Issue - meetings

Report of the Chief Legal and Democratic Officer

The Committee considered (a) the report of the Chief Legal and Democratic Officer, which set out the decision of the Cabinet Member – Planning and Building Control in relation to the Revised Recreation Pressure Information Note – Draft for Consultation and Development Management Purposes and the reasons why the decision had been called-in; and (b) the report of the Chief Planning Officer which was considered by the Cabinet Member – Planning and Building Control in relation to this matter.

The decision taken by the Cabinet Member – Planning and Building Control on 3 November 2021 in relation to this matter was as follows:

Decision Made:

That the Draft Information Note ‘Managing and mitigating the impact of recreation pressure on the Sefton Coast - Sefton’s Interim Approach’:

be approved.

Reason for Decision:

(a)      To carry out public consultation on the Draft Information Note; and

(b)      to enable the draft Information Note to be taken into account as a ‘material consideration’ in the assessment of planning applications, superseding the current 2018 Information Note which no longer has the support of Natural England.

Alternative Options Considered:

Not to update the note. Natural England no longer support the current 2018 Information Note, and hence there is a risk of challenge to decisions which rely on it.  The Information Note relates to legal requirements to protect internationally important nature sites on the Sefton Coast, and so a replacement Information Note is needed as soon as possible. Without an Information Note, the merits of each application would need to be assessed at length in relation to the Habitats Regulations. This would lead to increased workload for planning and other officers and to delays in the assessment of planning applications. This could lead to delays for developers and poor performance against Council and national targets for dealing with planning applications. 

The decision was subsequently called-in by Councillors John Sayers, Yvonne Sayers, Wilson, Burns and McKinley.

Paul Fraser, Senior Democratic Services Officer reported on the validity of the call-in and highlighted that the call-in requisition:

·       had been received within the specified call-in period;

·       had been signed by five Members of the Council who were not Members of the Cabinet, in accordance with the provisions in Chapter 6, Paragraph 38(a) of the Council’s Constitution; and

·       referred to a specific decision made by the Cabinet Member – Planning and Building Control and provided reasons for call in, in accordance with Chapter 6, paragraph 40 of the Constitution.

Councillor John Sayers, on behalf of Councillors Yvonne Sayers, Wilson, Burns and McKinley, addressed the Committee and outlined and amplified the reasons for the call-in as follows:

We seek to gain more understanding of the decision and its implications, for example, Park & Sudell wards will see a top slice of section 106 monies of approximately £132,000 leave the wards and fund Green Sefton’s attempts to divert our  ...  view the full minutes text for item 32