Agenda item

This report seeks agreement of a Statement of Community Involvement for the South West (SW) Herts Joint Strategic Plan (SCP), which sets out the broad parameters that will guide all consultation on the emerging strategic plan.

Chris Outterside from the SWH JSP introduced both the items to the Committee and referred to the presentation provided at the Local Plan sub-committee the week before but wished to emphasise the following key points and would cover both the reports.

The first report was on the Adoption of Statement of Community Involvement (SCI) for SW Herts Joint Strategic Plan and would enable consultation to take place on the plan.  A draft was received last year by the Council for approval to consult on that document.  This document was effectively the adoption of that and allowed the SWH JSP to formally consult on that plan.

The second report follows on from the Adoption of the Statement of Community Involvement and required agreement to the Regulation 18 plan consultation which was the first statutory consultation phase of the SWH JSP.  It would then follow to review the associated sustainability appraisal which was the technical document which sits beneath it.  In terms of the content of the reports it was important to note that virtually identical documents and recommendations would be received across all the authorities in SWH.  The Regulation 18 consultation would not be able to continue unless all the 5 authorities approve it.  In terms of the Regulation 18 consultation it is based on a set of visions and objectives which had been formed over the last 6 months but does not consider growth options, housing numbers, Green Belt release or call for sites it is a very high level plan which looks at a series of objectives and visions for SWH.  Stakeholders would be consulted on the plan with details provided in the report.  There was a communication and engagement plan, which had been compiled in consultation with the LA’s communication officers, which would run in parallel to this and would be very important in terms of the messaging around the plan.  The consultation would largely be based online but would now start slightly later than what was proposed in the report with the consultation now extended into October following Government agreement and support and would now start in September and last for 8 weeks.

A Member felt that the overall plan looked sensible but was very high level but asked if the plan would have any impact on people’s cost of living particularly around the further restrictions on new building and the radical shift away from the car.  Also would the plan further increase regulation.

It was advised that in terms of the cost of living this was a consultation on a proposed vision and objectives and was seeking people’s feedback on whether they agree we should have more sustainable movement across SWH. It was not proposed to deploy the plan within the short term but follows on from the Local Plan looking to the period to 2036-2040 and then up to 2050.  If people did not agree with the sustainable shift away from the car it would be something which needed to be looked at.  We would like the plan to be infrastructure driven and to see how this can be delivered whether through cycle lanes or more rapid transit but would need to get Government funding put in place to make it a lot cheaper for people to use than their car. 

A Member asked if all MPs could be consulted in South West Herts and also asked what was actually meant by big scale and what happens with the vision to deliver the plan by 2050 and delivering upon that and what are the steps post plan which we need to be looking forward to as a Council.

It was advised that the JSP would not replace the Local Plan.  It would provide the overarching strategy  which the Local Plan will rely on.  At this time it was not possible to advise what is strategic and what is not.  As a result of the feedback from this consultation we will be able to identify how important sustainable infrastructure is and which elements are most important. 

A Member referred to the details in the plan on the economy and the impact of the international labour supply on the UK economy as a result of Brexit.  The majority of people in Herts are at a skill level which forces them to commute outside the area to find work at an appropriate level.  At what point do we become too high level and do not have enough labour in the area.

In response it was advised that this related again to what is strategic and what is not.  In creating the document it went as far as possible without getting into issues around sizes and locations of housing in the Green Belt, it was about starting the discussion with people in SWH to seek their views and get those answers.  It was about working out what was important, what were the key factors and how do we refine the document and move forward.

This was the statutory document within which any rapid transit scheme, including the MLX, can start gaining structure and which we can seek to gain Government investment to.  To get to a more detailed level would be part of the next phase of work.

Councillor Chris Lloyd moved the recommendation, seconded by Councillor Andrew Scarth, but asked if the Parishes could be categorised in which Borough/District they are in.  The big challenge would be getting the public to engage and understand the plan and the communication plan is going to be as important as the plan itself.

A key part of the communication would be to distribute the plan through social media and provide more user friendly questions.

RECOMMEND:

1)             Agree the responses to the draft Statement of Community Involvement as set out in Appendix 2.

2)             Approve the Statement of Community Involvement (SCI) 2022 for the SW Herts Joint Strategic Plan (in Appendix 3) for adoption, with any further minor amendments to the document to be agreed by the Director of Community and Environmental Services in consultation with the Lead Member for Infrastructure and Planning Policy.