Agenda and minutes

Venue: Virtual Meeting Via Skype

Contact: Democratic Services, 01795 417330 

Items
No. Item

Audio Recording

298.

Introduction

Minutes:

The Chairman explained that the meeting would be conducted in accordance with the Local Authorities and Police and Crime Panel (Coronavirus) (Flexibility of Local Authority Police and Crime Panel Meetings) (England and Wales) Regulations 2020 No. 392.

 

The Chairman welcomed all Members, officers and members of the public to the meeting.

 

299.

Declarations of Interest

Councillors should not act or take decisions in order to gain financial or other material benefits for themselves or their spouse, civil partner or person with whom they are living with as a spouse or civil partner.  They must declare and resolve any interests and relationships.

 

The Chairman will ask Members if they have any interests to declare in respect of items on this agenda, under the following headings:

 

(a)          Disclosable Pecuniary Interests (DPI) under the Localism Act 2011.  The nature as well as the existence of any such interest must be declared.  After declaring a DPI, the Member must leave the meeting and not take part in the discussion or vote.  This applies even if there is provision for public speaking.

 

(b)          Disclosable Non Pecuniary (DNPI) under the Code of Conduct adopted by the Council in May 2012.  The nature as well as the existence of any such interest must be declared.  After declaring a DNPI interest, the Member may stay, speak and vote on the matter.

 

(c)          Where it is possible that a fair-minded and informed observer, having considered the facts would conclude that there was a real possibility that the Member might be predetermined or biased the Member should declare their predetermination or bias and then leave the meeting while that item is considered.

 

Advice to Members:  If any Councillor has any doubt about the existence or nature of any DPI or DNPI which he/she may have in any item on this agenda, he/she should seek advice from the Monitoring Officer, the Head of Legal or from other Solicitors in Legal Services as early as possible, and in advance of the Meeting.

 

 

Minutes:

No interests were declared.

Part A Recommendations to Cabinet

300.

Whole Plan viability workshop pdf icon PDF 1 MB

Report to-follow.

 

Report and Presentation added 2 December 2020.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Chairman asked Members if they wanted some time to read the to-follow report which had been emailed to them that afternoon.  Members confirmed that they had read the report and did not need any extra time.

 

The Planning Policy Manager introduced the report which set-out the key findings of the viability evidence so far as a working document and sought a Member steer on the policy priorities so that final viability testing might take place in advance of the completion of the Local Plan Review document to be presented to the Panel at a later date.

 

Stuart Cook and Ed Tyler from Aspinall Verdi were invited to give their presentation which had also been added to the website.

 

Mr Cook set-out the approach they had taken to test the viability of the potential allocations in the new Local Plan.  He said he would explain the viability in terms of existing policies and then set-out the surpluses which could be generated by the new Local Plan and then finally what these surpluses could mean in terms of new policy costs in the form of carbon reduction and other sustainable measures.  He set-out the likely cost of those measures and then the surplus generated from the developments tested and what this could mean in terms of a package of additional policies being searched for in the new Local Plan.  He said that a number of appraisals looked at the pattern of proposed allocations in the draft Local Plan and as part of that exercise they looked at sales values across the Borough and they averaged out house prices and divided the area into different value zones.

 

Mr Cook presented to Members, a summary of which is outlined below:

 

·       Development viability approach overview;

·       Value heat map (all sales) with potential allocations;

·       Value zones with potential allocations;

·       Residential values;

·       Identifying viability surplus for policy costs;

·       Step 1 – policy costs that are included within the appraisals;

·       Step 2 – viability results/surplus;

·       Results – higher value overview;

·       Results – lower value overview;

·       Step 3 – policy costs excluded from appraisals;

·       Step 4 – Members to consider additional policy costs from surplus;

·       Policy options – all greenfield sites; and

·       Policy options – brownfield sites lower value.

 

The Chairman stated that Members needed to focus on the different options to give a steer on what level of affordable housing was required for the Borough.

 

Members were invited to make comments and ask questions.

 

A Member asked that in the high and low value areas, what were they assuming for land value and construction cost, with land value probably being the most elastic?  Mr Cook said that in terms of build costs and the construction of the units themselves, they had relied on Build Cost Information data which was recognised as a reasonable source of data.  They had used the medium build cost.  An allowance was also made for external works, profit at 20%, sales and marketing etc. and this was all factored in.  In terms of  ...  view the full minutes text for item 300.

301.

Urgent Item - Level 2 Strategic Flood Risk Assessment pdf icon PDF 75 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Planner introduced the report which explained that a Level 2 Strategic Flood Risk Assessment (SFRA) had been prepared as part of the evidence base supporting the Local Plan Review (LPR) and the report set out the key conclusions and recommendations.

 

Recommended:

 

(1)        That the report be noted, and the Level 2 Strategic Flood Risk Assessment be published and used as part of the evidence base for the Local Plan Review.