Agenda

To receive any apologies for absence.

To confirm, as a correct record, the minutes of the Local Plan Sub-Committee meeting held on 11 March 2025.

Items of other business notified under Council Procedure Rule 30 to be announced, together with the special circumstances that justify their consideration as a matter of urgency. The Chairman to rule on the admission of such items.

To receive any declarations of interest.

This report sets out Counsel’s advice in regard to undertaking an additional Regulation 18 consultation on new sites and seeks Member agreement for the Council to conduct a Regulation 18 consultation in the summer.

Recommendation:

That the Local Plan Sub Committee agrees that an additional Regulation 18 consultation on newly submitted sites be completed prior to Regulation 19 publication of the Local Plan.

This report seeks member agreement of the updates to the draft Local Plan housing policies in response to changes to national planning policy, updated evidence base and consideration at previous Local Plan Sub-Committee meetings. More specifically, this report seeks updates to the Housing Mix and Affordable Housing Policy and the removal of the First Homes Policy.

This report also seeks member agreement to withdraw the Council’s Policy Position Statement on First Homes and remove it from the website.

Recommendations:

1.      That the Local Plan Sub-Committee notes the contents of this report, and recommends to the Policy & Resources Committee the following policy updates:

·            Housing Mix Policy (Appendix 2)

·            Affordable Housing Policy (Appendix 3)

·            Removal of First Homes Policy (Appendix 4)

2.     That the Local Plan Sub-Committee recommends to the Policy & Resources Committee to withdraw the Council’s Policy Position Statement on First Homes (Appendix 5) and remove it from the website, and the tenure mix for affordable housing under Policy CP4 of the Core Strategy (2011), which as a guide seeks 70% of the affordable housing provided to be social rented and 30% to be intermediate is re-instated until the adoption of the emerging Local Plan.

This report sets out the issues which the new Local Plan will need to address in relation to sustainability and sets out the policy wording to be contained within the new Local Plan.

There are five separate sustainability policies referenced within this report and are set out within Appendices 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5. Appendix 6 provides background and details of why and how these policies have been produced which is further summarised within this report.

Recommendation:

1.       That the Local Plan Sub-Committee notes the contents of this report and recommends to the Policy and Resources Committee the following draft policies:

·          X A - Net Zero Operational Carbon in New Residential Development

·          X B - Net Zero Operational Carbon in New Build Non-Residential Development

·          X C - Climate-adapted Design and Construction

·          X D - Embodied Carbon and Waste

·          X E - Reducing Carbon Emissions in Existing Buildings

2.       That the Local Plan Sub-Committee recommends to the Policy and Resources Committee that delegated authority be granted to the Head of Planning Policy & Conservation in consultation with the portfolio holder to make minor changes to the draft policies.

If the Sub-Committee wishes to consider the remaining items in private, it will be appropriate for a resolution to be passed in the following terms:-

“that under Section 100A of the Local Government Act 1972 the press and public be excluded from the meeting for the following item(s) of business on the grounds that it involves the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined under Paragraphs 1 to 7 of Schedule 12A to the Act. It has been decided by the Council that in all the circumstances, the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information.”