Issue - meetings

Local Plan Part 1 (LPP1) was adopted in February 2018.   There is a statutory requirement to review LPP1 within five years from its adoption (i.e., by the end of February 2023) to decide if an update to the Plan is required.

This report presents the findings of the review of LPP1 and concludes that the plan requires updating. The recommendations seek endorsement of this conclusion so that work can proceed on identifying the scope of an updated plan and the timetable for its preparation, including the approach to engaging local communities. These matters are not for determination now and will be the subject of a further report to allow the Council to consider in detail how it wishes to update its strategic policies.

Recommendation

The Executive recommends to Full Council that:

Having undertaken a review of LPP1 in accordance with regulation 10A of The Town and Country Planning (Local Planning) (England) Regulations 2012 (as amended),the Council resolves that LPP1 requires updatingto a greater or lesser extent. However, the Local Plan as a whole continues to provide an up-to-date statutory development plan for Waverley, which must remain the starting point for decisions on planning applications while an update is brought forward.

89.1     The Mayor invited the Leader to introduce the item. The Leader began by thanking Farnham Town Council and Farnham members for a constructive meeting the previous day to discuss the review of LPP1 and the need for an update. He recognised that this was an emotive topic and emphasised the need for evidence, the primacy of Government planning rules, and the need to consider the review and the update in the correct order. The Leader invited the Portfolio Holder for Planning and Economic Development, Cllr Liz Townsend, to present the details of the matter.

89.2     Cllr Townsend reminded Members that the council had a legal requirement to review LPP1 now that it was five years old. That review had been carried out by officers using the Planning Advisory Service (PAS) toolkit and their recommendation was that LPP1 needed to be updated. Independent legal advice had confirmed that a significant factor in this recommendation was the introduction, since LPP1 was adopted in 2018, of the standard method of calculating housing targets. This resulted in a new starting point of 743 dwellings per annum, a 26% increase on the target in LPP1 of 590 dwellings per annum. It would be hard to argue that this was not a significant difference, although there would be an opportunity to present a detailed assessment of the borough’s constraints and capacity to accommodate the higher number. The scope and timeline of the update had not been determined, and all options from a partial to full update would be investigated. However, the recommendation before Members now was to agree that LPP1 needed updating. Cllr Townsend went on to outline the potential risks of trying to set the scope of the update without evidence. The council had clear legal advice that the Development Plan would remain the starting point for decision-making, in accordance with section 38.6 of the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004. Furthermore, officers advised that the protection offered to Neighbourhood Plans under paragraph 14 of the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) was not dependent on the borough having an updated housing figure, and this view was supported by independent legal advice.

89.3     Cllr Townsend recognised the effort that went into making Neighbourhood Plans, and the councils strongly supported the proposed changes to the NPPF to extend the protection for Neighbourhood Plans from two to five years. However, whilst the need for innovative and different solutions for the planning system were needed, the council had to work within the current system to produce an updated Local Plan that worked for the whole borough. Cllr Townsend concluded by thanking officers for their work in reviewing LPP1, whilst also completing work on Local Plan Part 2.

89.4     The Mayor next invited Cllr David Beaman to speak, as Cllr Beaman had given notice of an amendment that he wished to move. Cllr Beaman thanked the Leader and Cllr Townsend for meeting with Farnham Members and whilst this had been constructive, Farnham residents remained greatly concerned about the impact  ...  view the full minutes text for item 89

Local Plan Part 1 (LPP1) was adopted in February 2018.   There is a statutory requirement to review LPP1 within five years from its adoption (i.e., by the end of February 2023) to decide if an update to the Plan is required.

This report presents the findings of the review of LPP1 and concludes that the plan requires updating. The recommendations seek endorsement of this conclusion so that work can proceed on identifying the scope of an updated plan and the timetable for its preparation, including the approach to engaging local communities. These matters are not for determination now and will be the subject of a further report to allow the Council to consider in detail how it wishes to update its strategic policies.

Recommendation

That the Executive recommends to Full Council that:

1.    Having undertaken a review of LPP1 in accordance with regulation 10A of The Town and Country Planning (Local Planning) (England) Regulations 2012 (as amended),the Council resolves that LPP1 requires updatingto a greater or lesser extent. However, the Local Plan as a whole continues to provide an up-to-date statutory development plan for Waverley, which must remain the starting point for decisions on planning applications while an update is brought forward.

