Minutes:
The Executive received the following questions from members of the public in accordance with Procedure Rule 10:-
i. from Patrick Haveron
“According to Cllr Paul Spooner, Executive member for Governance at Guildford Borough Council, Waverley have blocked the release of the joint SHMA report with Guildford & Woking, that has been available for several months. Why wasn't this key document used to inform the Local Plan consultation?”
The Executive Portfolio Holder for Planning replied as follows:-
“The reason it has not been published is that it is not complete. There are a number of technical areas on which Waverley has requested clarification from the consultants. Also we are still in discussion with our colleagues in Guildford and Woking and we had a meeting with them last week on this very subject.”
ii. from Stewart Edge of Farnham
“On 19October after the closure of the consultation period on the ‘Potential Housing Scenarios for the Local Plan’ 81% of respondents had voted for ‘Scenario 4’ – Dunsfold 3400 – as their preferred option. In the light of this overwhelming preference for substantial building at Dunsfold do the Executive / Council plan immediately to establish 5 year housing plans which include building at Dunsfold Aerodrome – without which towns in Waverley will continue to be exposed to current greenfield development proposals which are unnecessary and take no account of local priorities?”
The Executive Portfolio Holder for Planning replied:-
“The Council will consider carefully all the comments which have been received as part of the consultation. This will include assessing the potential for Dunsfold Aerodrome to meet housing need. However it is important that any Plan is supported by the necessary evidence to ensure that it is sound when assessed against the National Planning Policy Framework. This includes understanding what infrastructure is required to support new development. In relation to Dunsfold, the Council will need to be convinced that the necessary improvements to the road network can be provided. For information, Dunsfold will make no or very little contribution to the first 5 years of any Plan and does nothing to address the housing need elsewhere in the Borough.”
iii. from Ken Reed of Cranleigh
“In Part 1 of the New Local Plan, WBC are expected to allocate some development to Strategic Sites throughout the Borough. As Neighbourhood Plans are not allowed to change the numbers allocated to Strategic Sites, would the Executive please advise what factors will influence the selection of Strategic Sites and the size of those developments it would consider to be Strategic?”
The Executive Portfolio Holder for Planning replied as follows:-
“There is no agreed national definition of a strategic site in terms of size. This is because this will depend on local circumstances. For the purposes of this Plan, we have estimated that a ‘strategic site’ is one with the potential to deliver at least 100 homes. This is not a fixed position but by allocating these it will help to ensure that there is sufficient certainty about the delivery of housing to meet any new housing target and that the location of new housing is consistent with the overall strategy.”
iv. from Ruth Reed of Cranleigh
“How much has been spent to date on the recent Waverley Local Plan Consultation and how much indeed to you expect to spend in total on this whole Consultation?”
The Executive Portfolio Holder for Planning responded:-
“The consultation has now been completed and the cost is £31,571.56 not including Officer time. You may recall that in 2005/06 the liberal democrats on a much more stable planning system, spent £83,274 on a similar consultation.”