Agenda and draft minutes

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 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 interests at the meeting.

To receive any apologies for absence and notification of substitutes.

Apologies for absence were received from Councillor R Finnigan.

To receive and consider the attached minutes of the previous meeting held on the 16^th of July 2024.

RESOLVED-  That the minutes of the Development Plan Panel meeting held on the 16^th of July 2024 be approved as an accurate record.

Minute 7 – As it had been agreed at the previous meeting that the Chair of the Panel was to write to the Planning Minister to request clarity as to how the Written Ministerial Statement would impact local planning policy and the Government’s overall approach to planning policy, it was noted that this letter had not been sent in light of the proposed reforms to the NPPF and wider planning system with the need to review proposals for further information.

The report of the Chief Planning Officer outlines that on the 30th of July 2024 the Government launched an 8-week consultation on proposed changes to the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) and a series of wider national planning policy reforms. The report summarises the key proposed changes as part of this consultation, such as a new standard method for calculating Local Authority housing requirements and, in conjunction with Appendix 1, highlights the proposed response of officers across a range of Council departments.

The report of the Chief Planning Officer outlined that on the 30^th of July 2024 the Government launched an 8-week consultation on proposed changes to the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) and a series of wider national planning policy reforms. The report summarised the key proposed changes as part of this consultation, such as a new standard method for calculating Local Authority housing requirements and, in conjunction with Appendix 1, highlighted the proposed Council response, collated in conjunction with a range of Council departments.

The Group Manager for Policy and Plans presented the report, providing Members with the following information:

• On the 30^th of July 2024, the Government had published a proposal detailing revisions to the NPPF and wider planning reforms, alongside a consultation on its contents, with responses due by the 24^th of September 2024. Appendix 1 outlined the draft response, which was to be reviewed, subject to Members comments, and submitted by the Chief Planning Officer, in consultation with the Executive Member for Economy, Transport and Sustainable Development.
• The key changes proposed by the reforms were highlighted as the revised approach to calculating housing numbers and new policy for green and grey belt land.
• Housing number reforms proposed that Local Authorities were to make best efforts to allocate land to meet the needs of housing targets using new methodology for calculating overall housing stock and an affordability multiplier which generated a figure for Leeds as 4,159 new housing units per annum.
• The new calculated housing number raised challenges given that in previous years housing number targets had not been met and also had implications on the development of new local planning policies, including Leeds Local Plan 2040 (LLP2040).
• Leeds held an excess of the 5 year land supply requirement, however, this was to be reduced by the new housing number target but would still remain as an excess.
• Paragraph 10 of the report noted that the draft response supported a number of measures proposed by the reform, but concerns regarding deliverability were raised as it was developers, and not planning authorities that built housing units. The onus should be on developers to deliver housing, where sound policy and permissions were in place in order to not create additional pressures on land release and a risk in public trust, undermining local plan making, was outlined.
• The draft response also noted that greater weight should be given to affordable housing numbers given that affordability was a major element of the of new calculation method.
• The proposed reforms noted a clear requirement for housing needs to be considered an exceptional circumstance for land release from green belt. A green belt review was being undertaken alongside LLP2040.
• A new definition for grey belt land had been provided as any land within green belt that had been previously developed or that make limited contribution to the five purposes of green belt. These measures weakened protection of green belt against the interest of housing provision and other development.
•  Concerns for the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 18.

The report of the Chief Planning Officer provides an update regarding that the Council’s planning service maintains up to date evidence on housing needs mainly for the purposes of plan-making and also needs to maintain information on a 5-year housing land supply to ensure that there is sufficient land to meet those needs across the city. 

The report of the Chief Planning Officer provided an update regarding that the Council’s planning service maintains up to date evidence on housing needs mainly for the purposes of plan-making and also needs to maintain information on a 5-year housing land supply to ensure that there is sufficient land to meet those needs across the city. 

