Planning Committee – 29 February 2008 (Policy Meeting)

Chair:  Councillor Collinson
Venue:  Function Room 1, Pittwood House, Scunthorpe
Time:  2 pm

AGENDA

1.  Substitutions.

2.  Declarations of personal or personal and prejudicial interests (if any).

3.  Planning Policy Statement: Planning and Climate Change, Supplement to Planning Policy Statement 1

4.  Draft Planning Policy Statement 4 – Sustainable Economic Development

5.  Housing & Planning Delivery Grant (HPDG): (to respond to Government consultation on allocation mechanisms)

6.  Progress In The Region 2007

7.  Any other items, which the chair decides are urgent, by reasons of special circumstances which must be specified.

Note:  Reports are by the Head of Strategic Regeneration, Housing and Development unless otherwise stated.

Minutes

PRESENT: – Councillor Whiteley (Vice–Chair in the chair).

Councillors Ali, Barker, B Briggs, Bunyan, Carlile, Eckhardt, England, Glover, C Sherwood , Smith, Wardle and Wilson.

The committee met at Pittwood House, Scunthorpe.

1014 DECLARATIONS OF PERSONAL OR PERSONAL AND PREJUDICIAL INTERESTS – There were no declarations of interest.

1015 (76) PLANNING POLICY STATEMENT: PLANNING AND CLIMATE CHANGE, SUPPLEMENT TO PLANNING POLICY STATEMENT 1 – The Head of Strategic Regeneration, Housing and Development submitted a report informingmembers about the contents of the government’s first Planning Policy Statement (PPS) on Climate Change as a supplement to PPS 1 Sustainable Development. The PPS supplement would update, whenever appropriate, the Development Plan for North Lincolnshire and, would be given consideration in making decisions on planning applications.

This PPS was a supplement to PPS1 which set out the overall planning policies for sustainable development.

In 2007 the government had committed itself to ambitious targets on reducing carbon emissions to 50% of 1990 levels by 2050 and carbon neutral building development by 2016. This PPS set out how regional and local planning authorities could contribute to reducing emissions, stabilise climate change and take into account unavoidable consequences such as flooding and drought. It also set out how the planning function could help tackle climate change by encouraging renewable, low carbon or decentralised energy generation and promoting sustainable buildings.

The Regional Spatial Strategy would provide the development framework for climate change and local planning authorities would be required to set targets for percentage renewable energy use on developments, identify sites for renewable energy generation and avoid development on areas which could become vulnerable in the future. Local authorities would also be expected to facilitate carbon neutral construction.

Most interest would be inlocal authoritiessetting targets for developers onrenewable energy. Sensible target setting required robust data and a good understanding.The Council had already given planning permission for a 29MW windfarm at Bagmoor Gullet, and permission had subsequently been granted by the Secretary of State for a total of 50 turbines, with a capacity of up to 150 MW at Keadby and Tween Bridge, the latter partly within Doncaster Borough. The council would need support and time to get its evidence base on carbon up to an acceptable level.

The Council had and was working on reducing the effects of climate change through various policy initiatives throughout the Council and the Local Development Framework through the Core Strategy would encompass the issue in planning policy terms in line with the Regional Spatial Strategy for Yorkshire and Humber. A brief summary of these policy initiatives, including a Climate Change Action Plan (CCAP), was included in the report.

The CCAP was being reviewed with a view to a revised version being adopted in April, 2008 This would indicate how many hectares of land was required to meet each of North Lincolnshire’s residents requirements for food, energy and transport. It would highlight some actions that could be implemented and would lead to a reduction in greenhouse gases. The CCAP actions in relation to planning would be incorporated in the North Lincolnshire LDF.

A major implication for the Council was the need for climate proofing and the importance of climate proofing everything the Council did (mitigation and adaptation). This was particularly important in making buildings climate proof by flood proofing (e.g. raising floor height) and incorporating water efficiency measures. Of particular reference in this process were the regional documents ‘Planning for a Rising Tide’ and the Council’s Strategic Flood Risk Assessment.

Resolved – That the report be noted.

