Agenda and draft minutes

To record apologies for absence and the attendance of substitute members. 

None.

To adopt and sign as a correct record the Scrutiny Committee minutes of the meeting held on 26 January, 7 and 27 February 2017 (attached). 

The minutes of the meetings held on 26 January, 7 and 27 February 2017 were agreed as accurate records and were signed by the Chairman.

To receive any declarations of disclosable pecuniary interests in respect of items on the agenda for this meeting.  

None.

To receive notification of any matters which the chairman determines should be considered as urgent business and the special circumstances which have made the matters urgent, and to receive any announcements from the chairman. 

None.

To receive any questions or statements from members of the public that have registered to speak. 

The following statement has been submitted by Mr Les Clyne:

“In view of the 10 years delay in progressing the Grove Airfield Development, the continuing delay in the finalising and signing of the Section 106 agreement since the July 2015 draft, and the lack of any public build profile, I suggest that this development be considered unreliable and that alternative development areas be sought in the Vale for 2500 housing units. In consequence the saved policy for Grove should be deleted from the Local Plan 2031 and the preferred developers be informed accordingly.”

The following statement had been submitted by Dr Les Clyne:

“In view of the 10 years delay in progressing the Grove Airfield Development, the continuing delay in the finalising and signing of the Section 106 agreement since the July 2015 draft, and the lack of any public build profile, I suggest that this development be considered unreliable and that alternative development areas be sought in the Vale for 2500 housing units. In consequence the saved policy for Grove should be deleted from the Local Plan 2031 and the preferred developers be informed accordingly.”

The head of planning services reported that Dr Clyne’s statement would be treated as a submission on the Local Plan consultation (see also Minute 57 below) and he would receive a formal response within a month.

To consider the report of the head of planning (attached).

The committee considered the head of planning’s report which summarised the main objectives of the Local Plan 2031 Part 2: Detailed Policies and Additional Sites. Public consultation on the Local Plan 2031 Part 2 was underway and the committee was requested to provide comments.

Councillor Roger Cox, Cabinet member for planning, introduced this item and reported that, to date, the consultation responses had been generally positive. Also present to answer questions were Adrian Duffield, head of planning and Clare Roberts, senior planning policy officer.

In response to questions and issues raised by the committee, it was reported that:

·         Under Policy CP24 of the Local Plan 2031 Part 1, 35% of proposed housing should be affordable.  Of this 35%, the tenure split was 75% affordable rented and 25% shared ownership.

·         Sovereign Housing Association was the council’s principal registered social landlord.  The council maintained close links with Sovereign to ensure that the housing provision was of a high standard.

·         The County Council set the requirement for the provision of assisted housing.

·         The definition of a “Garden Village” was set out in paragraph 2.44 of the consultation draft.

·         The costs of producing the Local Plan Part 2 were being tracked.

·         All the sites proposed for housing were on public transport routes with existing infrastructure. The costs of additional infrastructure had been assessed.

·         No evidence demonstrating a need for student accommodation had been submitted.

·         Abingdon cemetery’s requirement for additional land was not currently included in the consultation draft.  Members were requested to submit evidence of this requirement as part of the consultation.

·         A town centre retail study was out for consultation.

·         Further work was being carried out on determining the area of land safeguarded to support the opening of Grove Railway Station.

·         With regard to the cumulative effect of planning applications on air quality and noise pollution, the effect of new proposals were assessed and, should they have a significantly detrimental effect, they would not be approved unless mitigation measures had been provided.

·         A list of saved policies would be published.

·         There was no time limit for progressing the Grove Airfield development as the Section 106 Agreement had still to be signed.  However it was not uncommon for developments of this scale, requiring agreement between developers and a number of landowners, to take many years to be finalised.

Members suggested the following amendments to the consultation draft.

·         The words “and Botley” be deleted from paragraph 2.57.

·         Clarification of paragraph 3.95 regarding restricted uses at retail parks.

RESOLVED: To request the Cabinet member for planning policy to take the committee’s comments into account as part of the consultation on the Local Plan 2031 Part 2.

To review the attached scrutiny work schedule. Please note, although the dates are confirmed, the items under consideration are subject to being withdrawn, added to or rearranged without further notice.

The committee noted that the next meeting would now be held on 6 June rather than 25 May, as originally scheduled.