Agenda, decisions and minutes

There were no declarations of interest.

To authorise the Portfolio Holder to sign the Minutes of the meeting held on 4 December 2015 as a correct record.

The Planning Portfolio Holder signed, as a correct record, the Minutes of the meeting held on 4 December 2015.

The Planning Portfolio Holder

(a)            Noted the progress made in the provision of pre-application advice; and the planned approach in respect of Development Delivery Agreements;

(b)            Endorsed the principle of a revised fee structure for pre-application advice, with staff costs and inflationary uplifts, details of which will be reported to Cabinet in February 2016, and changes to be implemented from 1 April 2016;

The Planning Portfolio Holder considered a report on the quality and timeliness of pre-application advice currently provided, and proposals for a new fee schedule for 2016-17. 

The Portfolio Holder noted progress made in the provision of pre-application advice; and the planned approach in respect of Development Delivery Agreements. He welcomed the absence of any complaints during the previous three months, and said that fees should increase in order to cover the cost of officer time. The Portfolio Holder emphasised the contribution made by the pre-application advice service to the effective processing of planning applications.

The Planning Portfolio Holder

(a)            Noted the progress made in the provision of pre-application advice; and the planned approach in respect of Development Delivery Agreements;

(b)            Endorsed the principle of a revised fee structure for pre-application advice, with staff costs and inflationary uplifts, details of which will be reported to Cabinet in February 2016, and changes to be implemented from 1 April 2016;

Appendix 2 is available only on the Council’s website by visiting www.scambs.gov.uk > The Council > Councillors, minutes and agendas and then following the links.

The Planning Portfolio Holder

(a)            approved the contents of the Annual Monitoring Report 2014-2015 (included as Appendix 2 of the report) for publication; and

(b)            delegated any further minor editing changes to the Annual Monitoring Report to the Director of Planning and New Communities where they are technical matters.

The Planning Portfolio Holder considered a report seeking his approval to publish the Local Development Framework Annual Monitoring Report 2014-2015 (AMR) on South Cambridgeshire District Council’s website.

The Senior Planning Policy Officer highlighted key elements of Appendix 1, which itself summarised the AMR as a whole. The Planning Portfolio Holder referred to paragraph 13 of the report from the Planning and New Communities Director, and commended officers engaged in the Neighbourhood Plan process.

The Planning Portfolio Holder

(a)            approved the contents of the Annual Monitoring Report 2014-2015 (included as Appendix 2 of the report) for publication; and

(b)            delegated any further minor editing changes to the Annual Monitoring Report to the Director of Planning and New Communities where they are technical matters.

The Planning Portfolio Holder agreed the consultation response set out in Appendix 1 of the report.

The Planning Portfolio Holder considered a report seeking his endorsement of a draft response to the Government’s proposed changes to the National Planning Policy Framework (National Planning Policy Framework).

Those present discussed the change in the definition of, and implications for, Affordable Housing. Of particular note was the 20% discount afforded to starter homes. The Portfolio Holder informed those present that starter homes would be included within the percentage of Affordable Housing coming forward as part of a development. It was noted, however, that this discount would be lost upon sale after 5 years, thus removing the concept of ‘in perpetuity’. The Section 106 Officer said that the Council would still seek a mix of tenure within the general definition of Affordable Housing, subject to viability.

The Planning Portfolio Holder requested that the responses to Questions 11 and 12 should stress the need for South Cambridgeshire District Council to speed up the delivery of housing. The Planning and New Communities Director added that developers should be required to deliver what they had undertaken to deliver.

After further discussion, the Planning Portfolio Holder agreed the consultation response set out in Appendix 1 of the report, subject to Questions 11 and 12 being amended to reflect the need to speed up the delivery of housing.

“This item was not included on the agenda published on 4 January 2016. However, if the Council is going to feed into the Government’s working group, a response should be agreed  by 14 January, and it is not therefore possible to defer consideration until the next scheduled Planning Portfolio Holder meeting on 10 February 2016. The Planning Portfolio Holder and Chairman of the Scrutiny and Overview Committee have agreed that this item should be admitted as a late agenda item on the grounds of its urgency.

Appendix A (The DCLG Consultation document) is available by following this link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/478123/151118_CIL_questionnaire_template_final.pdf

The Portfolio Holder approved the draft response as per Appendix B of the report and further provided delegated authority to the Director of Planning and  New Communities to submit the response on behalf of the Council.

This item had not been included on the agenda published on 4 January 2016. However, if the Council was going to feed into the Government’s working group, a response had to be agreed by 14 January, and it was not therefore possible to defer consideration until the next scheduled Planning Portfolio Holder meeting on 10 February 2016. The Planning Portfolio Holder and Chairman of the Scrutiny and Overview Committee had agreed that this item should be admitted as a late agenda item on the grounds of its urgency.

The Planning Portfolio Holder considered a report seeking his endorsement of the proposed Council response to a Government consultation on the review of the Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL).

The Section 106 Officer highlighted paragraph 12 of the report, and the implications for Parish Councils of further delay in the adoption of a new Local Plan.

The Portfolio Holder approved the draft response as per Appendix B of the report and further provided delegated authority to the Director of Planning and  New Communities to submit the response on behalf of the Council.

The Planning Portfolio Holder noted the Work Programme attached to the agenda.

The next Planning Portfolio Holder meeting is on 10 February 2016 at 10.00am. The Portfolio Holder is asked to consider a schedule of four meetings during 2016-17 (June, September, November, February) with provision for additional meetings should they be needed as part of the Local Plan process.

The next Planning Portfolio Holder meeting would be on Wednesday 10 February 2016.

The final scheduled Planning Portfolio Holder meeting in 2015-16 would be on Monday 14 March 2016 at 2.00pm.

Arrangements were being made to schedule meetings in June, September and November 2016, and in February 2017.