Decisions

The Government has announced a series of measures to support businesses through the impact of the Covid-19 emergency. The existing Retail Discount and Pub Relief schemes have been further expanded, and a new “Nursery Discount” has been introduced.

On 25^th March 2020, a further change was announced that allowed Estate Agents, Employment Agencies, Letting Agents and Betting shops to fall to be entitled to the Expanded Retail Discount scheme

Legislative changes are not being made to accommodate the discounts. Instead, the Government expects that local authorities deliver the discounts via discretionary powers which already exist, and so changes are required to the Council’s discretionary business rates relief policy to facilitate the administration of these reliefs.

To adopt the updated version of the Discretionary Business Rate Relief Policy, shown in Appendix A.

The Government has announced a series of measures to support businesses through the impact of the Covid-19 emergency. The existing Retail Discount and Pub Relief schemes have been further expanded, and a new “Nursery Discount” has been introduced.

Legislative changes are not being made to accommodate the discounts. Instead, the Government expects that local authorities deliver the discounts via discretionary powers which already exist, and so changes are required to the Council’s discretionary business rates relief policy to facilitate the administration of these reliefs.

To adopt the updated version of the Discretionary Business Rate Relief Policy, shown in Appendix B.

Purpose

1.    The purpose of this report is:

a.    To agree the Greater Cambridge Housing Trajectory and Five Year Housing Land Supply document (Appendix 1 of this decision) to be published on the Councils’ websites. The Greater Cambridge housing trajectory and five year housing land supply calculations have been prepared jointly with Cambridge City Council, consistent with the adopted Local Plans.

b.    To delegate any further minor editing changes to the Greater Cambridge Housing Trajectory and Five Year Housing Land Supply document to the Joint Director for Planning and Economic Development where they are technical matters.

2.    In January 2019, Cabinet agreed that the Greater Cambridge housing trajectory and five year supply calculations would be agreed by the Cabinet Member for Planning via a decision outside of a meeting (together with the Executive Member for Planning Policy at Cambridge City Council).

Greater Cambridge Housing Trajectory and Five Year Housing Land Supply

3.    The government through national planning policy requires that all local planning authorities identify sufficient deliverable sites to deliver a minimum of five years worth of housing against their housing requirement, as set out in their Local Plans. The Greater Cambridge housing trajectory is used by Cambridge City Council and South Cambridgeshire District Council to calculate their five-year housing land supply and also to demonstrate that anticipated housing delivery will meet or exceed their housing requirement.

4.    The approach to considering the five-year housing land supply for Greater Cambridge is set out in Policy 3 of the Cambridge Local Plan 2018 and Policy S/12 of the South Cambridgeshire Local Plan 2018. The Inspectors that examined both Local Plans confirmed that the five-year supply should be calculated on the basis of a joint housing trajectory for Greater Cambridge reflecting the joint development strategy across the two Local Plans, using a 20% buffer and the Liverpool methodology.

5.    The Councils have prepared the Greater Cambridge housing trajectory and five-year supply calculations based on national planning policy and guidance for housing trajectories and five-year supply calculations.

6.    The Councils have also considered the recent conclusions of two appeal Inspectors that considered planning applications at Cambridge Road in Melbourn and New Road in Over. Although the Inspectors dismissed the appeals they were not persuaded by the Councils’ evidence for anticipated housing supply at a number of individual sites as included in the Greater Cambridge Housing Trajectory (November 2019). The Councils have taken into consideration the Inspectors’ conclusions as part of preparing their new housing trajectory and five year supply calculations.

7.    The Greater Cambridge housing trajectory and five-year housing land supply calculations show that jointly for Greater Cambridge, the Councils can demonstrate a five-year housing land supply, using the Liverpool methodology and 20% buffer. The Councils jointly have 5.4 years of housing land supply for the 2020-2025 five-year period. The Councils have taken a robust and conservative approach to assessing the deliverability and / or developability of each of the sites in the Greater Cambridge housing trajectory.

8.    National planning policy and guidance sets out the circumstances where planning policies should be considered out of date when making decisions on planning applications, and this includes where the Council cannot demonstrate a five-year housing land supply. On the basis of the five year supply calculations in the Greater Cambridge Housing Trajectory and Five Year Housing Land Supply document (which is Appendix 1 of this decision), this does not apply to Cambridge or South Cambridgeshire, as the Councils can demonstrate a five year supply, and decisions should therefore be made in accordance with the up to date development plans adopted in 2018.

