Agenda item

A Joint Local Plan

At its meeting on 17 March 2021 Cabinet will consider a report on the case for preparing a Joint Local Plan, instead of separate local plans for South Oxfordshire and Vale of White Horse district councils. The report of the head of planning which Cabinet will consider on 17 March is attached.

 

The recommendations of Cabinet will be circulated to all councillors following the Cabinet meeting.

Minutes:

Council considered Cabinet’s recommendation, made at its meeting on 17 March 2021, on the case for preparing a Joint Local Plan, instead of separate local plans for South Oxfordshire and Vale of White Horse district councils.

 

In introducing Cabinet’s recommendation Councillor Hallett, Cabinet member for corporate services and transformation, stated that the proposal is for Vale of White Horse District Council’s next Local Plan to be a Joint Local Plan with South Oxfordshire District Council. This would be instead of a new Vale of White Horse Local Plan and a new South Oxfordshire Local Plan. If agreed, a Joint Local Plan would be prepared over the next four years. In the meantime, the existing adopted Vale of White Local Plan Parts 1 and 2 would continue to be in force, before being replaced by the new Joint Local Plan.

Any new Joint Plan would cover the period from adoption (expected in 2024) until 2041. As the Vale’s adopted local plan already contained land allocations for development up to 2031, and some beyond this date, the allocations in a new plan would be focussed on the long term and neighbourhood plans would continue to be a strong aspect in the development plan to provide the opportunity for communities to guide development in their areas.

 

She drew attention to the officer report which set out the advantages and disadvantages of a joint plan covering both the planning and practical reasons and included a proposed timetable for a joint local plan. 

 

She explained that legislation allowed the councils to prepare a joint plan: 

 

·         Section 28 of the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004 allowed two or more local planning authorities (district councils) to prepare a joint local plan.  The county council in two-tier areas, such as Oxfordshire, could be part of the plan-preparation process but could not be part of the formal decision-making as this remained the responsibility of the district councils.  Under Section 28, the final, formal decisions at key local plan stages (consultations, publication, submission, adoption) were made either separately by each council or via a voluntary joint committee. 

 

·         Section 29 of the 2004 Act enabled county councils to continue to
have a strategic planning role working with district councils.  This allowed for the decision-making on a joint local plan to be conferred on a joint committee.  Under section 29, the county council would be a formal partner in the joint committee and therefore would have equal membership on a committee. 

Cabinet recommended that the process should be undertaken under Section 28 of the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004.

 

The majority of councillors supported the proposal for the following reasons:

 

·       A joint local plan would provide the opportunity to plan comprehensively across the district boundary in one plan for Didcot Garden Town and Science Vale.

·       Vale and South share many geographical similarities and have common challenges and pressures.

·      The councils’ ambitions are similar, with a great deal of consensus between the Vale and South Corporate Plans

·       With existing shared working arrangements, the councils’ systems are well set up for joint work.

·       With both councils having a recently adopted local plan, this is a good moment to consider working together on the next plan.

·       A Joint Local Plan would bring significant savings - initial savings on the evidence base with joint studies and holding one set of public consultations not two and at the end of the process with reduced examination costs (one Inspector, one programme officer and one QC).

In supporting the proposal, it was noted that, if necessary, local policies could be included in the joint plan to reflect local needs and that the final decision on a joint local plan would be made separately by each council. 

 

Whilst the majority of councillors supported the proposal, a number spoke against. They expressed concern that a joint local plan would be less local due to the wider geographical area covered. There could be a loss of democratic accountability with councillors making decisions on areas outside their district. Some expressed concern that a joint local plan could be a vehicle to provide for additional houses in the Vale. Some also questioned the anticipated level of savings from a joint local plan.

 

RESOLVED: to

 

1.    agree, subject to the agreement of South Oxfordshire District Council, the preparation and production of a Joint Local Plan with South Oxfordshire District Council;

2.    approve the Joint Local Development Scheme (March 2021), attached at appendix 1 to the head of planning’s report to Cabinet on 17 March 2021, and authorise the head of planning in consultation with the Cabinet member for corporate services and transformation, to make any updates; and

3.    agree the principle of governance to prepare and produce a Joint Local Plan under Section 28 of the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004, and to authorise the head of legal and democratic, in consultation with the head of planning and the Cabinet members for corporate services and transformation and democratic services, to agree the detailed arrangements. 

 

 

Supporting documents:

 

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Vale of White Horse District Council
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