Decision details

Further to Minute No. 150 of the meeting of the Planning Committee held on 22 February 2012, the Cabinet considered the report of the Director of Built Environment which provided a full summary of the consultation which took place on the Options Stage of the Core Strategy, the representations made to the Council during that consultation and the Council’s proposed response.

A discussion took place on the concerns raised by members of the public regarding the possible future use of high grade agricultural land within the Borough for development purposes. There was a need to identify other local authorities within the North West and nationally who had similar issues and concerns on this issue in order that a network of such authorities could be formed for the purpose of lobbying the Government on the importance of the agricultural land resource in the planning system.

The Head of Planning Services reported on the proposals for the formation of a Member Steering Group to examine issues relating to the Core Strategy and Cabinet Members requested that the Parish Councils within the Borough be represented on the Steering Group. The Chair indicated that update reports on employment, land and premises issues, the Council’s housing requirements and agricultural land issues would be submitted to the Cabinet in the near future.

This was a Key Decision and was included in the Council’s Forward Plan of Key Decisions.

RESOLVED: That

(1)       thanks be expressed to the Members of the Public who had responded to the consultation exercise on the Options Stage of the Core Strategy and Officers be thanked for the work undertaken in the production of the report;

(2)       the Report of Consultation following the Options Stage of the Core Strategy be accepted and the proposed programme of work as set out in Section 12 of the report be approved; and

(3)       the Head of Corporate Finance and ICT be authorised to consider the use of one-off resources, towards the costs of the work programme, subject to availability and consideration of the Council’s outturn position for 2011/12.