Agenda, decisions and minutes

Members are asked to declare any interest and the nature of that interest which they may have in any of the items under consideration at this meeting.

None advised.

The minutes of the meeting held on 26 June 2023 were agreed and signed by the Chair.

To receive communications from the Chair.

None advised.

The Planning Policy Committee:

a)    Agreed that the conservation area boundary as set out in Appendix B of the report be designated and supersede the designation that was made in 1998.

b)    Agreed that the proposed changes to the Holdenby Conservation Area Appraisal and Management Plan in response to representations, as set out in Appendix A of the report be approved.

c)     Agreed that delegated authority be given to the Head of Planning Policy and Specialist Services to make further minor editorial changes to the Holdenby Conservation Area Appraisal and Management Plan including to reflect that the document will be in its final adopted form.

d)    Agreed that the conservation area appraisal and management plan for Holdenby be adopted as a Supplementary Planning Document.

e)    Agreed the Local List entries for Holdenby set out in Appendix C of the report.

f)      Agreed that an Article 4(1) Direction for Holdenby in accordance with the proposals in the conservation area appraisal and management plan be made, subject to consultation.

g)    Agreed that delegated authority to confirm the Article 4(1) Direction be given to the Head of Planning Policy and Specialist Services in the event that there are no objections received in response to the consultation on the Article 4(1) Direction.

The Built Environment Officer presented the report which sought Members’ consideration of the responses to the consultation exercise on the draft Holdenby Conservation Area Appraisal and Management Plan and further steps to implement the outcomes. 18 responses to the consultation were received, the majority of which disagreed with the proposals to extend the boundary of the conservation area and proposals for an Article 4(1) Direction, on the grounds that it was already part of the Grade I Registered Park and Garden designation (RPG) and, therefore, already protected. However, RPG status did not bring with it any specific statutory planning controls, either for the area as a whole or the individual historic/archaeological features within it. Including the proposed extension within the conservation area, with an adopted appraisal and management plan that describes those attributes in detail, would add weight to the significance of the parcel of land should any development be proposed in the future. Including the small area of the existing RPG designation within the conservation area would also be in line with the approach the Council had taken with other recent reviews of conservation areas.

Members discussed the report and the following comments were made:

·       A consultation on proposals for an Article 4 Direction would take place towards the end of 2024.

·       Some Members felt that it would be unwise not to listen to the consultation responses; due to Holdenby’s uniqueness, a different approach may be justified.

·       Officers advised that if the recommendation was not taken forward, they would seek to keep the appraisal but not with an amended boundary, and not move forward with the Article 4 Direction. This would be a very different approach to how other conservation areas in the district had been dealt with.

·       It was advised that an Article 4 Direction would go further and offer more protection that private covenants.

RESOLVED:

The Planning Policy Committee:

a)    Agreed that the conservation area boundary as set out in Appendix B of the report be designated and supersede the designation that was made in 1998.

b)    Agreed that the proposed changes to the Holdenby Conservation Area Appraisal and Management Plan in response to representations, as set out in Appendix A of the report be approved.

c)     Agreed that delegated authority be given to the Head of Planning Policy and Specialist Services to make further minor editorial changes to the Holdenby Conservation Area Appraisal and Management Plan including to reflect that the document will be in its final adopted form.

d)    Agreed that the conservation area appraisal and management plan for Holdenby be adopted as a Supplementary Planning Document.

e)    Agreed the Local List entries for Holdenby set out in Appendix C of the report.

f)      Agreed that an Article 4(1) Direction for Holdenby in accordance with the proposals in the conservation area appraisal and management plan be made, subject to consultation.

g)    Agreed that delegated authority to confirm the Article 4(1) Direction be given to the Head of Planning Policy and Specialist Services in the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 83.

The Planning Policy Committee:

a)    Agreed that the conservation area boundary as set out in Appendix C of the report be designated.

b)    Agreed that the proposed changes to the Scaldwell Conservation Area Appraisal and Management Plan in response to representations, as set out in Appendices A and B of the report be approved.

c)     Agreed that delegated authority be given to the Head of Planning Policy and Specialist Services to make further minor editorial changes to the Scaldwell Conservation Area Appraisal and Management Plan, including to reflect that the document will be in its final adopted form.

d)    Agreed that the Conservation Area Appraisal and Management Plan for Scaldwell be adopted as a Supplementary Planning Document.

e)    Agreed the Local List entries for Scaldwell set out in Appendix D of the report.

f)      Agreed that an Article 4(1) for Scaldwell in accordance with the proposals in the conservation area appraisal and management plan be made subject to consultation (Details of Article 4(1) Direction in Appendix E of the report).

g)    Agreed that delegated authority to confirm the Article 4(1) Direction be given to the Head of Planning Policy and Specialist Services in the event that there are no objections in response to the consultation on the direction.

