Agenda and minutes

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Contact: Kirsty Hunt  01344 353108

Items
No. Item

42.

Declarations of Interest

Members are asked to declare any disclosable pecuniary or affected interests in respect of any matter to be considered at this meeting.

 

Any Member with a Disclosable Pecuniary Interest in a matter should withdraw from the meeting when the matter is under consideration and should notify the Democratic Services Officer in attendance that they are withdrawing as they have such an interest. If the Disclosable Pecuniary Interest is not entered on the register of Members interests the Monitoring Officer must be notified of the interest within 28 days.

 

Any Member with an affected Interest in a matter must disclose the interest to the meeting.  There is no requirement to withdraw from the meeting when the interest is only an affected interest, but the Monitoring Officer should be notified of the interest, if not previously notified of it, within 28 days of the meeting.

Minutes:

Councillor Harrison declared that he had an Affected Interest in agenda item three, Bracknell Forest Local Plan - Consultation on Draft Local Plan, by virtue of two of the possible site identified in the plan being close to his home.

 

Councillor Peacey declared that she had an Affected Interest in agenda item three, Bracknell Forest Local Plan - Consultation on Draft Local Plan, by virtue of one of the proposed sites identified in the plan abutting her property.

 

Councillor Phillips declared that she had an Affected Interest in agenda item three, Bracknell Forest Local Plan - Consultation on Draft Local Plan, by virtue of one of the proposed sites identified in the plan abutting her property.

43.

Bracknell Forest Local Plan - Consultation on Draft Local Plan pdf icon PDF 178 KB

To seek approval of the draft Bracknell Forest Local Plan (Appendix A) and the Consultation Strategy (Appendix B) for publication for a period of public consultation between Thursday 8 February and Monday 26 March 2018. Approval is also being sought to update and publish the Local Development Scheme.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Council considered a report seeking approval to consult upon the draft Bracknell Forest Local Plan (Appendix A of the agenda report) and the Consultation Strategy (Appendix B) for a period of public consultation between Thursday 8 February and Monday 26 March 2018. Approval was also being sought to update and publish the Local Development Scheme.

 

Andrew Hunter, Chief Officer: Planning, Transport and Countryside updated the meeting on the key elements of the Local Plan consultation which would set out a planning framework for the Borough, including vision, objectives, new planning policies and the allocation of sites for the period up to 2034. He explained that it was important for the Council to have an up to date plan to help provide certainty and set out the council’s framework for development. The draft plan had been developed over a period of time and had involved evidence gathering, member engagement, site assessment, discussions with infrastructure providers and regular reporting through the Local Plan working group. The next stage was to seek public comment on the draft plan.

 

In response to Members questions the Chief Officer made the following points:

 

·         It would not be detrimental if the proposed timetable was not strictly adhered to but any delay was a delay to the Council establishing up to date planning policies and being able to demonstrate future housing land supply.

·         Consultation exhibitions were being run in areas where development sites were proposed and the policy team were working with Parish & Town Council offices and libraries to schedule these exhibitions. The team would be available to answer questions at sessions at varying  times including weekends.

·         No sites had been submitted for traveller sites but as the plan developed they may be put forward. If no sites were received then the Council would rely upon the policy in the plan relating to that determination.

·         All of the evidence base which had been used would be available on the Council’s website as part of the consultation.

·         The proposed Local Plan would be updated and amended as a result of the consultation responses.

·         If a site was deemed unsuitable, due to contamination for example, it may be withdrawn from the list of proposed sites but would not be substituted as there was some flexibility within the list of sites as the proposed sites could deliver 3,600 houses above the required 3,200.

·         Delivering 3,200 houses would just be meeting housing need requirement therefore sites were proposed which could deliver an over allocation of 3,600 houses and give flexibility for the final plan if any sites needed to be ruled out or the numbers on the site changed.

·         Every consultation response would be assessed by officers and responded to. At the end of the consultation each comment would be detailed including what response had been made and what impact this had, if any. This itemised list would be appended to the final proposed Local Plan report. The Council would then decide if it agreed with the officer’s assessment as part  ...  view the full minutes text for item 43.

44.

Questions Submitted Under Council Procedure Rule 10

By Councillor Mrs Temperton to Councillor Dr Barnard, Executive Member for Children, Young People and Learning

 

Five years ago, a consultation with the young people of Bracknell Forest resulted in a promise to provide for them a State of the Art provision in the centre of Bracknell. Coopers Hill was discussed as the location at one time.

What has happened to these plans and when will the promise be fulfilled?

Minutes:

Councillor Mrs Temperton asked Councillor Dr Barnard, Executive Member for Children, Young People and Learning the following published question:

 

Five years ago, a consultation with the young people of Bracknell Forest resulted in a promise to provide for them a State of the Art provision in the centre of Bracknell. Coopers Hill was discussed as the location at one time.

What has happened to these plans and when will the promise be fulfilled?

 

In response Councillor Dr Barnard stated that the Council was committed to delivering a modern, viable youth provision in a central location which would offer a range of opportunities. The original consultation had investigated the options viable at the Copper’s Hill site as it has a covenant in place for youth services. He stated that ultimately the negotiations did not get to a position where something could be delivered which was also sustainable.

 

He advised that the ‘My Space’ projects put in place elsewhere in the country had failed to thrive as they weren’t sustainable. He considered it was key to develop in locations where young people would come therefore they were looking at opportunities in the new Town Centre. Whatever was developed needed to adaptable, accessible, flexible and complement what was offer in the new Town centre. He added that Cooper’s Hill was now in the wrong direction as it took young people out of the new Town Centre. Looking forward he hoped to be able to provide an update to Members soon.     

 

Councillor Mrs Temperton asked a supplementary question about delivery timescales as she considered this needed to be delivered in 2019/2020 because Bracknell’s young people had been waiting a long time. In response Councillor Dr Barnard agreed that they had been waiting too long but wanted to get the provision and location right. He added he was excited and optimistic now that the Twon Centre was developed that this could progress. He reiterated that the Council had a good track record for delivering the infrastructure required and were committed to youth provision for example supporting Children’s Centres. He stated that the Council would provide this and would do it right.

 

Contact Information

Democratic services

Email: committee@bracknell-forest.gov.uk