Agenda and minutes

The Chair welcomed Rachael Ferry-Jones and Tracy Darke from the Planning Advisory Service to the meeting.

Apologies for non-attendance were received from Councillor Steven North.

The Chair invited those who wished to do so to declare any interests in respect of items on the agenda.

No declarations were made.

RESOLVED:

The minutes of the meeting held on 5 September 2022 were approved as a correct record and signed.

The Interim Planning Policy Lead Manager introduced the report which updated the Panel on the outcome of the decision on the Kettering General Hospital Local Development Order (LDO).

Following consideration of the draft LDO at several Panel meetings, the final LDO was approved at the Strategic Planning Committee in August 2022.

During discussion, the following principal points were noted:

i.     Members welcomed that the changes suggested by the Panel had been accepted by the Strategic Planning Committee.

ii.    It was noted that the Council would have 28 days in which to respond to the Construction Management Plan (CEMP), after which the proposal would be deemed to be approved.  It would be very important that the CEMP was responded to within the required timescales.  In response, the Interim Planning Policy Lead Manager advised that officers met with the hospital on a monthly basis and within the context of that relationship it would be unlikely that the CEMP would start without our approval or further discussion, however he would check with legal for appropriate wording.  The hospital was very aware of the comments which had been made with relation to any additional construction traffic and the impact on the road network.

iii.   With reference to off-site parking, the hospital was exploring several options which would require more detailed work.

iv.   During construction work, how confident were officers that residents parking around the hospital site would not be abused?  In response, officers advised that the Council controlled the issuing of residents parking permits and also had powers to remove permits if they were abused.

RESOLVED:

To note the report.

The Interim Planning Policy Lead Manager and Planning Policy Manager introduced the report which provided the Panel with an update on progress with the key work programme projects being undertaken by the Planning Policy team.

A large number of projects remained on the current work programme within the main categories of NNC Policy Development; Sovereign Authority Legacy Projects and Other Policy Projects and Areas of Work.

Part 2 Local Plans

Since Vesting Day, the Part 2 Local Plans for Corby and Kettering had been adopted.  The East Northamptonshire Plan had recently gone to Examination and the Council had now received a Post Hearing Letter from the Inspector setting out those issues which needed to be responded to in order enable the Plan to move forward and address issues of soundness.

Gypsy and Traveller Sites Allocation Policy DPD

To support the preparation of the DPD, procurement was being undertaken to commission specialist consultants to provide an update to the baseline position set out in the Gypsy and Traveller Accommodation Assessment (GTAA).  This work would guide the preparation of material to be published as an early engagement consultation.

North Northamptonshire Strategic Plan

Consultation on the Scope and Issues had been undertaken between March and May 2022, along with the Sustainability Appraisal Scoping Report.  Officers were currently reviewing the responses with the aim of reporting back to the Panel at the next meeting.

Neighbourhood Plans

Neighbourhood Plans continued to be a busy area of policy development activity, with over 40 Plans being progressed or adopted to date.  A Neighbourhood Planning Lead Officer has now been appointed on a six-month contract to help manage the increased workload whilst harmonising the service to ensure a consistent approach with the development of a protocol to work from.

Monitoring

Monitoring was a key area of work that informed a wide range of development plan documents, as well as policy mapping and assessing the performance of plan policies.  It was also a requirement to respond to Central Government by producing the Council’s Monitoring Report.  Officers would report on the results of monitoring to the Panel early in the New Year.

During discussion, the following principal points were noted:

i.     Members advised that they were not surprised about the Inspector’s letter as it related to Rushden East.  The want for smaller B8 was an aspiration.  If the proposed employment area was located further south, that would alleviate the concerns of Higham Ferrers Town Council, but the question would be how committed we were to having the employment area on the identified site.

ii.    The Inspector was looking for clarity in the policy around Rushden East and the Masterplan Framework Document would provide flexibility moving forward.  If it was felt that an SPD was needed, then that would have to go out to consultation.

iii.   In response to a question around settlement boundaries and whether this would be communicated to the town and parish councils who worked on defined boundaries, officers advised that workshops had been held with the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 21.

The Executive Forward Plan for October 2022 to January 2023 was noted.

The Chair thanked Members, officers and the public for their attendance and closed the meeting.

The meeting closed at 6.45pm.