Agenda item

Appended to this agenda is report 8/06 of the Deputy Director (Planning and Community Strategy) to the Strategic and Local Planning Advisory Group and the Development Control Committee.  The Advisory Group and the Committee met on 24 May 2006 to consider this report in detail and make recommendations to the Executive.  These will circulated separately after the dispatch of this agenda. 

Introduction and Report Summary

The South East England Regional Assembly (SEERA) submitted the draft Plan for the South East to Government in March this year.  It is the Regional Spatial Strategy for the South East and sets out how the region will develop to 2026.  It follows extensive public consultation – this Council having commented on the emerging plan in March 2005 and the draft housing figures in October 2005.  When approved, the South East Plan will replace current regional guidance (RPG9) and the Oxfordshire Structure Plan, and will become part of the development plan for the district.  It will form the context within which the Council’s Local Development Framework (LDF) will be prepared and will be a significant material consideration when planning applications are determined.  It will provide the context for other key regional strategies and incorporate the regional transport strategy.  The closing date for comments is 23^rd June 2006. 

All Members of the Council have been sent an Executive summary of the draft South East Plan.  Copies of all the documents submitted including the full draft plan, pre-submission consultation statement, sustainability appraisal, implementation plan and monitoring framework are available in the local services points in Abingdon and Wantage, the Council Office in Faringdon and the Members Lounge in Abbey House.

This report summarises the key features of the draft plan as they affect the Vale and outlines a proposed response from the Council.  Section 4 of this report outlines and comments on the main features of the region-wide policies and section 5 focuses on the policies for Central Oxfordshire and the housing figures for the Vale of White Horse.  A report on the South East Plan incorporating where appropriate the views of the Advisory Group and Development Control Committee will be considered by Executive on 2 June and Council on 14 June.  Relevant sections of the draft Plan have been circulated to assistant and deputy directors and a workshop of officers held to help formulate the Council response.

The Key dates for the next steps of the South East Plan are as follows:

31 August 2006 - the Panel publishes matters to be discussed at the Examination in Public and the participants to be invited

End of September - comments on matters and participants due

23 October  - final list of matters and participants published

9 November - participants’ statements to be submitted

28 November - Examination in Public starts

28 November -15 December - regional and general matters to be discussed

16 January – 30 March 2007 - sub-regional matters to be discussed

27 February – 9 March - Gatwick, London Fringe, Western Corridor, Oxfordshire and Milton Keynes and Aylesbury Vale sub regions to be discussed

End of July 2007 - Panel Report due

The contact officer for this report is Katie Barrett, Section Head (Planning Strategy) telephone number 01235 540339

Recommendation

that the Executive recommends Council to make representations on the South East Plan as set out in Sections 4 and 5 of this report.

(Time: 3.46pm to 3.53pm)

(Councillor Jerry Patterson declared a personal interest in this item and in accordance with Standing Order 34, he remained in the meeting during its consideration.) 

Appended to the Executive's agenda was report 8/06 of the Deputy Director (Planning and Community Strategy) to the Strategic and Local Planning Advisory Group and the Development Control Committee.  The Advisory Group and the Committee had met on 24 May 2006 to consider this report in detail and made recommendations to the Executive.  These were circulated separately as a briefing note after the despatch of the agenda. 

The South East England Regional Assembly (SEERA) had submitted the draft Plan for the South East to Government in March 2006.  It was the Regional Spatial Strategy for the South East and set out how the region would develop to 2026.  It followed extensive public consultation, this Council having commented on the emerging plan in March 2005 and the draft housing figures in October 2005.  When approved, the South East Plan would replace current regional guidance (RPG9) and the Oxfordshire Structure Plan, and would become part of the development plan for the District.  It would form the context within which the Council’s Local Development Framework would be prepared and would be a significant material consideration when planning applications were determined.  It would also provide the context for other key regional strategies and incorporate the regional transport strategy.  The closing date for comments was 23 June 2006. 

The report summarised the key features of the draft plan as they affected the Vale and outlined a proposed response from the Council.  Section 4 of the report outlined and commented on the main features of the region-wide policies and section 5 focused on the policies for Central Oxfordshire and the housing figures for the Vale of White Horse. 

The Advisory Group and the Committee broadly agreed with the report's conclusions but recommended a number of changes to strengthen the Council's response, as set out below.  The Executive noted that no conclusion had been reached by the Advisory Group or the Committee on the question raised in paragraph 5.12 of the report: on whether 700 dwellings could be reapportioned from the Vale to Oxford or other towns in the Central Oxfordshire policy area.  The Executive recommended that a response to this question should be delegated. 

R E C O M M E N D E D

(a)        that the Council makes representations on the South East Plan as set out in Sections 4 and 5 of report 8/06, subject to the following amendments:

·         The bold-type response in paragraph 4.12 of the report should be amended in the second sentence to read more positively, stressing the significance placed on the economic impact of the Harwell and Milton Park employment sites and strongly encouraging the Government to invest in improving the infrastructure (i.e. the A34) to allow the economic potential of these key sites to be exploited more fully.

·         The bold-type response in paragraph 4.17 of the report should be strengthened to express the Council’s concern at the proposed enhanced status of Southampton Port and the consequential and urgent need for improvement to the A34 through the Vale District to cope with the traffic implications of the enhancement.  Care will need to be taken in improving the A34 to reduce the impact on local communities adjacent to and severed by the road.

·         There should be a level of flexibility between the housing requirement figures for the Central Oxfordshire area and the rest of the Vale District.

(b)        that authority be delegated to the Deputy Director (Planning and Community Strategy), in consultation with the Executive Portfolio Holder for the Planning, Councillor Richard Farrell, and the Development Control Committee Opposition Spokesman, Councillor Terry Cox, to respond to the question whether 700 dwellings could be reapportioned from the Vale to Oxford or to other towns in the Central Oxfordshire policy area.