Minutes:
The Chairman confirmed that following the meeting last week a response was drafted and circulated for Members for comment or amendment.
Cllr Taylor asked how the Committee was able to scrutinise the Transport Plan for Tring and Berkhamsted and other parts of the Borough, if they were not able to see the plan. The Chairman confirmed that this point is included in the draft response.
A Robinson confirmed that the draft Local Plan before Members is the proposed Regulation 18 version and consultation on the final Plan will be under Regulation 19 and the consultation report will be included. The draft Infrastructure report will not be in final form until we submit the final plan, it is in a very advanced stage but still in draft form. The Transport studies need some further input from County.
Cllr Taylor commented that he can’t scrutinise without seeing the evidence and that there are plans in place for 800 homes that don’t have the required transport infrastructure.
The Chairman confirmed the Plan is in draft format but it will come back to us and we will include this valid criticism in the response to Cabinet.
Cllr Taylor requested the inclusion of the word ‘interim’ in the response. The Chairman agreed that it would be included.
J Doe mentioned a further point from Mr Ritchie which had been missed in his earlier response was that he had confirmed in a response to an MP that the draft was to go to consultation in the summer of 2019. This reflected the timetable at that time, which has now been changed. The Chairman asked that this be confirmed in an email, including Mr Ritchie amongst the recipients.
Action: J Doe
Cllr McDowell queried point 3 on the response asking if it was a lack of resources holding up the need for a masterplan being provided at the same time as the Local Plan. A Robinson replied that it isn’t lack of resources. There will need to be a lot of time and resources put into the masterplans, but Officers consider that they need to have the documents in place before we start on the masterplans.
Cllr McDowell asked if that was a commitment to having the masterplans in place prior to planning permission. A Robinson advised that Officers would like to have very advanced documents in place on all the strategic sites. This is important to show the Inspector that the site is deliverable. We intend to commence those workstreams in the New Year, so that by the time of inspection we have advanced drafts that can be adopted quickly.
Cllr McDowell mentioned the large site at Tring and queried the number of homes. A Robinson advised there would 1,400 at the site East of Tring and 400 at New Mill which is a total of 1,800, plus the proposal at Dunsley Farm. A Robinson will send the details out.
Action: A Robinson
Cllr Stevens queried whether the Planning Inspector would approve the Local Plan if we don’t have the Masterplans in place, including for transport infrastructure, and what will stop developers putting in applications on the site prior to that. Cllr Stevens asked how we control the phasing. A Robinson said that it doesn’t restrict the phasing, however there are a number policies in place that make it clear that no development will take place until a sufficient programme of infrastructure is in place.
The Chairman commented that it didn’t necessarily have to be infrastructure, it could be any number of things including additional housing. This is included in the response to Cabinet. A Robinson said that the Local Plan will be submitted for examination and for all the strategic releases we have policies in there mandating the development masterplan and design codes. Those documents will be in place and they are subject to public and Member engagement. Those documents will inform the planning application. In addition the strategic policy we have in place on infrastructure (SP7), sets out our approach for infrastructure delivery and SP7, point 3 states that all development will be required to include the necessary onsite and offsite infrastructure.
The Chairman said that the question was about when the masterplans relating to that policy will be part of the pre-planning consultation. A Robinson said that the Plan is out to consultation around Christmas, Officers will take into account comments where possible and once Officers are in a position to recommend a strategy, it will be at that point that Officers will be working with developers on a masterplan. We cannot adopt a masterplan until the Local Plan is in place, but they can be developed so that once the Local Plan is in place they can be adopted.
Cllr Timmis asked how the three principle concerns from the 2017 consultation, namely; the housing numbers, the use of greenbelt and the infrastructure provision will be addressed in the new local plan. A Robinson mentioned that when we get to examination, the Inspectors will be testing vigorously our plan on the release of green belt. We can only release green belt in exceptional circumstances. We will need to demonstrate a very high bar to include green belt and we are confident that we have looked at all the other options, for example use of brownfield sites and other locations. This shows that there are no other options. We have been working for over a year on the Infrastructure Delivery Plan, engaging with a number of stakeholders and the Delivery Plan will be a critical part of the Local Plan, which has been reiterated to all developers who hold land parcels in Dacorum.
Cllr Timmis felt that the public may feel the issues are not covered and asked what confidence can we have that the concerns have been taken into account. J Doe acknowledged that people are concerned, but Officers have to meet the expectations set by Government for high levels of new housing provision in new Local Plans through the standard methodology. We have had to go through a very rigorous process, there is a significant amount of development contained within urban sites but we still have that balance where we have to use green belt, which cannot be met elsewhere. We won’t be able to satisfy every public concern but we have recommend to Members a plan which Officers feel would be found sound by the Planning Inspector.
The Chairman confirmed we are aware of the difficult task that Officers have to satisfy Members but Members also have to satisfy our residents and Members are duty bound to take this extra dimension into account. Also we need to consider whether the Government recommended numbers will remain the same during the period under consideration. In this document, one of the problems is that we are looking at a very long period of development, which goes far beyond the demands of the Local Plan.
The Chairman felt it was important to set out the interim comments to Cabinet, which are as follow:
The Committee congratulates Officers for their production of a commendably professional and comprehensive draft plan for growth in Dacorum that goes well beyond the period of 2020-38 which is demanded by the new Local Plan. The document is clearly directed at professionals in planning such as developers and government inspectors and is in many ways constrained by central government policy such as housing targets that we consider to be unwarranted and unjustified and that will not be welcomed by our residents. The Committee therefore recommends that:
1. A version of the document should be produced especially for the public consultation that concentrates specifically on a new Local Plan and which places all elaboration of growth policy beyond the period of that plan in Appendices. This will have the effect of simplifying the description of the plan for the public whilst omitting nothing. But it will not require their consideration of putative developments that are so far in the future that they may not come to pass. After all, we live in a period of flux and policies and even governments may change long before 2038.
2. For the same reason no land should be released from the green belt immediately unless that land is required for development before 2038. The document will state that Council’s policy is to safeguard such land for development if required and thus demonstrate that we have the requisite land supply for future growth areas beyond 2038.
3. To further limit loss of the green belt, in advance of planning applications, master plans should be developed for each major allocated housing site in the new local plan. These master plans should delimit areas for dwellings, infrastructure areas (including buildings roads and paths) and designated open spaces areas (including sports grounds and other leisure facilities).
J Doe thanked Committee for all their hard work in the Scrutiny of the Plan and the support given to Officers.