The Historic Environment Officer presented the report which sought members’ consideration of the responses to the consultation exercise on the draft Scaldwell Conservation Area Appraisal and Management Plan and proposed changes to the appraisal and further steps to implement the outcomes. 5 responses to the consultation were received, including the Parish Council; the majority of these were supportive of the proposals. Several minor amendments to the proposal were included in the report as a result of the consultation.

Members discussed the report.

RESOLVED:

The Planning Policy Committee:

a)    Agreed that the conservation area boundary as set out in Appendix C of the report be designated.

b)    Agreed that the proposed changes to the Scaldwell Conservation Area Appraisal and Management Plan in response to representations, as set out in Appendices A and B of the report be approved.

c)     Agreed that delegated authority be given to the Head of Planning Policy and Specialist Services to make further minor editorial changes to the Scaldwell Conservation Area Appraisal and Management Plan, including to reflect that the document will be in its final adopted form.

d)    Agreed that the Conservation Area Appraisal and Management Plan for Scaldwell be adopted as a Supplementary Planning Document.

e)    Agreed the Local List entries for Scaldwell set out in Appendix D of the report.

f)      Agreed that an Article 4(1) for Scaldwell in accordance with the proposals in the conservation area appraisal and management plan be made subject to consultation (Details of Article 4(1) Direction in Appendix E of the report).

g)    Agreed that delegated authority to confirm the Article 4(1) Direction be given to the Head of Planning Policy and Specialist Services in the event that there are no objections in response to the consultation on the direction.

The Planning Policy Committee:

a)    Agreed the suggested response to the consultation as set out in Appendix 1 of the report, with amended responses to questions 1 and 34

The Planning Policy Team Leader presented the report which sought Members’ consideration of the suggested response to the current consultation on proposals to implement the parts of the Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill which related to plan making. The report summarised the government’s proposals to implement the parts of the Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill which relate to plan-making and suggests a response from the Council.

Members discussed the report and made the following comments:

·       Concerns were expressed by officers regarding 30-month period at a recent event with the Planning Advisory Service. A lot of details were yet to come forward.

·       More digital consultation was proposed with online consultation to be more interactive. The draft response mentioned that a number of people do not have access to the required technology

·       The Issues Consultation on the current local plan took place in 2018. The national standard for producing a local plan is around 7 years.

·       Officers felt that more than 2 rounds of consultation would be beneficial, however more time than the proposed 30 months would likely be required. It was noted that the reach of a consultation was more important than the number that took place.

·       The cut-off date for submission of a plan under the current system is 30^th June 2025

·       The local plan in its current format had a reasonable lifespan and gave a sense of placemaking. With the supplementary plan, there was a concern that it would “keep the door open” to keep adding things at any stage. This did not give much certainty to communities. Officers confirmed that this concern had been flagged in the proposed response.

·       Some members felt concerned that the push towards digital may alienate some communities and would not result in well-rounded consultations.

·       It was suggested that the wording of the Question 1 response be expanded upon as they were all significant areas in their own right, as well as a reference to nature restoration.

·       Some members felt that 30 months to produce a plan was achievable, provided that the council was sufficiently resourced.

RESOLVED:

The Planning Policy Committee:

a)    Agreed the suggested response to the consultation as set out in Appendix 1 of the report, with amended responses to questions 1 and 34

The Planning Policy Committee:

a)    Agreed the suggested response to the consultation on proposed changes to the NSIP regime as set out in Appendix A of the report.

The Development Manager presented the report which sought Members’ consideration of the suggested response to the current consultation on proposed changes to the Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project (NSIP) regime. It was explained that the consultation period closed on 19^th September so the draft response had already been sent to DELUC with a covering letter to explain that alterations may be forthcoming following this meeting.

Members discussed the report and the following comments were made:

·       Regarding paragraph 5.7 of the report which set out the 5 reform areas identified in the action plan, concern was raised over the replacement of environmental assessment processes and it was hoped that Environmental Outcomes Reports would be sufficiently robust.

RESOLVED:

The Planning Policy Committee:

a)    Agreed the suggested response to the consultation on proposed changes to the NSIP regime as set out in Appendix A of the report.

The Chair to advise whether they have agreed to any items of urgent business being admitted to the agenda.

There was no urgent business on this occasion.