Agenda, decisions and minutes

There were no declarations of interest. 

The Planning Portfolio Holder and New Communities Portfolio Holder agreed that the minutes of the meeting held on 11 November 2008 were a correct record, subject to the Planning Portfolio Holder agreeing to replace the first sentence of the fifth paragraph of Minute 29 (Draft Service Plan – Planning) with the following sentence:

“Following discussion among those present, the Planning Portfolio Holder agreed that officers should attempt, whenever possible, to synchronise the Local Planning Authority’s dates for determination of planning applications with the timing and frequency of parish council (or parish council planning Committee) meetings.”

The Corporate Manager (Planning and Sustainable Communities) explained that, legally, Local Planning Authorities had to register applications as soon as they were satisfied that those applications were valid.  The Planning Portfolio Holder suggested that the issue of co-ordination of parish and district council timescales should be discussed at the next Parish Forum.

The Planning Portfolio Holder endorsed for approval by the Cabinet

·           the Revenue Estimates as shown at Appendix A  

·           the Housing and Planning Delivery Reserve at Appendix A(1)

·           the Capital Programme as shown at Appendix B, and associated proposal forms Appendix C1 to C5

·           the level of Building Control fees for 2009-10 (paragraph 16)

and further recommended to Cabinet that

·           a ‘precautionary item’ of £100,000 in respect of Appeal and Inquiry costs be included in the list of precautionary items for 2009-10

The Planning Portfolio Holder considered a report on the Revenue Estimates up to the year 2009-10 and the Capital Programme up to the year 2011-12.

He expressed concern at the potential cost of appeals during the coming year and, while accepting that there might not be a need to call upon it, requested that appropriate provision be made in the budget.  The Principal Accountant (General Fund) explained that the best way of addressing this issue was through the precautionary fund, against which a claim could be made with the support of the Finance Portfolio Holder.

During the course of discussion, the following points were made:

·           It would be possible, in future, to vire money between the Examination in Public Budget (part of the New Communities portfolio) and Appeals Budget (part of the Planning portfolio) if both Portfolio Holders concerned, and relevant officers including the Chief Finance Officer, were in agreement

·           There had been a decrease in the level of income from planning applications, particularly Major applications

·           Charging for pre-application discussions would relate only to Major applications (not householder applications)

The Corporate Manager (Planning and Sustainable Communities) acknowledged that, in certain respects, South Cambridgeshire District Council faced greater development challenges than others in its traditional “family group”.  Responding to the Planning Portfolio Holder’s comment that comparisons should be made on a like-for-like basis, the Corporate Manager (Planning and Sustainable Communities) undertook to investigate whether there were any other local authorities, preferably rural ones, with growth pressures similar to those of this Council and with whom a more realistic comparison could be drawn.

The Planning Portfolio Holder endorsed for approval by the Cabinet

·           the Revenue Estimates as shown at Appendix A (as  amended downwards by £36,000 for Concessionary Fares)      

·           the Housing and Planning Delivery Reserve at Appendix A(1)

·           the Capital Programme as shown at Appendix B, and associated proposal forms Appendix C1 to C5

·           the level of Building Control fees for 2009-10 (paragraph 16)

The Planning Portfolio Holder recommended to Cabinet that

·           a ‘precautionary item’ of £100,000 in respect of Appeal and Inquiry costs be included in the list of precautionary items for 2009-10

The New Communities Portfolio Holder

·           confirmed the proposals for capital expenditure shown at Appendix C(1-4), to the report for inclusion in the capital programme

·           endorsed the Revenue Estimates and Capital Programme shown at Appendices A and B and recommended them for consideration by the Cabinet

The New Communities Portfolio Holder considered a report on the Revenue Estimates up to the year 2009-10 and the Capital Programme up to the year 2011-12.

It was noted that Economic Development, referred to in paragraph 3 of the report, had recently been made a responsibility of the Planning Portfolio Holder instead.