The Principal Planner from City Development, presented the report, providing Members with the following information:

• This item was an update on the progress of the Strategic Housing Market Assessment (SHMA) which maintains up to date evidence on housing needs mainly for the purposes of plan-making and also information on the need to maintain a 5-year housing land supply to ensure that there is sufficient land to meet those needs across the city.
• The previous iteration of the SHMA had been conducted in 2017, prior to the Core Strategy being developed in 2019. The new SHMA was developed in partnership with consultants Arc4 and Edge Analytics.
• Government methodology, as part of the NPPF reforms, for determining housing number requirements had changed, with an updated approach to size, type, location and tenure of housing development needs.
• A wide scope of consultation had been run, including 100 stakeholders, a public consultation and a steering group.
• An update on the following headline finding on the SHMA were outlined as:

o  Overall Housing Requirements - The requirement figure for housing using the Government’s standard method forecast the need of a 35% urban uplift. The overall housing requirement in the SHMA was a 3,022 average each year and 4,080 per annum including the uplift. this data informed planning and allocation which translates to delivery.

o  Affordable Housing Need – A significant uplift in affordable housing provision was required, with the calculations determining the net shortfall as 2,136 per annum, based against the previous 10 year backlog, over 900 new affordable homes were required per annum. This was reflective of the Council Housing waiting list, housing benefit levels and the cost of living crisis leading to significant demand despite best efforts.

o  Housing Mix – The current policy position was considered to have a narrow focus looking only at the number of bedrooms city wide; a more detailed model was in preparation to consider size, type and tenure across 11 sub areas as part of LLP2040.

o  Student Accommodation – Demand and supply had changed, with a stark increase in the number of student housing developments, which was outlined as part of the Unipol report at appendix 2. There was a shift away from the previous standard of co-living models to self contained units more concentrated within the city centre. These housing models largely catered for international students and postgraduates, with a decrease in demand forecast. The Council had approved over 17,000 bed spaces since 2017, with 7,500 over the past 2 years.

o  Older Persons Housing – There was a need for this housing type with a calculation for 8,805 new older persons units by 2040 calculated, as C3 class  ...  view the full minutes text for item 19.

The report of the Chief Planning Officer outlines that the Leeds Local Plan 2040 was earmarked to begin its second round of Regulation 18 public consultation in November 2024. A consultation on a revised National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) was published at the end of July 2024.  This proposes significant changes to national planning policy that will have a bearing on the Leeds Local Plan 2040.  In light of this, it is proposed that the planned public consultation before the end of 2024 will instead happen in early 2025, pending finalisation of the NPPF. 

The report of the Chief Planning Officer outlined that the Leeds Local Plan 2040 was earmarked to begin its second round of Regulation 18 public consultation in November 2024. A consultation on a revised National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) was published at the end of July 2024. This proposed significant changes to national planning policy that will have a bearing on the Leeds Local Plan 2040. In light of this, it was proposed that the planned public consultation before the end of 2024 will instead happen in early 2025, pending finalisation of the NPPF.

The Group Manager from Policy and Plans, presented the report, providing Members with the following information:

·  With the Government’s proposed NPPF and wider planning system consultation and reforms, there were tangible benefits and a reduction in risk for the ongoing development and adoption of LLP2040 in delaying the consultation.

·  The next stage of consultation for LLP2040 had been paused in order for the impacts of the NPPF and wider reforms to be assessed in terms of the approach to the standard methodology for housing numbers, green and grey belt, employment land and affordable housing, among other topics.

·  The LLP2040 consultation was paused in order for work not to be duplicated and to allow questions or concerns that were to be covered by NPPF reforms and its wider context for national and local planning policy to be addressed. 

·  In the interim period between recommencing the LLP2040 consultation work was ongoing work to research policy options such as site assessments and green belt review.

·  The new timescales for the development and adoption of LLP2040 was noted to not be heavily impacted and could save time if a further round of consultation at a later stage could be avoided.

·  An amended timetable was to be produced and was expected to be published early in the new year of 2025 after the new NPPF was published and available.

RESOLVED – That the report, along with Members comments be noted.

To note the date and time of the next meeting as the 5^th of November 2024, at 1:30pm.

RESOLVED – To note the date and time of the next meeting the 5th of November 2024, at 1:30pm.