Agenda and minutes

To identify items which have been admitted to the agenda by the Chair for consideration.

(The special circumstance shall be specified in the minutes).

  There were no formal late items, however Panel Members were in receipt of supplementary information in respect of a summary of the community engagement on the  Residual Waste Treatment project (minute 46 refers)

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.

  The following Members declared 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:

  Agenda items 8 and 9 – Leeds LDF Core Strategy – Analysis of consultation responses: A well connected city (transport) theme and Sustainable Communities theme – Councillor Anderson declared personal interests through being a member of West Yorkshire Integrated Transport Authority as Metro had commented on these matters (minutes 47 and 48 refer)

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Gruen, Leadley and Smith

To approve the minutes of the Development Plan Panel meeting held on 9^th March 2010

(minutes attached)

RESOLVED-  That the minutes of the Development Plan Panel meeting held on 9^th March 2010 be approved.

Further to minute 23 of the Development Plan Panel held on 13^th October 2009, to consider a report of the Director of City Development providing information on the initial results from the consultation on the Natural Resources and Waste Development Plan Document and progress in preparation of submission documents for independent examination

(report attached)

  Further to minute 23 of the Development Plan Panel meeting held on 13^th October 2009 where Panel considered a report on the scope and content of the Natural Resources and Waste Development Plan Document prior to a period of informal consultation, Members considered a report of the Director of City Development setting out a summary of the responses received to that consultation.  The report also set out the current position on the preparation of the documents for independent examination

  The Head of Forward Planning and Implementation presented the report and informed Members of the various events which had been arranged as part of the consultation which had resulted in over 100 responses, some of which were very detailed.  He also referred to the document which had been tabled to the Panel setting out the consultation by colleagues in Waste Management as part of the PFI procurement process for a Residual Waste Treatment facility

  Arising out of the consultation of the DPD, Members were informed that whilst there was a measure of support for the emerging ‘policy position’ there were a number of key issues to consider.  These included planning issues associated with the residual waste treatment proposals and the representations received from the Coal Authority regarding the presentation Minerals Safeguarding Areas.  These matters would need to be covered in further detail as part of the more detailed analysis of responses at the next stage of the process

  Members commented on the following matters:

·  the number of responses which had been received; that this was disappointing and that not everyone had responded to all of the questions which were posed

·  the number of non-answers which could be interpreted either as an acceptance of or rejection of the issues

·  that some of the events were held in supermarkets which perhaps should have yielded a higher response rate

·  that the impression from the information in the report was that the general public had not really been consulted

The Head of Forward Planning and Implementation gave the following

responses:

·  regarding the number of responses received, that the LDF process differed from the UDP process and was about more engagement at an earlier stage in order to try and address issues before policies were drawn up and submitted for final consultation

·  that the consultation had given a sense of what the reaction to proposals would be

·  that much information had been available; that many people had expressed an interest in the consultation and had taken away leaflets etc and where specific sites were being looked at, Officers had contacted the landowners/tenants, where individual sites were specifically affected by the proposals

RESOLVED – To note the report, the progress and next steps in

relation to the preparation of the LDF Natural Resources and Waste Development Plan Document and the next stages in production of the publication draft

Further to minute 34 of the Development Plan Panel held on 2^nd February 2010, to consider a report of the Director of City Development providing further information on the comments received in respect of the transport theme

(report attached)

Further to minute 34 of the Development Plan Panel meeting held on 2^nd February 2010 where Panel considered a report on the initial feedback on the consultation exercise for the Leeds LDF Core Strategy ‘ Preferred Approach’, Members considered a report of the Director of City Development setting out further detailed consideration of the comments received in respect of the transport theme

Officers presented the report and stated that the main theme of the transport chapter was a ‘well-connected city’ based on the delivery of a sustainable and integrated transport strategy to support economic growth and the RSS housing targets, whilst seeking to address climate change issues; safety; security and health; equality of opportunity and quality of life

The four main policy areas in this theme were:

·  Transport investment and management priorities

·  Accessibility requirements and new development

·  Freight

·  Managing the growth of Leeds Bradford Airport

A total of 150 individual responses had been received and that in

general there was support for the majority of the policies.  Members were informed of the main areas of concerns which were:

·  the need to integrate the location of transport infrastructure and potential housing growth areas

·  increased traffic at Leeds Bradford Airport

·  that there were insufficient proposals contained in the document

·  concerns about the availability of funding for the existing proposals and that the economic downturn could mean that some of the proposals could not now be delivered

Members were informed that Transport Leeds were looking at transport

requirements for the next 20 years; that subject to further commissioning by the Government, that ongoing work would be undertaken on delivering a sustainable transport system and that a new transport model would be available for use in the next few months

  Members commented on the following matters:

·  provision for roadside services and whether this referred to formal or informal facilities.  Officers stated that this related to formal services and that they were of the view that the current services were sufficient to meet the needs of road users

·  the comments received on the inadequacy of transport to the airport and where the thrust of these comments emanated from.  Members were informed these were largely responses from individuals and that in terms of funding new infrastructure for Leeds Bradford Airport, it was expected that the airport would make a significant contribution to this

·  the tram train; the view that the situation on this had moved on and that there was no intention of increasing the frequency of the tram train

·  regarding carbon emissions, that there was a policy for a 40% reduction across the Leeds economy and that the document had to take this into account.  Officers stated that the proposals would help to reduce carbon emissions

·  that the strategy should be more ambitious

·  the importance of ensuring that the proposals could be funded and would be capable of being delivered and that this could lead to some difficult decisions having to be made

·  that the current economic situation could not be ignored but that  ...  view the full minutes text for item 47.