1016 (77) DRAFT PLANNING POLICY STATEMENT 4 – SUSTAINABLE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT – The Head of Strategic Regeneration, Housing and Development submitted a report informingmembers of the key points of Planning Policy Statement (PPS) 4 – Sustainable Economic Development.

When finalised the PPS would replace: Planning Policy Guidance note 4; Paragraphs 53, 54, Annex D of Planning Policy Guidance note 13; and Planning Policy Guidance note 8. The final guidance was expected to be issued in spring/early summer 2008.

The PPS sought to encourage local authorities to plan effectively and pro-actively for economic growth and to achieve a proper balance between economic opportunities and environmental and social considerations.It was in part a responseto the Barker Review of Land Use Planningand thePlanning White Paper, whichset out the issues together with the means bywhich theplanning system was to be made more responsiveto economic development.

The main purposes of PPS4 were to:

  • ensure that sustainable economic development, as a key component in sustainable development more generally, was fully considered and planned for;
  • rationalise and make more consistent the data and indicators used in drawing up plans so that national, regional, sub-regional and local plans could be better integrated; and
  • ensure that planning authorities had a better understanding of the changing needs of business and ofindustrial change andof their locational implications.

Resolved – That the report be noted.

1017 (78) HOUSING AND PLANNING DELIVERY GRANT : (TO RESPOND TO GOVERNMENT CONSULTATION ON ALLOCATION MECHANISMS) – The Head of Strategic Regeneration, Housing and Development submitted a report informing members of a government consultation on the proposed allocation method for the Housing and Planning Delivery Grant (HPDG); outlining the implications for the council of the proposed changes, and informing members of the responses made by officers to the consultation questions, as set out in an appendix to the report.

The Government had decided to replace Planning Delivery Grant (PDG) with a new incentive scheme for local authorities, called Housing and Planning Delivery Grant (HPDG), from April 2008. The overall aim of HPDG was “to incentivise local authorities to improve housing delivery, and other planning outcomes, as part of their strategic place shaping role, and to provide more support to communities and local councils who are doing their bit to deliver new homes”.

In future, funding for local authorities responsibilities on Development Control would be supported by proposed increases in planning fees. HPDG funding, amounting to £510 million over the three years 2008 – 2011 would go exclusively to local authorities and would focus on two areas: plan making and housing delivery (£110m in 2008 – 09 and £250m in 2010 – 2011). The first tranche of awards would be in summer/autumn 2008. HPDG was part of the wider Government agenda, set out in the Housing Green Paper, to deliver a significant increase in housebuilding rates and provide better designed, more sustainable and affordable housing. The key differences between PDG and HPDG were summarised in the report.

At this stage in the consultative process the final bases that would be applied to measure performance were not known. Nor could the Council’s performance relative to other Councils be predicted. It was, therefore, not possible to predict the actual grant receivable under HPDG. Comment on the potential financial impact on this Council was therefore limited to general observations about the Council’s probable ability to meet some of the key criteria set out for consultation. Only in a few instances was it possible to quantify the potential impact and these were outlined in the report.

Resolved – (a) That the report be noted, and (b) that further reports be submitted once the HPDG allocation method is finalised.

1018 (79) PROGRESS IN THE REGION 2007 – The Head of Strategic Regeneration, Housing and Development submitted a report on the recently published “Progress in the Region 2007”.

This was an update to the previous Progress in the Region (2006), and any significant changes in results for North Lincolnshire and/or the region occurring in this new version were highlighted. Overall, the region was making progress in more areas than where it was failing when compared with previous years. However, the general picture was mixed with good news on some issues being counteracted by disappointment on others. When published, Progress in the Humber 2007 would provide detailed analysis of data and intelligence for both the sub region and North Lincolnshire.

Resolved – That the report be noted.

1019 PLANNING BILL 2007 – The chair allowed consideration of this issue as a matter of urgency on the grounds that the Bill was currently progressing through Parliament and would shortly be enacted.

Further to Minute 993, the Chair reported on a response received from the Department of Communities and Local Government.(DCLG) Members did not consider that the letter satisfactorily addressed the concerns raised by the committee.

Resolved – (a) That a further response be sent to DCLG indicating that the committee does not consider that its concerns have been adequately addressed and reiterating those concerns, and (b) that those concerns be raised with the local MPs.