Agenda, decisions and minutes

To receive any apologies for absence from Members.

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Val Barrett, Grenville Chamberlain, Simon Crocker, Simon Edwards, Philippa Hart, Raymond Matthews and Bunty Waters.

To receive any declarations of interest from Members.

Reference was made to the comprehensive interests declared by Members at the meeting of Council held on 13 March 2014 when the Local Development Plan was initially being considered for submission.  Members took the interests they declared at that meeting as read in respect of the Local Development Plan’s further work and consequential modifications for consideration at this meeting.

The Planning Portfolio Holder RECOMMENDED that Council:

(a)        AGREES the consultation document with proposed modifications (Appendix A) and sustainability appraisal (Appendix B) for public consultation between 2 December 2015 and 25 January 2016.

(b)        AGREES that any amendments and editing changes that need to be made to the consultation material and proposed modifications (Appendix A) and sustainability appraisal (Appendix B) be agreed in consultation with the Planning Portfolio Holder.

(c)        NOTES the documents attached to this report as Appendices C to J and submits them as part of the evidence base for the Local Plan.

(d)        AGREES to give delegated authority to the Director of Planning and New Communities to make any subsequent minor amendments and editing changes, in consultation with the Planning Portfolio Holder.

NOTE – Appendices B to J have not been included in the printed agenda pack and are available on the Council’s website by visiting www.scambs.gov.uk and following the links from ‘Your Council’.  

Council:

(a)        AGREED the consultation document with proposed modifications (Appendix A), as amended by the supplementary report dated 27 November 2015, and sustainability appraisal (Appendix B) for public consultation between 2 December 2015 and 25 January 2016.

(b)        AGREED that any amendments and editing changes that need to be made to the consultation material and proposed modifications (Appendix A) and sustainability appraisal (Appendix B) be agreed in consultation with the Planning Portfolio Holder.

(c)        NOTED the documents attached to this report as Appendices C to J and submits them as part of the evidence base for the Local Plan.

(d)        AGREED to give delegate authority to the Director of Planning and New Communities to make any subsequent minor amendments and editing changes, in consultation with the Planning Portfolio Holder.

Councillor Robert Turner, Portfolio Holder for Planning, presented a report which set out the further work carried out by Cambridge City Council and South Cambridgeshire District Council on the Cambridge and South Cambridgeshire Local Development Plans, following initial conclusions received from the Inspectors examining the Plans in a letter dated 20 May 2015.  The report and its accompanying appendices outlined the Councils’ proposed response to the issues raised by the Inspectors and modifications to the Local Plan arising from additional evidence.  A supplementary report was also presented, which had been circulated separately to the agenda pack for this meeting, reflecting recent communication with the Inspectors subsequent to the publication of the agenda about the way the consultation on proposed modifications was carried out. 

Councillor Turner put forward the following proposition:

‘That the Council

(a)        Agrees the consultation document with proposed modifications (Appendix A), as amended by the supplementary report dated 27 November 2015, and sustainability appraisal (Appendix B) for public consultation between 2 December 2015 and 25 January 2016.

(b)        Agrees that any amendments and editing changes that need to be made to the consultation material and proposed modifications (Appendix A) and sustainability appraisal (Appendix B) be agreed in consultation with the Planning Portfolio Holder.

(c)        Notes the documents attached to the report as Appendices C to J and submits them as part of the evidence base for the Local Plan.

(d)        Agrees to give delegated authority to the Director of Planning and New Communities to make any subsequent minor amendments and editing changes, in consultation with the Planning Portfolio Holder.’

Councillor Turner highlighted that this aspect of the Local Plan had recently been considered at numerous meetings of both authorities, including the Joint Strategic Transport and Spatial Planning Group, the City Council’s Development Plan Scrutiny Sub-Committee and his Planning Portfolio Holder Meeting in the lead up to this meeting.  The City Council was considering the same report at its meeting of Council, simultaneous to this meeting.  He took this opportunity to pay tribute to Caroline Hunt, Planning Policy Manager, and her team for the tremendous amount of work they had undertaken in accordance with the very challenging deadline, as requested by Council.

Councillor Turner reflected on the complexity of this Local Development Plan and reminded Council that the first Hearings had been held in November 2014 until April 2015, further to which a letter from the Inspectors was received in May 2015 resulting in formal suspension of the inspection process on 28 July 2015.  In order to address the issues highlighted by the Inspectors in their letter, and further to agreement by Council, additional work by the Council’s Planning Policy team and independently appointed consultants had been undertaken, the results of which were set out in the main report and supplementary report.  In particular he referred to a new Green Belt study that had been completed and the Development Strategy which, he felt, provided the right balance for the Local Development Plan.

Councillor Lynda Harford, Chairman of the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 3.