Agenda and draft minutes

There were no Apologies for Absence.

With respect to Minute 4, Councillor Dr Richard Williams declared that his employer, the University of Cambridge, had made comment as part of the consultation.

Minutes to follow

By affirmation, the Group authorised the Chair to sign the Minutes of the meeting held on 24 October 2022 as a correct record.

The Planning Policy Manager introduced the report. The Jobs section was presented by the Senior Planning Policy Officer with support from the Planning Policy Officers (Ciaran Davis and Charlotte Morgan-Shelbourne) and the Senior Planning Policy Officer. In response to questions, clarity was provided over the objections to policy J/FD and the desire to avoid language school students taking properties out of the private rental sector; officers agreed that clarity on what “private housing” defined in the context of the policy.

  Logistics and retail spaces were discussed, and officers informed Members that, as raised in the economy evidence update, there was an increased need for logistics space. The Group was informed that provisions for logistics space had been made in the First Proposals, including around the A14 services area, but that officers were continuing to develop this policy in order to meet the local need, including the need for last mile delivery facilities. Officers assured the Group that assessment and analysis for the needs of all types of business facilities were being assessed and would be incorporated into the draft Local Plan. Regarding retail, officers referenced the annual retail surveys which showed that there were low vacancy rates in retail spaces, but that further work would continue, in conjunction with consultants, to further assess retail needs. Class E use was discussed, and officers acknowledged the challenges and limitations on control over change of use that accompanied the introduction of Class E; Article 4 was referenced as a tool for control, but officers informed the Group that the criteria to apply the article was challenging and required a strong evidence base. Officers informed Members that further work would be undertaken to ensure the Local Plan would reflect the Planning Authority’s ability to control retail space.

  Concerns over the AirBnBs in the region were raised and officers informed the Group that, as part of the updates to the evidence base, consultation would take place with large employers, who often offer short term accommodation to assist new employees in moving to the area, on the use of aparthotels and the impact they were having. Officers also explained that on new developments it would be easier to implement restrictions and covenants to limit the use of new dwellings to residential, with further exploration of how these could be enforced being undertaken.

  A point was raised on affordable workspace and the growth of companies; concerns of companies growing and thus increasing their demand for space, potentially preventing new businesses from utilising affordable workspace were discussed. Officers acknowledging these concerns and informed the Group that they were looking to existing examples of affordable workspaces, such as those in London, and would explore options to prevent issues arising through appropriate criteria and percentages of occupation.

  With regard to remote working, officers referenced the new homes size standards as the mechanism for control to ensure that new homes provided adequate space for working from home. Members expressed a desire to ensure that the remote working policy also covered the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4.

The Chair informed the Group that the meeting was the last of the cycle to assess the responses to the First Proposals. Members were informed that they would be given details of future meetings when they had been arranged. The Chair thanked officers for all the work that had gone into the First Proposals and the analysis of the consultation responses, as well as the ongoing work to continue to develop the Local Plan. Thanks were also given by the Chair to Councillors Thornburrow and Sandford for taking on Chairing and Vice-Chairing responsibilities in her absence at previous meetings.