Decision details

Purpose

1.    The purpose of this report is:

a.    To agree the response to the government’s consultation - Supporting Housing Delivery & Public Service Infrastructure (see Appendix 1). The response has been prepared jointly with Cambridge City Council.

b.    To delegate any further minor editing changes to the response to the government’s consultation - Supporting Housing Delivery & Public Service Infrastructure to the Joint Director for Planning and Economic Development where they are technical matters.

2.    The deadline for the submission of comments to the consultation is 28 January 2021. In order to agree the joint response and submit these comments in time, it has been agreed by the Cabinet Member for Planning to agree these via a decision outside of a meeting (together with the Executive Member for Planning Policy at Cambridge City Council).

Government’s Consultation - Supporting Housing Delivery & Public Service Infrastructure

3.    In 2020, the government’s ‘Planning for the future’ white paper consultation outlined its longer-term changes to the planning system. This has now been followed a separate consultation ‘Supporting Housing Delivery and Public Service Infrastructure’ to explore more immediate changes to the planning system. The three main parts are, as follows:

·         The introduction of a new permitted development right for a change of use to residential to create new homes

·         To amend existing permitted development rights to allow schools, colleges and universities, hospitals and prisons to expand and adapt their buildings, and a new streamlined planning application process for hospitals, schools and prisons

·         The approach to simplifying and consolidating existing permitted development rights following changes to the Use Classes Order

4.    The first section of the consultation is concerned with the introduction of a new permitted development right to allow Class Use E uses to convert to residential use without the need for planning permission. The government revised the use class regime in 2020 and these changes included a new planning use class, Commercial, Business and Service use class to include uses generally found on the high street such as shops, banks and restaurants, and broadens it to encompass a wider range of uses such as gyms, creches and offices. The government is proposing a single right that provides for the change of use from any use within the Commercial, Business and Service use class to residential (C3).

5.    The second section of the consultation is concerned with the proposal to extend existing permitted development rights to allow schools, colleges and universities, hospitals and prisons to expand and adapt their buildings, without the need to seek planning permission.

6.    The third section of the consultation is concerned with the consolidation and simplification of some existing permitted development rights, following the revised use class orders, introduced in 2020.

Next Steps

7.    Once agreed by Cabinet Member for Planning at South Cambridgeshire District Council and the Executive Member for Planning Policy at Cambridge City Council, the Greater Cambridge response to the Government’s Consultation - Supporting Housing Delivery & Public Service Infrastructure will be submitted to the Government’s consultation.

That the Cabinet Member for Planning agrees:

a.    the response to the Government’s Consultation - Supporting Housing Delivery & Public Service Infrastructure (see Appendix 1). The response has been prepared jointly with Cambridge City Council.

b.    to delegate any further minor editing changes to the response to the Government’s Consultation - Supporting Housing Delivery & Public Service Infrastructure to the Joint Director for Planning and Economic Development where they are technical matters.

The deadline for the submission of comments to the consultation is 28 January 2021. In order to agree the joint response and submit these comments in time, it has been agreed by the Cabinet Member for Planning to agree these via a decision outside of a meeting (together with the Executive Member for Planning Policy at Cambridge City Council).

To not submit Greater Cambridge’s response to the government’s consultation - Supporting Housing Delivery & Public Service Infrastructure.

Reason for Rejection: South Cambridgeshire District Council’s opinion on the proposed changes to the planning system would not be submitted as part of the government’s consultation.