And, the Executive agrees that:

2.    A further report on the detailed scope of the update and the timetable for its preparation is prepared for consideration by Overview & Scrutiny to allow comments and recommendations to be made prior to the presentation to Executive and Full Council. This should include the implications of a new National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) and the emerging Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill once fully understood.

3.    Budgetary provision is made to enable technical work on an updated evidence base to commence during 2023/24.

4.    The budget should be reviewed in the light of the agreed scope of the update and work programme, with clear alignment and monitoring arrangements.

5.    The governance journey for the update process should be clarified, to include the role of Overview and Scrutiny.

The Executive RESOLVED to recommend to Full Council that:

1.         Having undertaken a review of LPP1 in accordance with regulation 10A of The Town and Country Planning (Local Planning) (England) Regulations 2012 (as amended),the Council resolves that LPP1 requires updatingto a greater or lesser extent. However, the Local Plan as a whole continues to provide an up-to-date statutory development plan for Waverley, which must remain the starting point for decisions on planning applications while an update is brought forward.

The Executive further RESOLVED that:

2.         A further report on the detailed scope of the update and the timetable for its preparation is prepared for consideration by Overview & Scrutiny to allow comments and recommendations to be made prior to the presentation to Executive and Full Council. This should include the implications of a new National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) and the emerging Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill once fully understood.

3.         Budgetary provision is made to enable technical work on an updated evidence base to commence during 2023/24.

4.         The budget should be reviewed in the light of the agreed scope of the update and work programme, with clear alignment and monitoring arrangements.

5.         The governance journey for the update process should be clarified, to include the role of Overview and Scrutiny.

Reason: There is a statutory requirement to review Local Plan Part 1 to decide if an update is required.

[Resolution 1 is recommended to Council for decision. The additional resolutions reflect recommendations from O&S – Services Committee.]

The Portfolio Holder for Planning and Economic Development, Cllr Liz Townsend, advised that as there were a number of questions and a statement from Members, she would move straight to these in order to avoid too much repetition.

Cllr Carole Cockburn had a number of questions, to which the Portfolio Holder responded in turn.

Cllr Cockburn: “Planning Policy Guidance suggests that the LPA should complete a review of a five-year-old plan and decide either that its policies do not need updating and publish the reasons for this decision or that one or more policies do need updating. 

It is a matter of judgment for the LPA. Where in regulation 10A of the Town and Country Planning Regulations 2012 does it say that a full review of LPP1 must result in a major update?”

Cllr Townsend responded: “As set out in paras 4.1 and 4.2, there is a statutory duty (not just a suggestion) to review a Local Plan no later than 5 years from the adoption date. This is to ensure that the policies remain relevant and effectively address the needs of the local community. The NPPF and NPPG are clear that most plans are likely to require updating in whole or part at least every 5 years when their applicable local housing need figure has changed significantly.

Officers have undertaken the review of LPP1 as set out in Section 5 of the report, using the toolkit provided by PAS (Planning Advisory Service) and looking at conformity with the NPPF and changes in local housing need, as well has housing delivery, the conclusion is that LPP1 needs updating, it would be misleading to suggest otherwise, and also given that the evidence base for the plan was largely assembled between 2013 and 2016. In addition, the Government’s calculation of Local Housing Need is significantly higher than the housing requirement in LPP1. However as is clearly laid out in point 5.10 of the report it would be wrong to assume at this stage that the LPP1 annual housing requirement is incorrect or that a similar number would be unlikely to form the basis of an updated plan.

I must stress again that the extent of the update has not been decided and will be based on robust evidence that will stand up to scrutiny and examination.”

Cllr Cockburn: “The portfolio-holder very rudely shouted me down at the O&S meeting for stating that the papers before us clearly indicated that the core strategy in LPP1 should be torn up, sending all neighbourhood plans back to the drawing board. Please could she explain how modifying aspects of the core strategy, such as key policies SP2 and ALH1, does not effectively change the essence of that strategy and how can that not render all the documents, created to deliver the original strategy, immediately out of date?”

Cllr Townsend responded: “LPP1 is not being torn up and neighbourhood plans are not being sent back to the drawing board.  As explained earlier, the ongoing review process  ...  view the full minutes text for item 87