Agenda item

City Plan

To receive the report of the Cabinet Member for Planning and Housing Strategy seeking approval for the Pre-Submission Gloucester City Plan for publication and submission to examination to enable the Council to progress the Gloucester City Plan to adoption to help meet identified growth needs.

Minutes:

30.1    Councillor Gravells introduced the City Plan and thanked the Planning Team for all their work in putting the plan together. He also praised the work of the Planning Policy Working Group as well as Councillor Coole and the Overview and Scrutiny Committee. Councillor Gravells stated that it had been a good use of the scrutiny process.

 

30.2    Councillor Gravells also stated that the plan worked well alongside the Joint Core Strategy (JCS) and that it was a complete set of documents to clearly explain the Council’s aims to developers as well as residents. He highlighted that there would be a minimum of 25% of homes on new developments which would be classed as affordable and that this was greater than the 20% recommended in the JCS.

 

30.3    Councillor James also thanked the Planning Team as well as Councillor Gravells and the Mayor for his work during his time as the relevant Cabinet Member. He noted that the last time such a local plan was adopted was in 1983. Councillor James also highlighted suicide prevention measures which were included in the plan and building design.

 

30.4    Councillor Hilton also conveyed his thanks to the Planning Team and the Managing Director for his suggestion to form the Planning Policy Working Group. He added that the process had been very productive and thanked the Mayor for his chairing of the Group.

 

30.5    Councillor Stephens stated that the question was now how the plan was to be implemented. He commented that he was grateful for the role played  by the Overview and Scrutiny Committee and that all their recommendations were adopted.

 

30.6    Councillor Stephens praised:

 

          The fact that a commitment to combat climate change was incorporated;

         

          Changing places and toilets being included;

 

          The inclusion of 25% of affordable housing in the plan and hoped it would be more; and

 

          The fact that electrical infrastructure and charging points were part of the plan.

 

30.7    Councillor Haigh stated that perhaps s. 106 monies could be allocated to the White City Community Facility and that she hoped it would be moved forward for the community to realise its ambitions.

 

30.8    Councillor Melvin commented that she was pleased that there would be no building on flood plains and was particularly pleased with the 972 new unites included in the plan.

 

30.9    Councillor Coole thanked the Planning Team and Councillor Gravells for suggesting the plan was considered by the Overview and Scrutiny Committee.

 

30.10  Councillor Taylor also praised the Council’s planners and stated that he looked forward to considering new planning applications under the plan.

 

30.11  RESOLVED THAT : -

 

          Council  (1) Approve the Pre-Submission Gloucester City Plan for Publication under the Town and Country Planning (Local Planning) (England) Regulations 2012 as the version of the Gloucester City Plan proposed to be submitted to the Secretary of State for independent examination, and

 

(2) Delegate authority to the Head of Place, in consultation with the     Cabinet Member for Planning and Housing Strategy, to make minor amendments to the PreSubmission Gloucester City Plan in relation to any grammatical and factual errors in advance of Publication.

Supporting documents: