Agenda, decisions and draft minutes

To receive Apologies for Absence from Committee members. 

Councillor Peter Hudson sent apologies for absence. No substitute was available.

With the Committee’s consent, the Chairman appointed Councillor Ian Bates as Vice-Chairman of the meeting.

Councillor Ian Bates declared a non-pecuniary interest as a member of Cambridgeshire County Council’s Economy and Environment Committee and present at the meeting on 14 July 2015 at which the Section 106 Heads of Terms had been discussed.

Councillor David Jenkins, while currently no longer a member of the County Council’s Economy and Environment Committee, had been a member of that committee on 14 July and had proposed an amendment to the recommendation in the officers’ report to that meeting (though it had fallen in the subsequent vote).

Councillor Lynda Harford declared a non-pecuniary interest as a member of Cambridgeshire County Council’s Economy and Environment Committee and present at the meeting on 14 July 2015 at which the Section 106 Heads of Terms had been discussed.

Councillor Alex Riley reiterated that he had a Disclosable Pecuniary Interest by reason of the proximity of his domestic property to Northstowe, but that he had been granted a dispensation allowing him to speak and vote.

Councillor Tim Wotherspoon declared a Non-Pecuniary Interest because he had attended meetings of Oakington & Westwick Parish Council and Rampton Parish Council in order to provide factual information upon request.  Councillor Wotherspoon is not an elected or co-opted member of either Parish Council and did not contribute to the debates.  Councillor Wotherspoon also declared a non-pecuniary interest as a member of South Cambridgeshire District Council’s Cabinet and present at the meeting on 9 July 2015 at which the Section 106 Heads of Terms and the Civic Hub had been discussed.

Councillor Nick Wright declared a Disclosable Pecuniary Interest by virtue of owning land over which the A14 would be re-routed and which could therefore be the subject of a Compulsory Purchase Order.  He declared a non-pecuniary interest as a Governor at Swavesey Village College.  Councillor Wright also declared a non-pecuniary interest as a member of South Cambridgeshire District Council’s Cabinet and present at the meeting on 9 July 2015 at which the Section 106 Heads of Terms and the Civic Hub had been discussed.

Committee members reiterated that they were coming to this meeting afresh.

To confirm the minutes of the meeting held on 24 June 2015 as a correct record. 

The Northstowe Joint Development Control Committee authorised the Chairman to sign, as a correct record, the Minutes of the meeting held on 24 June 2015, subject to the following:

Minute 6 - S/2011/14/OL - Longstanton and Oakington & Westwick (Land to the east of Longstanton and west of the guided busway occupying the northern part of the site used by the former Oakington barracks)

Councillor Alex Riley objected to the wording “for South Cambridgeshire District Council, as Local Planning Authority, to issue a Decision Notice subject to those Conditions.”  It was clarified that while Cambridgeshire County Council was the local planning authority for (among other things) schools, highways, minerals and waste, and South Cambridgeshire District Council was the local planning authority for most other development management matters, including commercial and residential development, the NJDCC was a joint committee established under Section 101 of the Local Government Act 1972 to which both councils had delegated determination of planning applications and associated matters.  Decision notices, however, were issued in the name of one or other of the councils.  For the complete avoidance of doubt, the paragraph would be extended as follows:

“Members raised the following:

Implications should the Committee reject the draft Conditions

Answer: there are 90 or so Conditions.  It is for the Northstowe Joint Development Control Committee to agree what form those Conditions should take, and for South Cambridgeshire District Council, as Local Planning Authority, to issue a Decision Notice subject to those Conditions, as agreed by the Northstowe Joint Development Control Committee.”

In the paragraph beginning “The Principal Planner introduced…” after the words “…Committee meeting on 25 March 2015” add a comma followed by “…and to the responses thereto”.

In the section headed “Movement and Access”, delete the sentence “The Northstowe Transport Planning Officer referred Members to draft Condition 70.”

Delete the word “Drift” from the sentence beginning “Rampton Drift should be included…”

Members also raised some minor typographical errors.

The Northstowe Joint Development Control Committee considered a report setting out the interim recommendations from the South Cambridgeshire District Council Scrutiny and Overview Committee Working Group set up to review the lessons learned from Orchard Park.

Councillor Lynda Harford, chairman of the Working Group, summarised the history of Scrutiny and Overview Committee reviews of Orchard Park over the years, and said that the Working Group was intending to submit its formal findings to the Scrutiny and Overview Committee meeting on 3 September 2015.  In the meantime, the Committee had received the Working Group’s interim recommendations, and South Cambridgeshire District Council’s Cabinet had since responded to those interim recommendations.  Councillor Harford expressed her gratitude to officers and Members both at South Cambridgeshire District Council and Cambridgeshire County Council for their help and support.  There was one significant group of stakeholders still to be interviewed, and that was the developers.

Councillor Harford said that the local authorities had generally taken account of the recommendations of the original Arbury Park Task and Finish Group, and taken on board many of the ways of improved working that had been suggested in 2008.  She then drew attention to Recommendation 5.  “New Town Blues” had first been described in the medical literature in the 1930s.  She informed members that Cambridgeshire County Council had embarked on reviewing the New Communities Joint Strategic Needs Assessment (JSNA) and compiling a New Communities Strategy.  A scoping workshop on the JSNA had been held the previous day.  The County Council team was currently examining referral rates to social services and mental health services in new communities, in order to assess financial implications for councils and other public services and to look at preventative strategies that may be applicable.

