northlincs.gov.uk

PRESENT: – Councillor Wardle in the chair.

Councillors Long (vice-chairman), Bunyan, Collinson, Eckhardt, England,. Grant, Kirk, Phillips, Rowson and Whiteley.

The committee met at Pittwood House, Scunthorpe.

761 DECLARATIONS OF PERSONAL AND PERSONAL AND PREJUDICIAL PERSONAL INTERESTS – There were no declarations of personal interest.

762 (51) DONCASTER ROAD DEVELOPMENT BRIEF –The Head of Planning and Regeneration submitted a report informing the committee of the issues raised during the public consultation on the Draft Development Brief for Doncaster Road, Scunthorpe and seeking approval of the Brief for development control purposes. Representatives of Nathaniel Lichfield & Partners, who had produced the brief jointly with officers of the council, gave a presentation and answered members’ questions.

Recommended to Council – That the Development Brief for Doncaster Road be approved for development control purposes.

(Note: in making this recommendation the committee the committee expressed some reservations about the brief.)

763 (52) NORTH LINCOLNSHIRE LOCAL DEVELOPMENT FRAMEWORK –The Head of Planning and Regeneration submitted a report informing members of progress on the Local Development Framework and confirming that all performance targets relating to the Local Development Scheme key milestones set out in the Local Development Scheme had been met for 2005. A Working Group was being established to assist with the next stages of the LDF Core Strategy.

Resolved – (a) That the report be noted, and (b) that the staff in Development Plans be thanked for their work on this matter.

764 (53) LOCAL DEVELOPMENT FRAMEWORK – STATEMENT OF COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT – The Head of Planning and Regeneration submitted a report informing members of the outcome of the statutory consultation on the Statement of Community Involvement and outlining the next steps to its adoption.

Resolved – (a) That the report be noted, and (b) that the staff in Development Plans be thanked for their work on this matter.

765 (54) PLANNING AID – The Head of Planning and Regeneration submitted a report informing members of the services offered by Planning Aid and the ways in which it could benefit community consultation, particularly as part of the Local Development Framework process.

Planning Aid was an independent service by the Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI) providing free, independent and professional advice on town and country planning matters to communities and individuals who could not afford to pay a planning consultant.

Local authorities were encouraged to support volunteering for Planning Aid on the basis that it broadened the experience of their staff and contributed to their continual professional development.

Recommended to Council – (a) That the role of Planning Aid in the planning process in North Lincolnshire be endorsed, and (b) that approval be given to the implementation of practical measures of support for Planning Aid as outlined in the report.

766 (55) ADVANCE CROSBY TRANSITIONAL PROJECT BRIEF –The Head of Planning and Regeneration submitted a report informing members of the outcome of the consultation on the Advance Crosby Transitional Project Brief (ACTPB) and outlining the next stages of the project.

The council had approved the Advance Crosby Transformational Project Brief for consultation on 28 September 2005. The brief would help to deliver improved housing conditions following the allocation of £1.42 million by the Regional Housing Board. The Advance Crosby Steering Group had developed the ACTPB project and was made up of representatives from the council, Crosby Neighbourhood Management Pathfinder and Northern Counties Housing Association. Approval of the ACTPB as a development brief would assist in further consultation work with local residents and in developing more detailed plans for a final scheme for the site.

Recommended to Council – That approval be given to the Advance Crosby Transitional Project Brief as a development brief for making future planning decisions for the area and to provide a framework for any necessary acquisition of property to assist in the redevelopment of the area.

767 (56) ACTION PLAN FOR REVIEW OF BEST VALUE PERFORMANCE INDICATORS BV109b AND c AND THE PLANNING SCHEME OF DELEGATION – The Head of Planning and Regeneration submitted a report inviting the committee to consider an action plan prepared in response to the recommendations of a review by the Executive Overview Scrutiny Committee.

The review focused on the council’s published performance against two of the national Best Value Performance Indicators (nos. 109 b and c) relating to the number of ‘minor’ and ‘other’ planning applications determined within eight weeks.

The council’s performance on BV 109 b and c was continuously assessed on a quarterly basis. In February 2005 the Scrutiny Committee had agreed to look at all BVPIs that were in the lower quartile nationally for 2003/04. BVPIs 109 b and c both fell within this range.

For that reason, the Committee had examined on two occasions the possible reasons for this fall in performance. The Scrutiny Committee had received a report and improvement plan containing a number of recommendations. Full details of the review were set out in the report.

Attached to the report was an action plan listing the Scrutiny Committee’s recommendations together with suggested actions for each. Several of these were complete or already underway. Since the review the council’s performance level in both BVPIs had increased dramatically.

The scheme of delegation was not a national BVPI. However the use of this scheme in the determination of planning applications did impact upon the effectiveness of the process and could and did contribute to the speed of processing and hence the performance of the BVPIs.

Resolved – (a) That the Executive Overview Scrutiny Committee be thanked for the focus that it has given to this particular issue; (b) that the Action Plan annexed to the report be agreed, with the exception of the Key Actions to implement recommendations (vi) and (vii), and (c) that the considerable amount of work already carried out by the Development Control Team in implementing many of the recommendations set out in the Action Plan be acknowledged.