Decision details

1          Under the provisions of Section 20 of the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004, that it be recommended to Council that the Draft Submission Site Allocations Development Plan Document (SADPD), the Proposals Map changes and all supporting documents be formally submitted to the Secretary of State for independent examination.

2          That subject to Council accepting the recommendation set out above, the Draft Submission SADPD at Appendix B to the report (along with the supporting documents and revised Proposals Map at Appendices A, and C through to Y) be approved for publication for a statutory six week consultation to commence on 16 January 2012. 

3          That subject to Council accepting the recommendation above, the consultation on the Draft Submission SADPD  and the proposed changes to the Proposals Map be carried out as described in Section 8 of the associated report be approved.

Production of the Site Allocations DPD is an important element in delivering the Council’s adopted Core Strategy Vision to 2026 and to:

·         ensure that major future developments in the Borough are properly planned and accompanied by the necessary infrastructure

·         ensure that the Council has a robust and continuous five year supply of housing land and is therefore less vulnerable to inappropriate developments being allowed on appeal; and,

·         ensure that the Council has an up-to-date development plan to enable it to introduce the Community Infrastructure Levy.

The publication of the Draft Submission SADPD and its subsequent Submission to the Secretary of State are statutory stages in the process of adopting a Development Plan Document as set out in the Town and Country Planning (Local Development) (England) Regulations 2004 (as amended 2008).

The options of abandoning the SADPD and re-commencing work as a Review of the Core Strategy and of delaying the SADPD in order to await greater certainty over the Localism Bill and the National Planning Policy Framework were both considered and rejected for the following reasons:

• The Core Strategy Review will need to look at a longer timeframe (probably at least to 2031).  This will require the allocation of significant additional sites to those proposed in the current draft Site Allocations document.  At current levels of requirement this would mean finding sites for another 2,695 homes in addition to those identified in the SADPD.  This would require a lot of additional consultation and technical work which would add years of delay to securing a defensible land supply and increasing the likelihood of inappropriate development, such as development in areas with poor access to services or lacking infrastructure provision, being permitted (potentially through the appeal process) in the meantime.

• The Council currently lacks a five year housing supply against both the Regional Plan target and the lower target in the Council’s adopted Core Strategy.  We are therefore vulnerable to inappropriate housing applications.  In spite of the downturn in the housing market there is still significant interest in securing sites for development both in the short and longer term.  The lengthy period required following allocation for large sites to start delivering completed new homes means we need plan for this now.

• Significant delay in establishing an up to date plan would also result in the Council being unable to secure developer funding for some essential infrastructure as the Community Infrastructure Levy Regulations mean that after April 2014 the Council will not be able to pool contributions from more than five developments towards any single infrastructure project.  The Community Infrastructure Levy can only be introduced on the basis of an up to date plan which this Council currently lacks in relation to the identification of development sites and the associated infrastructure delivery.  This would have serious implications for the provision of improvements to the highway network and securing such things as the new secondary school needed in the north of the Borough.  Without the SADPD in place it will be very hard to achieve properly planned infrastructure through reactive responses to developers’ proposals.

• The draft National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) states that "In the absence of an up-to-date and consistent plan, planning applications should be determined accordance with this Framework, including its presumption in favour of sustainable development" (Paragraph 26).  This presumption will make it even harder to refuse inappropriate planning applications if the Council does not have a robust housing land supply position established through the SADPD.  The draft NPPF is already capable of being a material consideration in the determination of planning applications and appeal decisions.

None.

Consultation to be in accordance with the Town and Country Planning (Local Development) (England) Regulations 2004 as amended.

Consultation to be in accordance with the Town and Country Planning (Local Development) (England) Regulations 2004 as amended.