Agenda and minutes

  The Chair welcomed everyone to the meeting and thanked Councillor Richard Lewis for chairing the October meeting in his absence

To declare any personal / prejudicial interests for the purpose of Section 81(3) of the Local Government Act 2000 and paragraphs 8 to 12 of the Members’ Code of Conduct.

  There were no declarations of interest

Apologies for absence were received from Councillor Anderson

To approve the minutes of the Development Plan Panel meeting held on 12^th October 2010

(minutes attached)

RESOLVED-  That the minutes of the Development Plan Panel meeting held on 12^th October 2010 be approved

To consider a report of the Director of City Development outlining the progress being made in respect of the Employment Land Review (2010 Update) and to receive a Powerpoint presentation from Officers on this update

(report attached)

  The Panel considered a report of the Director of City Development outlining the current progress on a number of studies being undertaken within the Directorate on the evidence base for the Core Strategy and received a presentation by Officers on the Employment Land Review (2010 Update)

  The Head of Forward Planning and Implementation presented the report and outlined the current position in respect of:

·  Leeds Strategic Housing Market Assessment (SHMA)

·  Leeds Strategic Housing Land Availability Assessment (SHLAA)

·  PPG17 Audit and Needs Assessment

·  Retail and Town Centre Study

·  Housing Growth Options

·  Infrastructure Delivery Plan

Members commented on the following matters:

·  the interim figure of 2260 homes per annum recently agreed by Executive Board following the abolition of the RSS ; that this figure was perhaps more achievable than the previous target of 4300 homes per annum contained in the RSS but concerns at the large number of people on the waiting list for social housing

·  the large number of flats being built despite their decline in popularity and the need for family houses to be provided

·  that further work should be undertaken on the changing need within the housing market and that within the figure of 2260, there should be some indication of the levels of different types of homes which should be provided

·  whether on the plans displayed at the meeting, the out of centre sites shown for office use would be retained.  Members were informed that those being retained reflected those sites which had planning permission

·  how the renewal of a planning consent which had not been implemented would be considered where a change in policy had occurred since the original permission had been granted.  Officers stated that in such circumstances the changes in policy would have to be taken into account although each case would be considered on its merits.  Furthermore, the requirements around granting an extension of time were different so it could be possible for an applicant to seek an extension of a permission but after a further 2 years, the application would need to be reassessed

The Panel then received a presentation on the Employment Land

Review, 2010 Update (ELR)

  The previous ELR had been published in March 2006 and now needed to be updated to take into account various changes including changes to national planning policy and the effects of the economic downturn

  Members were informed that the ELR provided information on and justification for the amount of land that would be proposed for employment use in the Local Development Framework.  For the purposes of the study only uses within class B of the Planning Use Classes Order were being considered; these being mainly offices, industry and warehousing; these sectors accounting for approximately 50% of the total number of jobs in Leeds

  The methodology for the ELR was outlined, with Panel being informed that the jobs forecasts from the Regional Econometric Model, which was updated twice a year, formed the basis of the information which was used.  Additionally the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 37.

Tuesday 7^th December 2010 at 1.30pm

  Tuesday 7^th December 2010 at 1.30pm