The New Communities Portfolio Holder

·           confirmed the proposals for capital expenditure shown at Appendix C(1-4), to the report for inclusion in the capital programme

·           endorsed the Revenue Estimates and Capital Programme shown at Appendices A and B and recommended them for consideration by the Cabinet

The Planning Portfolio Holder and New Communities Portfolio Holder endorsed the following documents for public consultation:

·           Draft Biodiversity Supplementary Planning Document

·           Draft Listed Buildings Supplementary Planning Document

·           Draft Final Sustainability Reports for both SPDs (on the website)

·           Sustainability Appraisal Scoping Report Addendum for the Listed Buildings SPD

The Planning Portfolio Holder and New Communities Portfolio Holder authorised the Corporate Manager (Planning and Sustainable Communities)  to make minor amendments to the above documents, where appropriate

The Planning Portfolio Holder and New Communities Portfolio Holder considered a report seeking agreement for Supplementary Planning Documents relating to Biodiversity and Listed Buildings to be published for consultation.

It was noted that the Biodiversity Strategy produced in August 2006 was a biodiversity steering document for the Council as a whole and had been adopted as Council policy.   On the other hand, the Biodiversity SPD would be a planning specific document, referring back to the Strategy where appropriate in order to avoid repetition.

Councillor Wotherspoon suggested that members of Council be invited to discuss issues of general concern at an informal meeting to be chaired by him during the consultation period.  The two Portfolio Holders considered this a good idea and instructed the two Corporate Managers to make appropriate arrangements.

The Planning Portfolio Holder and New Communities Portfolio Holder endorsed the following documents for public consultation:

·           Draft Biodiversity Supplementary Planning Document

·           Draft Listed Buildings Supplementary Planning Document

·           Draft Final Sustainability Reports for both SPDs (on the website)

·           Sustainability Appraisal Scoping Report Addendum for the Listed Buildings SPD

subject to the Corporate Manager (Planning and Sustainable Communities)  making minor amendments to the documents, where appropriate

The New Communities Portfolio Holder received a progress report on preparation of the Gypsy and Traveller Development Plan Document.

He said that it was essential that local members be briefed about specific proposed sites before that information was placed in the public domain for wider consultation.

The Principal Planning Policy Officer (Transport) summarised the work carried out to date, referring briefly to the contribution made by the consultants formerly retained by the Council prior to the matter being brought back in-house.  The engagement of Gypsies and Travellers in the process was seen as essential.

The timescale for progressing the GTDPD was being reassessed as part of the revision of the Local Development Scheme.

At the request of the Planning Portfolio Holder, the Corporate Manager (Planning and Sustainable Communities) undertook to consider the implications for those temporary planning consents for travellers’ pitches due to expire prior to the GTDPD being adopted by the Council.

The New Communities Portfolio Holder confirmed that he was investigating the potential for offsetting the provision of Travellers’ pitches against the need for affordable housing.

The New Communities Portfolio Holder received a report on the outcome of the Examination in Public of the Regional Spatial Strategy Single Issue Review into the provision of Gypsy and Traveller sites.

Each Portfolio Holder will maintain, for agreement at each meeting, a Forward Plan identifying all matters relevant to the Portfolio which it is believed are likely to be the subject of consideration and / or decision by the Portfolio Holder, Cabinet, Council, or any other constituent part of the Council.   The plan will be updated as necessary and published on the Council’s website following each meeting. Portfolio Holders will be responsible for the content and accuracy of their forward plans.

The Planning Portfolio Holder and New Communities Portfolio Holder noted this item, and instructed officers to present reports to the next meeting on Arts provision, budgetary comparitors, and a Local Development Framework update.

10 March 2009 at 10.00am

The Planning Portfolio Holder and New Communities Portfolio Holder noted that their next meeting would take place on Tuesday 10 March 2009, starting at 10.00am.