northlincs.gov.uk

Present: – Councillor Wardle in the chair.

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

The committee met at Pittwood House, Scunthorpe.

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

877 (57) NORTH LINCOLNSHIRE LOCAL DEVELOPMENT FRAMEWORK – CORE STRATEGY: PREFERRED OPTIONS CONSULTATION – Further to Minute 805, the Head of Planning and Regeneration submitted a report inform members of the responses received to the Core Strategy Preferred Options consultation.

The results of the consultation would be used to inform the preparation of the Submission document which would be sent to the Secretary of State in spring 2007. The representations made at the Submission stage would be considered by an Inspector at the Examination in Public to be held in autumn 2007.

Consultation on the Preferred Options had been undertaken over a six-week period commencing on 30 October 2006. Articles had published in local newspapers, Direct magazine and on the council’s website. Copies of the document and the response forms had been made available at Local Link offices and libraries. Some 1600 stakeholders and other consultees who had previously registered an interest had been informed directly. The council had also undertaken focus group work with the North Lincolnshire Local Strategic Partnership and councillors and a rolling programme of engagement with town and parish councils.

A full report of responses would be made available on the council website, in group offices, local links and council offices as soon as all responses had been entered into the system.

The response to the consultation had been much greater than expected with over 5000 representations received from more than 600 individuals and organisations. This meant that the process of logging and responding to the representations was taking longer than expected and would delay the timetable.

Resolved –(a) That the report be noted, and (b) that it be noted that the responses to the Preferred Options Document will be considered in preparing the Core Strategy Submission Document.

878 (58) DRAFT REGIONAL SPATIAL STRATEGY – YORKSHIRE AND HUMBER PLAN – The Head of Planning and Regeneration submitted a report informing the committee about representations made on the draft Regional Spatial Strategy (RSS) and giving feedback on the Examination in Public.

The RSS had been released by the Yorkshire and Humber Regional Assembly for a public consultation period early in 2006. The council had made detailed comments on the RSS.

Over 300 individuals/organisations had made a total of more than 3,000 representations about the draft RSS. An Examination in Public (EIP) had been held by an Independent Panel during September and October 2006.

It was expected that the Panel Report would be published in February 2007 with the Secretary of State’s Proposed Changes to follow in the spring. The final Revised RSS would be published during autumn 2007. A report on the panel recommendations would be submitted to a future meeting of this committee.

The RSS would form part of the statutory ‘development plan’ for North Lincolnshire, and the council’s Local Development Framework would have to be in general conformity with it.

The council had been represented at most of the Examination sessions and significant contributions had been made in terms of pushing forward North Lincolnshire’s aspirations and defending contrary views. Topics had been wide ranging and included the status of Scunthorpe as a sub-regional centre; the role of Hull within the sub-region; housing provision; employment provision; the role of market towns; renewable energy and transport priorities.

Although it was difficult to predict the outcome of the EIP the debate on certain issues had intimated that it was likely that the figures for this council’s future housing provision will be increase from the current figure of 10,900 dwellings for the period 2004-2021, although the exact extent was uncertain.

With regard to improved access to the South Humber Bank via the rail network, improvements to Wrawby Junction should be included as a Transport Management and Investment Priority within the RSS. The improvements would increase line speeds from 30mph to 50mph and would increase capacity by saving up to 90 seconds per freight train passing through the junction.

The most recent study relating to road transport (Carlbro-A160 improvements) providing access to the South Humber Bank had been forwarded to the Department for Transport (Highways Agency) for consideration. It was understood that the design scheme for the A160 road improvement would be finalised by March 2007 with a view to inclusion in the Agency’s highway programme for 2007/2008. The design scheme would include a proposed dualling of the remaining single carriageway section of the A160 and significant road improvements to all junctions between the A180 and the Port entrance (i.e. Humber Road entrance).

Resolved – (a) That the report be noted, and (b) that the RSS be taken into account when preparing Development Plan Documents as part of the Local Development Framework process.

879 (59) DRAFT REGIONAL SPATIAL STRATEGY – EAST MIDLANDS REGIONAL PLAN To inform Members about the release of the Draft Regional Spatial Strategy (RSS) – The Head of Planning and Regeneration submitted a report informing the committee about the release of the East Midlands Regional Plan for public consultation and the implications that it would have for North Lincolnshire.

The RSS had been published by the East Midlands Regional Assembly for public consultation from 28 September to 20 December 2006. The draft would replace the current RSS for the East Midlands, issued by Government in March 2005. An independent Government appointed panel would publicly test the draft plan in May 2007 and issue a report on their findings. The Secretary of State would then consider the report and consult on any proposed changes to the draft. It was expected that the plan will be adopted in early 2008.

The RSS would form part of the statutory ‘development plan’ for those councils that bordered North Lincolnshire within the East Midlands region. This included the county councils of Lincolnshire and Nottinghamshire and the district councils of Bassetlaw and West Lindsey, located to the south of North Lincolnshire.

The RSS was a long-term strategy and framework, guiding how things should take place in the future and relates to both development and investment. It did not directly influence planning and developments within North Lincolnshire but there were a number of cross boundary issues that could impact on the council. It was considered that the overall approach of the plan was compatible with this council’s emerging LDF but that linkages with the East Midlands could be strengthened.

Comments had been made on behalf of the council in relation to transport issues.

Resolved -That the content of the East Midlands Regional Spatial Strategy and the council’s comments set out in the report be noted.

880 (60) LOCAL DEVELOPMENT FRAMEWORK – ANNUAL MONITORING REPORT – The Head of Planning and Regeneration submitted a report informing the committee about the content of the Local Development Framework – Annual Monitoring Report and seeking endorsement of the document to inform the preparation of future Development Plan Documents.

Councils were required to produce annual monitoring reports to show that the local development framework (LDF) was achieving its aims and delivering sustainable development. They should highlight where targets were being achieved and if priorities should be changed to reflect the latest development trends. There wa a standards format for AMRs which was outlined in the ODPM’s Local Development Framework Monitoring: A Good Practice Guide.

AMRs had had to be submitted to the Government Office by the end of December 2006.

The AMR showed that housing completions had more than doubled over the last year with 40 per cent of development being on brownfield compared to 26 per cent for the previous year. In trems of the economy, there had beeen substantial developments in Scunthorpe with a major extension at Corus and the Nisa Today distribution centre together with expansion of the ports at South Humber Bank.

All milestones in the Local Development Scheme had been met. However there would be a delay in the preparation of the Housing and Employment Land DPD and Waste DPD due to the requirements to undertake Appropriate Assessments in relation to those documents. The Waste DPD would also be delayed because further information was awaited from the National Waste Data Strategy and the Waste Regional Technical Advisory Board.

The next year’s AMR would see the implementation of new monitoring systems and the development of internal and external partnerships to create a more comprehensive evidence base which would help monitor the LDF process.

Copies of the AMR were available in political group offices and were published on the council’s website.

Resolved – That the AMR be endorsed and used to inform the future preparation of Development Plan documents.