County Councillor Ed Cearns addressed the meeting as a public speaker.  Welcoming the report, he said it was important to reflect on past experiences, and to learn lessons where necessary.  He said that the Working Group’s third recommendation (“More consideration should be given to a greater variety of opportunities for social interaction for early occupants of new developments”) was of crucial importance, and in his opinion reflected concern that there had been too much focus on the planning process and a lack of member involvement in its outcomes.  Councillor Cearns highlighted the importance of early discussions about governance of Northstowe, an area that was critical if the town was to have “a fighting chance.”

In response to a question, Cllr Cearns said that he had not attended any meetings of the Northstowe Parish Forum, the Northstowe Community Forum or the Northstowe Community Working Group.  The Chairman observed that these three, together with the Northstowe Transport Working Group, existed specifically to engage district and county councillors with Parish Councils, organisations and local people on Northstowe issues of importance to them.  The NJDCC was a development control committee, whereas delivery, management and governance were more appropriately dealt with at these other meetings.

Opening the Committee debate, Councillor Douglas de Lacey echoed the concerns raised by  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4.

The Press and public are likely to be excluded from the meeting during any specific consideration of Appendix 6 of the following item (Phase 2 - Consideration of draft Planning Conditions and Section 106 Legal Agreement) in accordance with the provisions of Section 100(a)(4) of the Local Government Act 1972 (exempt information as defined in paragraph 3 of Schedule 12A (as amended) of the Act).

For the benefit of those in the public gallery, and with regard to a confidential appendix, the Chairman explained the circumstances under which the Committee would be obliged to exclude members of the Press, other media and public from the meeting room, and continue in private session.  However, he hoped that Members would be able to consider the following item without making specific reference to the details contained within Appendix 6.  In this way, it would not be necessary to rely on Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972 (as amended).

The Northstowe Joint Development Control Committee

1.         Approved the wording of proposed Planning Conditions included in Appendix 4 of this report from the Planning and New Communities Director, subject to detailed drafting by officers

2.         Approved

(i)              the essential Section 106 items (including contingency) as set out in Appendix 2 of the report totalling £75,533,681 and with Public Open Space maintenance sum to be calculated dependent upon the agreed housing mix, and the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) contributing £73 million of such sum; and

            (ii)        20% affordable housing with reviews of the affordable housing        percentage taking place

      outline planning permission if substantive development has

            not  commenced within such period

      Phase 2

in order to make acceptable in planning terms what would otherwise be unacceptable, ,and authorised officers to complete a Legal Agreement under Section 106 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 with the Homes and Communities Agency, and on this basis grant

(a)   Outline planning permission for the development of Phase 2 of Northstowe with details of appearance, landscaping, layout and access reserved subject to the set of conditions as in (1) above; and

(b)   Full planning permission for the Southern Access Road (West) subject to the set of conditions as in (1) above.

3.         Noted that any savings achieved against particular items within the Section 106 Agreement will be re-apportioned within the overall envelope of requirements.

The Northstowe Joint Development Control Committee considered a report seeking its approval of the wording of proposed Planning Conditions included in Appendix 4 of this report subject to completion of detailed drafting by officers, and delegated authority for officers, along the lines set out in Appendix 2, to complete, with the HCA, a Legal Agreement under Section 106 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990, securing the sum of £73 million required to make acceptable, in planning terms, the Phase 2 development of Northstowe, which would otherwise be unacceptable in planning terms, and, on that basis, to grant outline planning permission for the development of Phase 2 of Northstowe with details of scale, appearance, landscaping, layout and access reserved, and full planning permission for the Southern Access Road (West) subject to Conditions.

The Principal Planner reminded the Committee about its resolution on 24 June 2015.  The draft Conditions and list of Section 106 requirements had been revised since then, and the new package of Section 106 requirements before Members today had been endorsed by South Cambridgeshire District Council’s Cabinet on 9 July and by Cambridgeshire County Council’s Economy and Environment Committee on 14 July.  He referred Members to a number of significant changes, including

·       The library would be delivered by 1,500 dwellings across phases 1 and 2, to bring forward health and community facilities, with the full community hub provided by 4,200 occupations altogether.

·       Improvements would be funded to the Northstowe to Cambridge cycle route via Oakington and Girton.

·       At the Northstowe Drainage and Flooding Technical Liaison Group meeting on 15 July agreement had been reached between the district council’s Drainage Manager and the Swavesey Internal Drainage Board’s consultant on an engineering solution to maintenance of the Mare Fen flood bank.  The Homes and Communities Agency had also agreed to commit to funding flood mitigation measures to attenuate flows through Oakington Brook, including bringing forward balancing ponds along Dry Drayton Road.

·       The requirement for a Household Waste Recycling Centre proposal had been removed in the light of a decision of Cambridgeshire County Council’s Highways and Community Infrastructure Committee to change its strategy for new household recycling centres in the area.

While the council’s viability consultant GVA had advised that £70m would be an appropriate contribution in terms of the total of planning obligations, officers had secured £73m.  The proportion of “affordable housing” would be a minimum of 20% across phase 2, with a review mechanism being built into the agreement.

The Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) had agreed to the latest wording of all the Conditions.  The Principal Planner recited the tests that planning conditions had to meet, as laid down in the National Planning Policy Framework and Planning Practice Guidance.

The Chairman introduced the public speaking element of the meeting.

District Councillor Bridget Smith (speaking in the capacity of her involvement with the Cambridge Council for Voluntary Service) began by expressing the hope that she, and Committee members, might still be able to influence proposed trigger points  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

Wednesday 26 August 2015 and Wednesday 30 September 2015 – times to be determined.

Members noted that the next two Northstowe Joint Development Control Committee meetings had been scheduled for Wednesday 26 August 2015 and Wednesday 30 September 2015.  The Chairman commented that the August meeting was unlikely to go ahead, but asked Members to keep it in their diaries for the time being.