Issue - meetings

To consider the Local Plan Preliminary Outline Strategy report.

RESOLVED to agree the Preliminary Outline Strategy (POST) so as to inform work on the emerging Local Plan.

Councillor Evans presented the report on the Local Plan Preliminary Outline Strategy (POST). He said this outline strategy was required to inform the work of the emerging Local Plan and had already been considered by the Local Plan Leadership group (LPLG). The draft vision and objectives and draft housing requirement had informed the outline strategy, alongside national and local policy, the corporate strategy, the first consultation on the Local Plan and emerging evidence. He highlighted the key threads underpinning the approach, and the amendments requested by the LPLG. He said the recommendations of the LPLG should be respected and proposed approval. 

Councillor Lees seconded the proposal.

Councillor Gregory said he was speaking as Chair of Scrutiny. He said it was difficult to find anything to disagree with the LPLG in terms of their amendments, but he challenged their conclusions in paragraph 9. He suggested that all Members read over the Inspectors report from January 2020 that “forensically dissects” the case for stand-alone Garden Communities. Furthermore, he said the site of Chesterford Research Park would not have been deemed suitable for development if it were not for the history of the site. Building a settlement nearby would not resolve the infrastructure problems of this geographically outlying location and he asked Councillor Evans to revisit this issue.   

Councillor Caton said he was a member of the LPLG. He compared this POST document with that of the Greater Cambridge Planning Partnership, which he considered to be more ambitious and visionary. He said Uttlesford’s Local Plan needed to be sold to the community. More inspiration was required and the population needed to be prepared for the difficult decisions ahead.

Councillor Reeve said he was satisfied with the principles outlined in the report and more detailed semantics would come forward in due course.

Councillor Lees said this was a working document and improvements would be applied as the process moved forward. She said there would be no pre-determination and all evidence would be assessed before making a decision. She said the Plan was ambitious, and cited the aspiration to have only 50% of commuter journeys made by car.

Councillor Evans said the principle of Garden Communities would be debated and reviewed, but this was by no means a way of breathing life into the failed Local Plan. He said the more inspirational and visionary elements of the Plan had been made in previous documentation, but accepted that more positive and aspirational communications would be a good step forward.

RESOLVED to agree the Preliminary Outline Strategy (POST) so as to inform work on the emerging Local Plan.

To consider the Local Plan Preliminary Outline Strategy.

The Local Plan and New Communities Manager presented a report on the Preliminary Outline Strategy (POST) for the emerging Local Plan. They clarified that this was a developing document, as much of the evidence would not be available until the Autumn.

Members reviewed the draft Preliminary Outline Strategy and requested that the following changes be considered:

·         Additional wording be included in the section about the green belt to incorporate the need to protect the Countryside Protection Zone.

·         The Settlement Facilities 2020 Appendix be updated in line with recent boundary changes between the parishes of Birchanger and Stansted. Members also requested for the population estimates to be reviewed and updated and an additional column be included for the number of permissions given.

·         The wording in point 8 be reconsidered to reflect the additional infrastructure projects, such on the M11, which will be implemented during the duration of the Local Plan. Officers were careful in ensuring that new road infrastructure addresses the Council’s zero carbon targets, rather than encouraging more car trips.

·         When considering the links between villages to towns, alternative options to cycling and walking, such as an on-demand, electric bus should be sought, as traditional methods would not be viable.

Members requested further clarity around the approach of the spatial strategy. Officers explained that any new settlements had not been ruled out at this stage and in April 2020, the council had committed to garden community principles for all new developments. They said that priority would be given to existing towns and smaller sites which would resolve the inspectors’ comments in the withdrawn local plan around flexibility in addressing the housing need. However, they were unable to specify any details, including the number of development sites needed for their approach. 

In response to further questions, officers explained that the new national policy requirement for local plans to look 30 years ahead would have an impact on the implementation of the new local plan, and if one or more developments meet the criteria, they will have to look beyond the plan’s 2040 expiry date. They said that they have a well-resources team to think aspirationally and set out high targets in the plan’s vision and objectives.

Officers also clarified that consultants were looking both at the current infrastructure deficit, as well as the new infrastructure required to meet housing need, through engagements with providers. The new local plan’s approach to infrastructure would be to consider it on a case-by-case basis as addressing the current infrastructure deficit is difficult to achieve, given that it would be unreasonable to ask new developers to fix existing problems. Members suggested that Parish Council’s also be consulted for their insight into local infrastructure deficit.

AGREED: to recommend that Cabinet agrees the Preliminary Outline Strategy (POST), subject to the amendments requested in the meeting.