9.    At the end of the officer process of preparing this update to the Councils’ Greater Cambridge Housing Trajectory and their five year housing land supply calculations for 2020?2025, the coronavirus started to have an impact on the Councils’ business operations, including the convening of planning committees. The new housing trajectory includes a note to this effect and acknowledges that where reference is made in the document to dates during the next few months when applications are anticipated to be referred to planning committee for determination, there is the potential for such anticipated dates to change unavoidably as the coronavirus situation unfolds. Officers will be looking to understand with government, how these unprecedented circumstances will be reflected in decisions such as planning appeals where five-year supply is a factor.

10.The Cambridge Local Plan 2018 sets a housing requirement of 14,000 homes to be delivered between 2011 and 2031. The new housing trajectory shows that 14,468 dwellings are expected to be delivered in Cambridge between 2011 and 2031. The South Cambridgeshire Local Plan 2018 sets a housing requirement of 19,500 dwellings to be delivered between 2011 and 2031. The new housing trajectory shows that 23,502 dwellings are expected to be delivered in South Cambridgeshire between 2011 and 2031. Therefore, together the Local Plans set a housing requirement of 33,500 homes between 2011 and 2031 for Greater Cambridge. The new housing trajectory shows that 37,970 dwellings are expected to be delivered between 2011 and 2031. The Greater Cambridge housing trajectory shows that anticipated housing delivery within each Council’s area is more than its respective housing requirement.

Next Steps

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 Housing Trajectory and Five Year Housing Land Supply document (April 2020) will be published on both Councils’ websites.

That the Cabinet Member for Planning agrees:

a.    the Greater Cambridge Housing Trajectory and Five Year Housing Land Supply document (Appendix 1 of this decision) to be published on the Councils’ websites.

b.    to delegate any further minor editing changes to the Greater Cambridge Housing Trajectory and Five Year Housing Land Supply document to the Joint Director for Planning and Economic Development where they are technical matters.

SCDC has been making contributions to the Children and Young People’s Partnership of which £10 000 remains unallocated for 2019/20.

Grants Advisory Committee met on 28 February 2020 and recommended the following to the Lead Cabinet Member for Finance:

(a)  £6 430 of this is to be allocated to the Mobile Warden Schemes for 2020/21;

(b)  the remaining £3 570 is to be allocated to the Community Chest Grant for 2020/21.

To accept the recommendations of the Grants Advisory Committee (see above).

Background

The council undertook a survey of the council housing stock in 2004 to determine how much investment was required for properties to meet the decent homes standard and it was found that the structural condition of the Airey ( Pre- fabricated) properties meant that they would not meet the decent homes standard, without considerable investment. Therefore, on 28^th October 2004 full council approved redevelopment as the most cost-effective solution for those Airey sites with redevelopment potential. The Airey properties at Paddock Row Elsworth were agreed as having redevelopment potential. As, the council was not developing council homes at that time a consultative tender process was undertaken and, Wherry Housing Association, which is now known as Clarion, were selected as the council’s preferred partner to undertake the redevelopment program in South Cambs. As part of this process the land owned by South Cambridgeshire District Council was transferred to Wherry Housing Association (now Clarion) on a 125-year lease. Following redevelopment Wherry Housing Association should then have granted subleases on a shared ownership basis for a term of 125 years (less 10 days)

Purpose

South Cambs District Council transferred the land at Paddock Row Elsworth to Wherry Housing Association/ Circle Anglia (now Clarion) on a 125-year lease from 22^nd December 2006 expiring on 21^st December 2131. Unfortunately, Clarion found that the sub leases that were issued by them, for the shared ownership properties, were not compatible with the Head lease. Therefore, Clarion have formally submitted a request for a new lease to be granted to them (overriding lease), which will sit above the Head lease and be for a term expiring on 21^st April 2132. This will ensure that Clarion’s interest in the properties at Paddock Row Elsworth, will exceed that of the shared ownership leases.

The purposes of this decision are to allow the Council to approve Clarion’s request to grant an overriding lease for land that was transferred, as part of the Airey properties redevelopment programme at Paddock Row Elsworth.

To approve Clarion’s request to grant an overriding lease relating to the properties at Paddock Row Elsworth, for term expiring on 21^st April 2132.