(Time: 4.28pm to 4.31pm)
The Executive received and considered report 185/07 of the Deputy Director (Planning and Community Strategy) regarding a review of the Planning Code of Conduct. The Council on 4 December 2007 had considered a revised draft of the Planning Code of Conduct. Concerns were expressed about a new provision in the draft code which would establish the principle that local Members would be invited to observe and take part in pre-application discussions, in cases where a formal officers’ development team had been set up to take forward discussions in response to large, proposed developments in the Vale. Decisions to set up a development team were taken by the Deputy Director in consultation with the Planning Service’s Management Team in cases where it was considered that this would promote and assist the efficient handling of applications for major development proposals prior to their submission.
The Council had resolved that the draft Code should be referred back to the Strategic and Local Planning Advisory Group for the new provision to be given further consideration and for the Code to be recommended back to the Council via the Development Control Committee, Executive and Standards Committee.
The report set out for the Executive the background to the proposed new provision and suggested an alternative wording for the relevant section of the draft code, to clarify the arrangements governing Member involvement. Members noted that the recommendations below have been considered and endorsed by the Strategic and Local Planning Advisory Group and the Development Control Committee. The Executive also concurred with the recommendations.
R E C O M M E N D E D (by seven votes to nil)
that the Standards Committee and subsequently the Council be recommended to approve the amended wording of paragraph 4.6 of the draft Planning Code of Conduct, dealing with Member involvement in pre-application discussions, to read as follows:
“4.6 In response to large proposed developments, where a formal officers Development Team has been set up, local ward members may be invited to attend, observe and take part in pre-application discussions at meetings of the Team. A request to be involved in such discussions should be made by the ward member to the Deputy Director (Planning and Community Strategy) who will consider the request in consultation with the Chair and/or Vice Chair of the Development Control Committee and the Opposition Planning Spokesman. The views of the applicant on ward member involvement in a development team will be sought to help inform the consultation. In the event that a ward member is invited to become involved in pre-application discussions it is important that they restrict their involvement to receiving and gathering information about the proposals and providing views on the issues likely to be of concern in the locality. It is also important that matters of a commercially confidential nature to the potential applicant are respected and that any commercial confidentiality is maintained. Members should not engage in negotiations and should avoid giving any firm commitment or impression of a firm commitment that they hold any particular view about the merits of the proposal. If it is known that a Ward Member has publicly expressed a particular view about a major development proposal prior to requesting involvement in Development Team pre-application discussions, this will be taken into account in the decision whether to grant their request to attend and participate”.
The Committee received and considered report 179/07 of the Deputy Director (Planning and Community Strategy) which advised that at the meeting of the Council held on 4 December 2007, Members had considered a revised draft of the Planning Code of Conduct. Concerns had been expressed about a new provision in the draft Code which would establish the principle that local Members would be invited to observe and take part in pre-application discussions, in cases where a formal officers’ Development Team had been set up to take forward discussions in response to large, proposed developments in the Vale. It was explained that a decision to set up a Development Team was taken by the Deputy Director in consultation with the Planning Service’s Management Team where it was considered that this would promote and assist the efficient handling of applications for major development proposals prior to their submission.
It was noted that the Council had resolved that the draft Code be referred back to the Strategic and Local Planning Advisory Group for the new provision to be given further consideration and following its reconsideration by that Group, for the Code to be recommended back to the Council via the this Committee, the Executive and the Standards Committee.
The report set out the background to the proposed new provision and suggested an alternative wording for the relevant section of the draft Code, to clarify the arrangements governing Member involvement. A copy of the relevant paragraph of the original draft Code was also appended to the report for comparison purposes. It was noted that the recommendations set out in the report had been considered and endorsed by the Strategic and Local Planning Advisory Group.
One Member raised some apprehension regarding Members being involved at pre-application discussions commenting that concerns and issues regarding proposals should be discussed in an open forum. Furthermore, he expressed concern that Members might be compromised in some way.
The Officers responded that it was for the local Member to choose to attend such discussions. It was explained that the membership of a Development Team included a wide range of officers such as housing, planning and county engineering officers as well as the developer. The intention was to provide an opportunity for local Members to understand the issues that might arise and that it was not intended that the Development Team meeting would be a forum for discussion or seeking amendment and redesign. The intention was for the local Members to be kept informed.
One Member noted that Members needed to be asked to be invited and he suggested local Members ought to be involved as a matter of right. He referred to representing the community and commented that he felt uncomfortable that discretion for attendance rested with the Officers. He referred to discussions he had been involved in for his Ward commenting that they had been invaluable in assisting him to understand the application and the issues involved.
One Member referred to the benefits of discussion with applicants in Grove, to which the Officers advised that the Grove Development Forum was a separate matter and would not be affected by these discussions.
The Officers clarified that the Code would refer to separate development teams which looked at individual larger applications. It was emphasised that the intention was to include local Members in those already established meetings so as to avoid duplicating work of officers and arranging more meetings.
In response to a question raised the Officers confirmed that involving Members in pre-application discussions would not apply retrospectively.
By 13 votes to 1 it was
RESOLVED
(a) that the wording of paragraph 4.6 of the draft Planning Code of Conduct dealing with Member involvement in pre-application discussions be amended to read as follows:
“4.6 In response to large proposed developments, where a formal officers Development Team has been set up, local ward members may be invited to attend, observe and take part in pre-application discussions at meetings of the Team. A request to be involved in such discussions should be made by the ward member to the Deputy Director (Planning and Community Strategy) who will consider the request in consultation with the Chair and/or Vice Chair of the Development Control Committee and the Opposition Planning Spokesman. The views of the applicant on ward member involvement in a development team will be sought to help inform the consultation. In the event that a ward member is invited to become involved in pre-application discussions it is important that they restrict their involvement to receiving and gathering information about the proposals and providing views on the issues likely to be of concern in the locality. It is also important that matters of a commercially confidential nature to the potential applicant are respected and that any commercial confidentiality is maintained. Members should not engage in negotiations and should avoid giving any firm commitment or impression of a firm commitment that they hold any particular view about the merits of the proposal. If it is known that a Ward Member has publicly expressed a particular view about a major development proposal prior to requesting involvement in Development Team pre-application discussions, this will be taken into account in the decision whether to grant their request to attend and participate”.
(b) that the draft Planning Code of Conduct with the proposed re-wording of paragraph 4.6, be recommended to the Executive and Standards Committee and subsequently to Council for approval.