Agenda item

To consider the Regulation 19 pre-submission draft Local Plan.

Councillor Barker said officers were working to fix typographical and formatting errors in the plan.

The Planning Policy Team Leader gave a presentation regarding the Regulation 19 Pre-Submission draft Local Plan. He said an amendment to Policy SP11 had been circulated to members. Officers felt this new wording was clearer.

In response to a question from Councillor Lodge asking how Uttlesford District Council could take account of the ONS’s reduced population forecast for the district, the Planning Policy Team Leader said the ONS would need to turn that population forecast into a household forecast. It would take four months to do this. Uttlesford District Council could only use the latest household projections to inform the plan.

The Planning Policy Team Leader said the government’s standardised methodology to determine a household figure for Uttlesford District did not take into account an additional number of houses to act as a buffer figure.

Councillor Barker said it was common for plan inspectors to suggest modifications to Regulation 19 Local Plans. An inspector was likely to do the same for Uttlesford’s plan.

Councillor Lodge asked whether it was appropriate to have wording in the main report referencing a potential east-west rapid transport scheme. The Director – Public Services said one of the main functions of the local plan was to provide a basis to seek external resources. Since funding for the scheme had not yet been found, reference to the scheme was suitable.

In response to points made by members throughout the discussion, the Chairman said work was ongoing to create a more consistent style to present equal weight to areas of allocations throughout the plan.

Members considered each chapter of the local plan individually.

The Chairman said the foreword to the plan would be rewritten.

The Chairman asked for a specific reference to installing a cycle link North Uttlesford Garden Community and Saffron Walden to the cycle path from Cambridge to Hinxton. The Planning Policy Team Leader said officers would look to be more specific on this wording.

Councillor Barker asked for reference to be included to the importance of mobile phone signal.

Councillor Lodge said there seemed to be a contradiction in retail policy between pages 63 and 146 of the agenda document, concerning the locations of facilities. The Planning Policy Team Leader said officers would look again at the wording.

In response to a question from Councillor Dean, the Planning Policy Team Leader said the affordable housing plan document would look to provide further detail on housing within the district. Work had not yet commenced on this document.

Councillor Dean raised concerns on the subject of carbon emissions from aviation and the need for a clear policy on night flights at Stansted Airport. Officers agreed to take these issues up with Councillor Dean after the meeting.

Councillor Barker said reference should be made as to when Carver Barracks was intended to close so that it was clear it could be available for the next local plan.

In response to concerns raised by Councillor Loughlin, officers said they would relook at wording in Policy SP12 regarding whether ‘acceptable’ was a suitable term to be used to describe pollution or contamination.

In response to a question from the Chairman, officers said they would examine the potential to reference to drop-off points and drone deliveries in retail policy.

Councillor Barker said many suggestions made by Essex County Council for improvements to transport movement around Saffron Walden had not been carried out. The plan should state that Uttlesford District Council would continue to lobby Essex County Council for these improvements.

The Planning Policy Team Leader said the development plan documents could address parking standards if members wanted them to do so.

Councillor Lodge said he was unsure whether the Council could prove whether an additional 150 house site in Saffron Walden would have an ‘acceptable’ impact, as was stated in the plan. The Planning Policy Team Leader said he would discuss this with Councillor Lodge after the meeting.

The Chairman said the Council had a commitment to review whether use of the Community Infrastructure Levy was appropriate.

The Planning Policy Team Leader said officers would replace the word ‘acceptable’ with ‘unacceptable’ in the paragraph beginning ‘where development proposals’ in Policy EN16

Councillor Lodge said reference to ‘significant adverse effects’ in policy EN6 should be changed to ‘adverse impacts. The Director – Public Services said significance was assessed through the National Air Quality objectives which were about health-related risks to and effects on communities. If these objectives were breached, then this would qualify as a significant impact. The Chairman said officers would take the point away and respond to Councillor Lodge.

Councillor Lees said she did not understand why a site on School Lane in Henham was included in the plan, despite the fact an application to develop the site had been rejected by the Planning Committee. She also believed there were problems with sites at Elsenham and Newport. Councillor Barker said she was disappointed to see there were two sites at Great Dunmow that sat outside Great Dunmow’s Neighbourhood Plan.

Members voted to remove the site at School Lane, Henham from the Local Plan, on the basis that it had already been previously rejected by the Planning Committee.

Councillor Barker said Chapter 16 stated there was to be no development in the metropolitan green belt, but did not say the same of the Countryside Protection Zone. The Planning Policy Team Leader said officers would add reference to the Countryside Protection Zone to this section.

RESOLVED to recommend to Cabinet that, being satisfied that the preparation of the Local Plan has complied with the relevant regulatory requirements, being of the view that the Regulation 19 Local Plan document is ready for submission to government for independent examination, and subject to a number of amendments being incorporated for Cabinet including the removal of the site allocation of School Lane, Henham, the Regulation 19 Pre-Submission Local Plan be published in accordance with the Town and Country Planning (Local Planning) (England) Regulations 2012.

Councillor J Redfern, W Brown, C Fuller, M Herbert, S Merifield, G Mott, T Orgee and F Wilkinson spoke on aspects of the Regulation 19 Pre-submission Local Plan.

The meeting ended at 9pm.

ACTION POINTS