Further to minute 34 of the Development Plan Panel meeting held on 2^nd February 2010, to consider a report of the Director of City Development setting out further details of the comments received in respect of the Sustainable Communities theme

(report attached)

  Further to minute 34 of the Development Plan Panel meeting held on 2^nd February 2010 where Panel considered a report of the initial feedback on the consultation exercise for the Leeds LDF Core Strategy ‘Preferred Approach’, Members considered a report of the Director of City Development setting out further detailed consideration of the comments received in respect of the sustainable communities theme

  Officers presented the report and stated that this theme was a wide ranging one to reflect community needs

  Arising out of the consultation there would be an expansion of the information in respect of regeneration areas.  For the AAPs which were not now being taken forward some of the information from these documents would be placed in the Core Strategy where appropriate.  Aire Valley Leeds would also be highlighted to a greater degree in the Core Strategy, possibly with its own chapter

  Members were informed that there had been general support for uses in centres and edge of centres, but that more specific information was needed.  There was a need to balance appropriate uses to each centre and the need for the retention of Post Offices had been highlighted.  However, it had to be accepted that some uses were not able to be situated in local centres, eg schools, hospitals and some leisure facilities

  In respect of Sustainable Design and Construction, there had been a wide range of responses received with many people asking for stricter regulations for new development.  Members were informed that higher standards for development would be encouraged but that these should not be too onerous.  The Panel was informed that this particular chapter would be moved to sit with environmental policies as it was thought this was a more appropriate place for this information

  Members discussed the following matters:

·  whether West Leeds Gateway would still be given high priority in view of the withdrawal of the AAP

·  the siting of offices; that the steer was to locate this use in centres and how applications for out of centre offices would be dealt it

·  the impact of large supermarkets and Tesco in particular, on local centres and that the document did not seem to address this problem

Officers provided the following responses:

·  that West Leeds Gateway (as a Supplementary Planning Document) would be given as high a priority as possible and that the main thrust of the aspirations to regenerate West Leeds had been retained

·  regarding the location of office accommodation, that in terms of the Core Strategy offices should be located in centres, but applications would be judged by Officers in Development Control on a site by site basis and on the individual merits of the application

·  that a Town Centre Survey was to be undertaken which would look at the most suitable locations for any further supermarket retailing

RESOLVED -  To note the report, the comments now made and the

course of further action as set out in appendix 1 of the submitted report in preparing a draft Publication Core Strategy

Further to minute 34 of the Development Plan Panel meeting held on 2^nd February 2010, to consider a report of the Director of City Development providing further details of the comments received in respect of the Green Infrastructure theme

(report attached)

  Further to minute 34 of the Development Plan Panel meeting held on 2^nd February 2010 where Panel considered a report of the initial feedback on the consultation exercise for the Leeds LDF Core Strategy ‘Preferred Approach’, Members considered a report of the Director of City Development setting out further detailed consideration of the comments received in respect of  Green Infrastructure - the natural environment theme

  Officers presented the report and stated that the concept of Green Infrastructure had been put forward by Natural England with whom Officers had worked closely alongside other authorities in the Leeds City Region.   Members were informed that Leeds City Council was viewed by the Leeds City Region to be an pioneer in respect of Green Infrastructure

  Members were informed that 142 responses had been received and overall the ideas put forward in the consultation had been well received

  Concerns had been raised from developers and advisers in relation to developer contributions as these were seen as potential burdens which could undermine viability, however it was important for the Council to continue to seek such contributions

  In respect of Policy G3 – Housing Growth Areas, developers were of the view that this required further clarification or should be deleted

  Policy G5 – the creation of new woodlands was well received however the policies in respect of TPOs and Ancient Woodlands were considered to be too detailed and Officers were of the view that these should be deleted from the Core Strategy and be picked up in more detail elsewhere

  A plan showing the extent of the Green Infrastructure had been provided as part of the consultation and several further suggestions for possible areas had been received, ie the South Leeds corridor and the Morley/Middleton Corridor as well as the woodland on the Outer Ring Road

  Natural England had suggested the Council carry out an up-to-date character assessment to help strengthen the evidence base for this theme, however there were resource issues associated with this.  Officers considered that some of the work done for the UDP could be revisited and updated for the Core Strategy

  RESOLVED -  To note the report, the comments now made and the course of further action as detailed in appendix 1 of the submitted report in preparing a draft Publication Core Strategy

Tuesday 8^th June 2010 at 1.30pm in the Civic Hall, Leeds

  Tuesday 8^th June 2010 at 1.30pm