Agenda item

Report of Head of Planning and Affordable Housing Policy

Summary        

To seek approval of the Local Development Framework’s Annual Monitoring Report (AMR) and Local Development Scheme (LDS) for submission to the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, and to present the district’s current housing land supply position.  The AMR is the Council’s main tool for monitoring housing delivery and the impact of other development.  The LDS is used to project manage the production of the Local Development Framework and provides a programme for completion of Local Development Documents.

Recommendations

The Executive is recommended to:

(1)       Approve the revised Local Development Scheme for submission to the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government;

(2)       Resolve that the Local Development Scheme shall have effect as from the date when the Secretary of State notifies the Council that he does not intend to direct the authority to amend the Scheme,

(3)       Approve the Annual Monitoring Report for submission to the Secretary of State;

(4)       Note the district’s housing delivery position and instruct the Head of Development Control and Major Developments to apply the interim policy approach set out in paragraphs 2.11 to 2.16 of this report to planning applications for 10 or more dwellings in the interests of increasing the supply of housing sites that can be delivered by 31 March 2015;

(5)       Instruct the Head of Planning and Affordable Housing Policy to closely monitor the supply of deliverable housing sites and to publish regular updates on the housing land supply position;

(6)       Instruct the Head of Development Control and Major Developments to provide the Planning Committee with regular updates on the district’s housing land supply position and to advise the Committee as soon as the Council can again be confident that its supply of deliverable housing sites meets the requirements of PPS3;

(7)       Resolve that the Council continues to bring forward proposals for the delivery of sites identified for residential development in the Non-Statutory Cherwell Local Plan 2011, which was approved as interim planning policy for development control purposes on 13  December 2004, and that officers continue to work with the development industry, local communities and other interested parties in order to do this in the interests of sustaining housing delivery (including the provision of affordable housing).

Agreed, with the amendment that recommendation 4 be deferred and that the Head of Planning and Affordable Housing Policy in consultation with the portfolio holder be delegated to give further consideration to whether to seek the approval of the Executive of an interim housing delivery policy in the light of the fact that the council will be very shortly considering the Draft Core Strategy.  It was also agreed that if the Head of Planning and Affordable Housing Policy wishes to bring recommendation 4 back before the Executive, he should first (a) seek the views of the Planning Committee and (b) hold a workshop to consider the matter further to which both all district councillors and parish councils will be invited.

The Head of Planning and Affordable Housing Policy submitted a report to seek approval of the Local Development Framework’s Annual Monitoring Report (AMR) and Local Development Scheme (LDS) for submission to the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, and to present the district’s current housing land supply position.  The AMR is the Council’s main tool for monitoring housing delivery and the impact of other development.  The LDS is used to project manage the production of the Local Development Framework and provides a programme for completion of Local Development Documents. The Leader of the Council expressed his gratitude to staff involved in the preparation of the LDS.

Councillor Fulljames addressed the meeting.

Resolved

(1)       That the revised Local Development Scheme be approved for submission to the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government.

(2)       That the Local Development Scheme shall have effect as from the date when the Secretary of State notifies the Council that he does not intend to direct the authority to amend the Scheme.

(3)       That the Annual Monitoring Report be approved for submission to the Secretary of State.

(4)       That the following decision in italics be deferred and that the Head of Planning and Affordable Housing Policy in consultation with the portfolio holder be delegated to give further consideration to whether to seek the approval of the Executive of an interim housing delivery policy in the light of the fact that the council will be very shortly considering the Draft Core Strategy.  It was also agreed that if the Head of Planning and Affordable Housing Policy wishes to bring recommendation 4 back before the Executive, he should first (a) seek the views of the Planning Committee and (b) hold a workshop to consider the matter further to which both all district councillors and parish councils will be invited.

“Note the district’s housing delivery position and instruct the Head of Development Control and Major Developments to apply the interim policy approach set out in paragraphs 2.11 to 2.16 of this report to planning applications for 10 or more dwellings in the interests of increasing the supply of housing sites that can be delivered by 31 March 2015;”

(5)       That the Head of Planning and Affordable Housing Policy be instructed to closely monitor the supply of deliverable housing sites and to publish regular updates on the housing land supply position.

(6)       That the Head of Development Control and Major Developments be instructed to provide the Planning Committee with regular updates on the district’s housing land supply position and to advise the Committee as soon as the Council can again be confident that its supply of deliverable housing sites meets the requirements of PPS3.

(7)       That the Council continues to bring forward proposals for the delivery of sites identified for residential development in the Non-Statutory Cherwell Local Plan 2011, which was approved as interim planning policy for development control purposes on 13  December 2004, and that officers continue to work with the development industry, local communities and other interested parties in order to do this in the interests of sustaining housing delivery (including the provision of affordable housing).

Reasons – The Annual Monitoring Report (AMR) and Local Development Scheme (LDS) are closely linked documents.  One of the purposes of an AMR is to report progress on the timetable and milestones for the preparation of documents set out in the LDS.  It follows that if circumstances dictate that the LDS should be revised, it is logical that this may be done as the AMR is considered.

Options

            Annual Monitoring Report

Local Development Scheme