Issue - meetings

Sefton Local Plan: Preferred Option Document

Meeting: 27/06/2013 - Council (Item 26)

26 Local Plan for Sefton - Preferred Option Document PDF 769 KB

Report of the Director of Built Environment

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Council considered the report of the Director of Built Environment which presented the Preferred Option Document, a key stage in the preparation of Sefton’s Local Plan. The Document set out the issues and challenges facing Sefton, which included:

· a vision for Sefton’s planning ahead to 2030;

· a strategy for how Sefton’s housing, business and other development needs can be met;

· a ‘preferred’ option indicating where those needs might be met including detailed site allocations;

· details of other options which have been considered and discounted;

· development management policies to help guide development and provide a policy framework for making decisions on planning applications; and

· details of the 12 week consultation arrangements.

This was a corporate strategy document which was being developed within the statutory planning framework. The Preferred Option Document was a key stage in the process of adopting a Local Plan, which would in due course replace the Unitary Development Plan.

The Council also considered an addendum note to the report produced by the Director of Built Environment which set out two minor updates to the Preferred Option document.

The Mayor reported that the Local Plan Preferred Option Document had been considered at the following meetings, prior to the Council meeting:

· the Overview and Scrutiny Committee (Regeneration and Environmental Services) on 28 May 2013;

· the Planning Committee on 12 June 2013; and

· the Cabinet on 20 June 2013

The Mayor advised Members that the report set out a preferred option for consultation, which was a key stage of the journey to work out what was the best way forward with respect to the important strategic document. No final decisions on the adoption of the Local Plan would be made until 2015.

The Mayor also advised Members that they could all participate in the debate so long as they retained an open mind and had not and did not say anything that would lead others to think that they had a closed mind.

It was moved by Councillor P. Dowd and seconded by Councillor Maher:

That:

(1) the further evidence which supports the Preferred Option Document be approved for consultation, as outlined in Section 18 of the report;

(2) the approach to consultation on the Preferred Option Document be approved, as outlined in Section 20 of the report;

(3) the Preferred Option Document be approved for consultation, including a correction to the land proposed for development, south east of Hightown as set out in Section 19 and the plan attached to the report; and the amendments set out in the addendum note; and

(4) the Head of Planning Services be granted delegated powers to make minor editorial changes to the Document before it is published, as referred to in Section 20.7 of the report.

The Leader of the Council (Councillor P. Dowd) made the following comments:

· The Council was required by the Government to produce a robust and sound Local Plan in accordance with the National Planning Policy Framework. The content of the Plan could be challenged by the public, ... view the full minutes text for item 26

Meeting: 20/06/2013 - Cabinet (Item 11)

11 Local Plan for Sefton - Preferred Option Document PDF 769 KB

Report of the Director of Built Environment

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Cabinet heard representations from Mrs B. Porter on behalf of a deputation who had submitted a petition containing the signatures of 26 residents of the Borough, which related to the proposed Local Plan for Sefton and stated:

“We the undersigned support the proposal by the Ainsdale Community Wildlife Trust (A.C.W.T.) to re-establish and extend the sand dune conservation area into the green belt presently occupied by the former Ainsdale Hope High School playing field, to protect it for the future and to enable use by the Ainsdale community at large.”

Further to Minute No. 16 of the meeting of the Planning Committee held on 12 June 2013, the Cabinet then considered the report of the Director of Built Environment which presented the Preferred Option Document, a key stage in the preparation of Sefton’s Local Plan. The Document set out the issues and challenges facing Sefton, which included:

· a vision for Sefton’s planning ahead to 2030;

· a strategy for how Sefton’s housing, business and other development needs can be met;

· a ‘preferred’ option indicating where those needs might be met including detailed site allocations;

· details of other options which have been considered and discounted;

· development management policies to help guide development and provide a policy framework for making decisions on planning applications; and

· details of the 12 week consultation arrangements.

The Director of Built Environment circulated an addendum note to the report which set out two minor updates to the Preferred Option document.

Members of the Cabinet raised questions on the following issues referred to in the report and officers responded to the Issues as indicated below:

Councillor Fairclough enquired whether all of the available brown field sites were been made available for housing development.

Response:

The Director of Built Environment confirmed that a comprehensive exercise, including a strategic housing land availability assessment and two ‘calls for sites’ had ensured that all of the available brown field sites were included in the land supply as set out in the Preferred Option Document.

Councillor Cummins sought clarification on the amount of greenbelt land which would be utilised under the Preferred Option Document for development purposes.

Response:

The Director of Built Environment indicated that based on the supply of 510 units per year until 2030, 3.2% of the available greenbelt land in the Borough would be used for development purposes under Option 2 in the Preferred Option Document. The requirement for 510 net additional units per year would be reviewed during 2014 when new population and household information data is due to be released.

Councillor Moncur enquired about the life span of the Local Plan.

Response:

The Director of Built Environment indicated that the Local Plan would operate for 15 years from the adoption of the Plan but that the housing ... view the full minutes text for item 11

Meeting: 12/06/2013 - Planning Committee (Item 16)

16 Sefton Local Plan: Preferred Option Document PDF 1 MB

Report of the Director of Built Environment

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Committee considered the report of the Head of Planning Services that presented the Preferred Option Document, a key stage in the preparation of Sefton’s Local Plan. The Document set out issues and challenges facing Sefton and included:

· a vision for Sefton planning ahead to 2030;

· a strategy for how Sefton’s housing, business and other development needs can be met;

· a ‘preferred’ option indicating where these needs might be met including detailed site allocations;

· details of other options which have been considered and discounted;

· development management policies to help guide development and provide a policy framework for making decisions on planning applications; and

· details of the 12 week consultation.

The Committee asked a number of questions relating to: the preferred option; affordable housing; the documents’ background material and statistics used; the use of greenbelt land; the use of brownfield sites; how Sefton’s plan sat alongside West Lancashire Borough Council’s plans; the loss of agricultural land; mitigation and compensation; the use of reserve sites; retail parks and the protection of town centres; the plan’s relationship/impact on residents’ health and wellbeing; the impact on school places and community facilities such as medical practices, dentists and hospitals; the Plan’s timetable; transportation matters, including railway links with West Lancashire; and the consultation process.

The Head of Planning Services and members of her department answered questions raised by the Committee.

RESOLVED:

(1) That the Cabinet:

(i) recommends the Council to approve for consultation, the further evidence which supports the Preferred Option Document, as outlined in section 18 of the report;

(ii) recommends the Council to approve the approach to consultation on the Preferred Option Document, as outlined in section 20 of the report;

(iii) recommends the Council to approve for consultation, the Preferred Option document, including a correction to the land proposed for development, south east of Hightown as set out in section 19 and the attached plan of the report; and

(2) That Council

(i) approve for consultation, the further evidence which supports the Preferred Option Document, as outlined in section 18 of the report;

(ii) approve the approach to consultation on the Preferred Option Document, as outlined in section 20 of the report;

(iii) approve the Preferred Option Document for consultation, including a correction to the land proposed for development, south east of Hightown as set out in section 19 and the attached plan of the report; and

(iv)grants delegated powers to the Head of Planning Services to make minor editorial changes to the Document before it is published, as referred to in section 20.7 of the report.