Agenda and minutes

To note the following appointments made at the Annual Meeting of the Council:-

Chair:             Councillor Taylor

Vice-Chair:    Councillor  Lewis

Members:      Councillors McLellan, Smith and Dee.

Chair – Councillor Taylor.

Vice-Chair – Councillor Lewis.

To approve as a correct record the minutes from the meeting held on 26 March 2015.

The minutes of the meeting held on 26 March 2015 were confirmed and signed by the Chair as a correct record.

No declarations were made on this occasion.

Mr Steve Morgan asked the following questions and he indicated that a written response would be acceptable:-

1)         Would the Chair agree with me that it would be both perverse and patently undemocratic if Gloucester City Council, in any way, determined a planning application for any large green field site which had not been considered as part of the City Plan so far? 

Item 4 of the Update Report to be considered tonight as item 7 on the agenda includes at 4.1, and I quote, “The ward profiles provide an evidence base for the whole of the City.”

It is my contention that an unidentified site in that public consultation process cannot therefore be considered for development in isolation but would need to wait now to be considered as part of any five year review of the eventually accepted Local Plan. Would the Chair care to comment please?

The Chair advised that he would ask the Planning Policy Officers to respond in writing but noted that the Council was required to consider valid planning applications submitted and to consider each such application on its merits.

The Principal Planning Officer noted that each application would be considered against the development plan in force at the time which currently was the Second Stage Deposit Local Plan 2002. She noted that it was a developing process and more weight would be given to the City Plan as it developed.

2)         My second question relates to the City stock of housing land. Please could I be advised how many years of house building land are currently identified and is this figure reviewed annually or is it a rolling number as permissions are given and built out?

Mr Morgan was advised that there was currently just over five years supply of house building land identified and that the supply was reviewed annually.

To receive any petitions and deputations provided that no petition or deputation is in relation to:

·         Matters relating to individual Council Officers, or

·         Matters relating to current or pending legal proceedings

There were no petitions or deputations.

To receive the report of the Cabinet Member for Housing and Planning which updates Members on the Officer responses to the comments received on the City Plan Places, Sites, City Centre Strategy consultation held in May 2013.

The Principal Planning Officer presented the report which detailed Officers’ responses to the comments received to the City Plan: Places, Sites, City centre Strategy consultation held in May 2013.

She advised that Council Officers and consultants from Gloucestershire Rural Communities Council attended 18 separate consultation events which were attended by a total of 995 members of the public. During the consultation period 142 formal questionnaire planning representations were received and the Officer responses were provided at Appendix 1 to the report.

She drew Members’ attention to the list of topics receiving 15 or more responses which was detailed at paragraph 4.5 and that additional sites had been identified including land at Whaddon (paragraph 4.6).

She noted that the next stage of the City Plan involved the commissioning of evidence to support plan allocations and the development of policies. The progress of the Joint Core Strategy examination would be followed closely to assess any implications for the City Plan.

Councillor Dee noted that, with the exception of Hempsted, few wards had a body to support a neighbourhood plan. He was advised that the uptake of neighbourhood planning nationally had been poor in urban areas.

Councillor Smith referred to the need to address the response to the representation regarding the relationship between the City Centre and Gloucester Quays in the light of the recent Peel appeal decision. The Principal Planning Officer assured her that consideration would be given to re-wording the response.

Councillor McLellan believed that the five year housing supply would be increasingly difficult to achieve and asked if the Joint Core Strategy allowed for housing supply outside of the City boundaries to be taken into account. He was advised that this issue had been picked up by the inspector at the JCS examination in public.

Councillor Dee questioned potential allocations not included in the JCS and was advised that the housing requirement had been met by the JCS allocations which were being tested at the examination.

Councillor McLellan referred to policy B2 – Fire Station, Eastern Avenue and requested clarification that the Constabulary no longer required the site. He also noted the need for a policy on food vending vans.

Councillor Dee concurred and also called for consideration of a policy to control hand car washing sites which were causing drainage problems in some locations.

The Principal Planning Officer advised that Officers would consider these issues and report to a future meeting.

Councillor McLellan requested that copies of the responses be sent to all Councillors.

RESOLVED that the representations made to the City Plan: Places, Sites, City Centre Strategy during the public consultation be noted and the resulting officer responses detailed at Appendix 1 be endorsed.

The report provides an update on the Council’s Statement of Community Involvement (SCI) following its public consultation and seeks approval for its formal adoption.

The Principal Planning Officer presented the report which provided an update on the Council’s Statement of Public Involvement following public consultation.

Councillor McLellan asked how it was intended to communicate with ‘hard to reach’ groups. He was advised that the Council would look at those sections of the community that could not reach the usual places for consultation although that would be a resource intensive process.

He referred specifically to Gloucester City Homes and housing association tenants. Councillor Smith advised that they could be reached through the Tenants’ Forums.

RESOLVED

1)         that the minor revisions made to the draft Statement of Community Involvement following public consultation be endorsed; and

2)         TO RECOMMEND to the Council that the Statement of Community Involvement at Appendix 1 be formally adopted for planning policy and development control purposes.

Thursday, 17 September 2015 at 6.00pm

Thursday, 17 September 2015 at 6.00pm.