be approved as an accurate record.

To consider the report of the Chief Planning Officer providing an update on the consultation undertaken on the Statement of Community Involvement (SCI). The Statement of Community Involvement is a statutory document (required under the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004) and sets out how residents and other stakeholders can get involved in the preparation of planning policies, frameworks and the neighbourhood planning process and how comments can be made on planning applications. 

Further to the minutes of the meeting held on the 1^st of Match 2022, the report of the Chief Planning Officer provided an update on the consultation undertaken on the Statement of Community Involvement (SCI). The Statement of Community Involvement is a statutory document (required under the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004) and sets out how residents and other stakeholders can get involved in the preparation of planning policies, frameworks and the neighbourhood planning process and how comments can be made on planning applications.

Officers in attendance from the Neighbourhood Planning and Engagement team within the Spatial Planning Service introduced the report. Members were informed that the consultation period was from the 8^th March until the 19^th April 2022 which was published via a dedicated webpage with a link to the smart survey comments form, the survey was largely conducted online. Notification was sent via email to a range of stakeholders including statuary consultees, members, neighbourhood forums, parish councils and third sector organisations. The SCI mainly covered four key aspects of consultation, format and principles, plan-making, planning applications and neighbourhood planning, methods of engagement and targets. Approximately one thousand consultees were notified and received eight email and thirty-nine smart survey responses.

From the responses received, it was noted that the SCI used too much technical planning jargon, was lengthy, should be integrated with other Council departments to ensure wider, consistent engagement. There have been difficulties with accessibility on public access and, a suggestion that face-to-face consultation will be effective for public engagement.

Officers explained that the responses provided vital information for altering the document before final release. Planning terminology will be revised to improve the flow of the document and sound explanation. Reducing the size of the document could not be achieved due to policy requirements but a summary of the contents will be provided alongside the document. Officers were of the view that the document could not be used across Council departments, as it is a statutory document prepared specifically for planning purposes. However, officers will work with other departments. For example, a link can be made with Children’s Services to engage with young people in the future.

The draft SCI sets out three key targets, which although are broad, can be easily measured. The targets were as follows; receive comments from all neighbourhoods, positive feedback received focused on individuals who rarely engage with planning process and levels of engagement with young people. It was confirmed that a full review will take place after five years and the targets would be evaluated annually to measure success.

 Panel members discussed the following key matters:

·  The feasibility of face-to-face requests was queried due to the availability of resources and the need to balance expectations of the public when carrying out more face-to-face consultations. Developers will also be encouraged to engage with local residents. The variety of neighbourhoods across the city were noted and strategic methods were explained through activity such as a pilot project through  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.

To note the date and time of the next meeting as Tuesday 6^th September 2022 at 1.30 pm

RESOLVED – To note the date and time of the next meeting as Tuesday, 6^th September 2022 at 1.30pm.

(The meeting concluded at 14.55)