Issue - meetings

** Due to the size of the documents, to assist with access and downloading, the covering report is attached to the agenda pack, appendices 1 – 9 are published as supplements to the main agenda **

Report of Assistant Director Planning and Development

Purpose of report

To present, for consideration, a draft of the emerging Cherwell Local Plan Review 2040 for consultation purposes.

Recommendations

The meeting is recommended:

1.1       To approve public consultation on the draft Cherwell Local Plan Review 2040 (Appendices 1 and 2) subject to the changes presented at Appendix 9 in response to the resolution of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee of 16 August 2023;

1.2       To delegate to the Assistant Director - Planning and Development the authority to make any minor amendments and corrections to the draft document he considers necessary prior to formal publication and in consultation with the Portfolio Holder for Planning and Development;

1.3       To delegate to the Assistant Director – Planning and Development the authority to finalise and publish supporting documents in consultation with the Portfolio Holder for Planning and Development.

Resolved

(1)           That public consultation on the draft Cherwell Local Plan Review 2040 (Appendix 1) be approved, subject to the changes presented in response to the resolution of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee of 16 August 2023 (Appendix 9 to the report).

(2)           That authority be delegated to the Assistant Director - Planning and Development to make any minor amendments and corrections to the draft document he considers necessary prior to formal publication and in consultation with the Portfolio Holder for Planning and Development.

(3)           That authority be delegated to the Assistant Director – Planning and Development to finalise and publish supporting documents in consultation with the Portfolio Holder for Planning and Development.

The Assistant Director Planning and Development submitted a report to present, for consideration, a draft of the emerging Cherwell Local Plan Review 2040 for consultation purposes.

Prior to the Portfolio Holder for Planning and Development presenting the report, the Chairman invited Councillor Reynolds, Councillor Broad and Councillor Middleton to address the meeting.

Councillor Broad, Chairman of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee, summarised the feedback from the Committee which had considered the draft Local Plan at their special meeting on 16 August. The Committee had resolved to make the following comment to Executive: In line with the motion that had been adopted at the February 2023 full Council meeting on housing affordability mix, the Local Plan should be stronger in terms of the desirability of having more affordable housing in the allocated sites.

The Overview and Scrutiny Committee had made a number of detailed comments and observations which had been published as an appendix to the Executive report. Proposed changes to the Local Plan in response to the Committee’s comments had also been published as an appendix to the Executive report.

The Chairman thanked Councillors Reynolds, Broad and Middleton for their comments and thanked the Overview and Scrutiny Committee for their detailed scrutiny and subsequent feedback.

In introducing the report, the Portfolio Holder for Planning and Development explained that the council had a legal requirement to review its Local Plan every five years and update if appropriate. This current review of the Local Plan provided the opportunity to establish a new set of policies for addressing housing and other development needs, for climate action, for healthy place-shaping, for biodiversity net gain, for our urban centres, rural areas and in response to new Government policy and guidance.

Following the resolution of Executive in January 2023 to defer the consultation on the draft Local Plan at that time, officers had taken the opportunity to undertake a wide review of the scope and presentation of the draft plan. It had been redrafted with a greater emphasis on consultation, with feedback being more explicitly encouraged and with specific questions added. Where possible the language had been made more accessible and information had been presented in a simpler, more understandable, and transparent way.

The version submitted to Executive was a consultation draft of the emerging Plan  under Regulation 18 of the Local Plan regulations (the issues and options stage of plan-making). The 6-week consultation was supported by a communications plan and would provide an opportunity for local communities, interest groups, statutory bodies, infrastructure and service providers, development promoters and other stakeholders to comment on emerging thinking and make suggestions on how the Plan should be developed further.

This stage was extremely important as the council still retained the flexibility to amend the emerging Plan in response to the consultation responses and further evidence. Responses to consultation at the next proposed or pre-submission stage (Regulation 19) were submitted with the Plan for Examination. In line with the Government’s current proposals, Plans prepared under the current Local  ...  view the full minutes text for item 19

** Due to the size of the documents, to assist with access and downloading, the appendices to the report are published as supplements to the main agenda “”

Report of Assistant Director - Planning and Development

Purpose of report

To present the draft Cherwell Local Plan 2040 for consideration and approval for public consultation.

Recommendations

The meeting is recommended:

1.1       To approve the draft Cherwell Local Plan 2040 at Appendices 1 and 2 for consultation purposes having regard to any comments from the Overview and Scrutiny Committee;

1.2       To delegate to the Assistant Director - Planning and Development the authority to approve the final presentation of the draft Local Plan and to make any minor amendments and corrections to the draft document he considers necessary prior to formal publication and in consultation with the Portfolio Holder for Planning;

1.3       To delegate to the Assistant Director – Planning and Development the authority to finalise and publish supporting documents in consultation with the Portfolio Holder for Planning.

Resolved

(1)          That consideration of the Draft Local Plan 2040 (Regulation 18) Consultation be deferred until a later date (to be determined) in light of the comments of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee and Executive to allow officers to consider these comments.

The Assistant Director - Planning and Development submitted a report to present the draft Cherwell Local Plan 2040 for consideration and approval for public consultation.

In introducing the report the Portfolio Holder for Planning gave an overview of the Local Plan review process explaining that at the Regulation 18 consultation stage, Councils were able to amend and update the draft plan, in part based on any consultation responses received. However, the Council could not  make any significant changes to the plan once the Publication (Regulation 19) stage had been reached. At the Publication stage, any responses are forwarded to an Independent Planning Inspector (or Inspectors) who presides over an Examination into whether the plan is Sound and so capable of adoption.  

The Portfolio Holder thanked the Planning Policy team for their hard work on the draft Local Plan and associated documents.

The Portfolio Holder for Planning thanked the Overview and Scrutiny Committee for their detailed review of the draft Local Plan at their 11 January 2023 meeting, which he and the Leader had attended. The comments from the Overview and Scrutiny Committee had been published as a supplement to the Executive agenda.

In considering the report and the comments of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee, Executive members highlighted that there was a lot of information and Members were very reliant on the maps, which did not presently differentiate between green buffers and proposed development area and would be helpful for village coalescence. Additionally there had been changes to the housing numbers published as an addendum to the report which required further consideration.

In light of the comments of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee and Executive members, the Portfolio Holder for Planning proposed that consideration of the Draft Local Plan 2040 (Regulation 18) be deferred until a later date (to be determined) which would allow officers time to consider those matters. The proposal was duly seconded by the Deputy Leader and Portfolio Holder for Regeneration and Economy.

Councillor Dallimore, Chairman of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee, addressed Executive and thanked the Portfolio Holder for Planning and Leader for attending the Committee’s meeting. Councillor Dallimore commented that the deferral was welcome in light of the Committee’s comments. Councillor Dallimore highlighted the comment from the Committee in relation to Member engagement and requested all Members be afforded further opportunities to engage in the process.

The Chairman and Executive members echoed the comments of the Portfolio Holder for Planning and thanked the Planning Policy team for their hard work to date and acknowledged the additional work as a result of deferral but the work was extremely important for the future of the district.

On being put to the vote the motion, duly seconded, to defer consideration of the Draft Local Plan 2040 (Regulation 18) until a later date (to be determined) in light of the comments of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee and Executive to allow officers to consider these comments, was unanimously approved.

Resolved

(1)          That consideration of the Draft  ...  view the full minutes text for item 85