Council and Democracy

Agenda and minutes

Venue: via Microsoft Teams

Contact: Amanda Clayton  01246 34 5273

Items
No. Item

47.

Declarations of Members' And Officers' Interests Relating To Items On The Agenda

Minutes:

No declarations of interest were received.

48.

Apologies for Absence

Minutes:

No apologies for absence were received.

49.

Cabinet Member for Economic Growth - Housing Supply and Planning Reform pdf icon PDF 141 KB

5.05pm – report attached

Minutes:

The Strategic Planning and Key Sites Manager presented a report to the committee on the Council’s housing supply and the impact of the forthcoming planning reforms.

 

The committee heard that it was the authority’s responsibility to identify the Borough’s housing requirement and supply and this had been done in the newly adopted Local Plan. The Local Plan identified sufficient sites for development and the completions were monitored each year.

 

Despite being below target for a few years there was a net gain of 311 new dwellings this year which was significantly above target. The last housing delivery test that was carried out received a score of 65% but it was expected that at the next test a score of 89% would be achieved demonstrating good progress.

 

A Housing Delivery Manager had been appointed and there had been some successes pairing sites with developers. Work with the private sector was also continuing to enable more projects to come to fruition.

 

Key points of the Planning reform were highlighted to the committee as follows;

·      The whole Borough would be zoned, to categorise land under three headings

·      It was hoped that less time would be spent determining general applications and more on those with a greater level of detail

·      More engagement with the planning process would be encouraged through digital platforms

 

The new planning bill was due in early 2021. Further discussion took place around the effect of potential changes on developers, barriers to development and a revision of the Community Infrastructure Levy Policy.

 

RESOLVED –

 

That the committee note the report.

50.

Cabinet Member for Health & Wellbeing - Parks and Open Spaces pdf icon PDF 1 MB

5.35pm – report attached

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Principal Green Space Strategy Officer presented a report to the committee on the review of the Parks and Open Spaces Strategy. The aim of the strategy was to give a clear direction of travel and strengthen the links with the local plan. The strategy would extend on previous versions and create a hierarchy of parks and green spaces in order to determine investment priorities.

 

The committee was given an explanation on how the quality of the parks and open spaces was assessed using a selection of criteria to determine a benchmark. Over 75% of the sites tested against the criteria were above the threshold for quality and the results were also compared to national standards, local standards and feedback received from the public.

 

The Council’s vision was outlined in section six of the report which would include a review of the existing play provision. The action plan was considered to be aspirational but it was acknowledged that there had been lots of partnership working taking place and some of the objectives were already being delivered.

 

The Cabinet Member for Health and Wellbeing advised the committee that the report set out the overwhelming evidence for parks and open spaces and their impact on health and wellbeing. The strategy would provide drivers and a framework and the ability to make strategic decisions based on the Council’s resources.

 

Discussion took place around the plan of action resulting from the strategy. The Principal Green Space Strategy Officer explained that the play strategy had a five year delivery programme but the plan was responsive allowing the option to take advantage of any opportunities that may arise. The committee heard about development of the offer provided by communityparks to meet the needs of young people, the increased use of natural play equipment and the consideration that is given to disabled users when designing every play provision.

 

RESOLVED –

 

That the committee noted the report.

51.

Scrutiny Monitoring pdf icon PDF 125 KB

6.05pm - Scrutiny Committee Recommendations – Implementation Monitoring Schedule attached.

 

Minutes:

The Committee considered the Scrutiny recommendations monitoring schedule.

 

RESOLVED -

 

That the Scrutiny monitoring schedule be noted.

 

52.

Forward Plan

6.15pm - The latest version of the Forward Plan of Key Decisions is available via the link below:

 

Forward Plan

 

Minutes:

The Forward Plan for the four-month period 1 October, 2020 to 31 January, 2021 was presented for information.

 

RESOLVED –

 

That the Forward Plan be noted.

 

53.

Work Programme for the Enterprise and Wellbeing Scrutiny Committee pdf icon PDF 59 KB

Minutes:

The 2020/21 Work Programme for the Enterprise and Wellbeing Scrutiny Committee was reported for information.

 

RESOLVED –

 

That the work programme be noted and updated to include the decisions of the current meeting.

 

54.

Minutes pdf icon PDF 100 KB

Minutes:

RESOLVED –

 

The Minutes of the meeting of the Enterprise and Wellbeing Scrutiny Committee held on 9 July, 2020 were approved as a correct record and signed by the Chair.