Agenda item

To consider the attached report of the Head of Scrutiny and Member Development on the second Session of the Inquiry into Consultation Processes.

The Head of Scrutiny and Member Development submitted a report attaching evidence from the City Development Department on the consultation undertaken with regard to case study 2, Aire Valley Area Action Plan, as Session 2 of the Inquiry to Review Consultation Processes.

Steve Speak, Chief Strategy and Policy Officer, Richard Askham, Senior Planner and Richard Shaw, Planner, all from the City Development department, were in attendance to present the report and respond to queries and comments from the Board.  The Chair also welcomed to the meeting Mr Peter Beaumont, Managing Director of Keyland Developments Ltd who had been involved in the consultation process.

Members questioned the officers and Mr Beaumont on various aspects of theconsultation process and  the  content and objectives of the plan itself.  The issues raised were in brief summary:

·  The complexity of consultation undertaken in the development of the Aire Valley Area Action Plan

·  That messages that came out of the consultation very early in the process only now seemed to be being addressed at a fairly late stage.  A preferred option had been produced which had not addressed many of the issues raised by consultees and which was now being subjected to a more rigorous examination of costs, value, viability and feasibility prior to the submission to the Secretary of State of a plan which would have to be capable of delivery and be demonstrably sound.

·  Many issues including the odour impact at Knostrop Waste Water Treatment Works were raised very early in the consultation under "Issues and Options", but in the view of Keyland Developments Ltd had never been satisfactorily addressed in subsequent iterations of the plan, despite having been restated at each stage.

·  Whether the consultation had taken account of the previous heavy industry in the area and whether the future use of the site would be suitable for a science park.

·  The soundness of the consultation process, given the low response rates – Members were advised that the Aire Valley was unique and had a range of complex issues that needed to be addressed. It had few residential properties and consultation was based on national guidelines that had been independently inspected. A great deal of consultation had been undertaken to engage as many individuals, businesses and organisations as possible from the evidence presented.

·  Low response rates to consultation and the possibility of setting a floor level for consultation response rates - Officers were not supportive of such a proposal as they followed national guidance and people could not be made to respond to questionnaires or attend public meetings. In addition who would set the number of responses required.

·  Recognition that the more detailed the proposals when consultation occurred, the better the response rate.

·  The importance of the quality of responses rather than the quantity.

·  The provision of jobs for local people and improving the skills level - consultation with the Learning and Skills Council and in particular the need to consult with the proposed new Leeds College.

·  Access to the area, including using the canal system and the provision of an additional road bridge.

Members were advised that a representative from Caddick Developments Ltd had offered to attend the March meeting of the Board at 1.00pm to give evidence.

The Chair thanked Mr Beaumont and the officers for attending the meeting.

RESOLVED –

(a)  That the report of the Director of City Development on the consultation undertaken with regard to the Aire Valley Area Action plan be noted.

(b)  That the time of the Board meeting on 18th March 2008 be changed to accommodate the attendance of a representative from Caddick Developments Ltd.

(c)  That the Principal Scrutiny Adviser take account of Members’ comments as above and include them in the Board’s final report and recommendations.

(Note: Councillor Taggart arrived at 10.35am during the consideration of this item and Councillor Ewens left the meeting at 10.55am at the conclusion of this item.)