To consider the third review of the Council’s Local Development Scheme.

Wards Countywide

The Planning Policy Manager presented the report of the Head of Planning and Transportation about a suggested approach to the fourth review of the Council’s Local Development Scheme.  He said that one of the requirements of the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004 was that Local Planning Authorities had to publish a Local Development Scheme (LDS) setting out how their forward planning work would be organised over a three-year period.  The first Scheme for Herefordshire came into effect on 1st January 2005 and had been reviewed each year and was linked in to the completion of the Annual Monitoring Report.  The LDS had been reviewed in response to a number of factors and to reflect the following :-

·               the need to roll the Scheme forward a year and include revised proposals for local development documents, taking account of advice from Government Office (GO) and the Planning Inspectorate (PINS) as experience of implementing the new system is accrued;   

·               the adoption of the Unitary Development Plan (UDP) in March 2007, and the need to “save” those policies which will need to continue in effect until the new Local Development Framework was completed;

·               the need to address the emerging provisions in the current Phase 2 review of the Regional Spatial Strategy (RSS), notably new housing development for the period up to 2026, responding to the higher level of house building required by Government.  There is also continuing recognition in the RSS of the role of Hereford as a “settlement of significant development” (replacing the previous designation of Hereford in the RSS as one of five sub-regional foci for development);

·               the need to take forward the partnership for growth with Government set out in the identification of Hereford as a ‘New Growth Point’, by addressing the delivery of housing growth in and around the City.  The levels of growth will be confirmed through the current RSS review process;  

·               changes brought about by the revised Local Development Regulations (in June 2008) and the new Planning Act 2008 (in November 2008) especially with regard to the revised status of Supplementary Planning Guidance (which no longer forms part of the Local Development Scheme), the potential introduction of the Community Infrastructure Levy and new statutory requirements regarding good design and policies to combat climate change;

·               the increased emphasis being placed by GO and PINS on the development of a “sound” evidence base to underpin the LDF.  Considerable work is underway across a range of topics in this regard, and this must be completed or progressed to certain stages in order to support the development of various LDF policy documents.  

The revised LDS included the following main amendments :-

·               provision for just three Development Plan Documents: the Core Strategy, a Hereford Area Plan and a Market Towns and Rural Areas Plan;

·               the Core Strategy is moving forward following the “Developing Options” consultation in the summer of 2008, with a view to preparing the submission document during 2009/10. Its timetable has had to be revised to take account of the delay to the Regional Spatial Strategy – which will not reach Examination in Public stage until April to June 2009 and will not be adopted before mid 2010. It is currently anticipated that the Core Strategy after that, during 2011.

·               Hereford Area Plan will be required for Hereford and its immediate environs, taking forward the City’s Growth Point status and RSS proposals for the City in an integrated manner and including the delivery of housing, employment and retail growth in a balanced fashion. It is intended to bring this forward for adoption following the adoption of the Core Strategy. 

·               an equivalent allocations document will be required for the rest of the County and therefore a Market Towns and Rural Areas Plan is proposed.  This will be the third DPD in the sequence, also to be adopted after the Core Strategy and the Hereford Area Plan, thereby recognising the needs created by the focus of growth on Hereford.

·               in the light of the above the proposed target dates for adoption of the three DPDs are as follows:

                                                                    i. Core Strategy – target adoption date 2011

                                                                  ii. Hereford Area Plan – target adoption date 2012

                                                                  iii.            Market Towns and Rural Areas Plan – target adoption date 2013

·               following the Planning Act 2008, SPDs are no longer included in the Local Development Scheme. This does not mean that all work on SPDs will cease. Indeed it is proposed that a new Supplementary Planning Document is introduced (currently with the working title of a Design Code for Herefordshire) to update the Design and Development Requirements SPG 2004 and bring it up to date with the latest guidance on climate change, design and the relationship to Parish Plans and Village Design Statements. This will form an integral part of the “Place Shaping” agenda at the site-specific level. It is also anticipated that, once the associated regulations have been published, work can also commence on a Community Infrastructure Levy Charging Schedule with the intention that it be adopted as soon as possible after the Core Strategy is adopted in 2011.

The Committee discussed the main aspects of the LDS and the proposed revisions that were set out in the report.  In answer to a question by Councillor B Hunt, the Planning Policy Manager said that the Community Infrastructure Levy was anew provision brought in by the Planning Act 2008 which sat alongside Planning Obligation Agreements and enabled development land value to be invested in infrastructure necessary to implement the Core Strategy.  This was at a more strategic level compared to the Planning Obligation process. At present the legislation made provision for its introduction but as yet there were no further details about it.  The Committee was wary about too onerous a financial burden being placed upon developers through the Planning Obligation system or the new arrangements when they were introduced and felt that the situation needed to be closely monitored.  The Cabinet Member Environment & Strategic Housing said that he was well aware of the impact that Planning Obligations could have and that there was no intention of the current arrangements or any new proposals being implemented to the detriment of developers.

Councillor Mrs PM Morgan asked about the costs and arrangements for public consultation on the proposals.  The Planning Policy Manager said that provision had been made in the base budget for the consultation process.  Last year public consultation had been ‘broad brush’ but during the forthcoming year there would be a series of road shows which would focus on the issues involved and that the emphasis would be placed more on the needs of individual communities.  This approach was very different to that for the Unitary Development Plan where the process first involved the production of a draft document followed by the invitation of objections.  Within the LDS framework there was a much stronger emphasis on community involvement from the outset and he further explained the processes involved and how they linked into other policies and strategies.  He also explained the arrangements that were in place for the issues to be discussed by the Committee and then Cabinet.  The Committee agreed to the procedure recommended in the report regarding the LDS and the amendments should be recommended for acceptance.

RESOLVED THAT

It be recommended to the Cabinet Member (Environment and Strategic Housing) that the Local Development Scheme be endorsed and commended to Cabinet.