Agenda item

Report A Recommendations:

The Executive is asked to:

i.       Endorse the recommended approach of the LGR Planning Member Task and Finish Group relating to Planning Governance;

ii.      Consider the options on the proposed number of Planning Committees and indicate their view on the most appropriate way forward so that the necessary preparatory work can be undertaken to prior to the Vesting Day.

Report B Recommendations:

Executive is asked to support the following recommendations relating to Plan Making, and agree they be taken forward for decision by Full Council, i.e. that:

i)       A single local plan is prepared and progressed as far as possible within five years

ii)      Work on the new local plan should start as soon as possible

iii)     A separate Minerals and Waste Local Plan is prepared

iv)     The following plan reviews should be halted in order to focus resources on preparing a new Local Plan:

·           Craven Local Plan

·           Hambleton Local Plan

·           Harrogate District Local Plan

·           Richmondshire Local Plan  

·           Scarborough Borough Local Plan

v)      The following reviews should continue:

·           Harrogate: Maltkiln New Settlement DPD

·           The Ryedale Plan

·           Selby Local Plan

·           Minerals and Waste Joint Plan

vi)     An Interim LDS, including key milestones and programme management arrangements, is prepared on the basis of the above recommendations

vii)   A specific report is prepared setting out the required evidence base and associated costs/resource to support the preparation of the new plan

viii)  Formal governance arrangements should also be established to oversee plan making ahead of transformational change.

Considered – A two-part report of the LGR Member Working Group on Planning:

Report A - seeking endorsement of a recommended approach to planning governance for North Yorkshire and the most appropriate way forward in relation to the number of Planning Committees required, so that the necessary preparatory work could be undertaken before vesting day.

Report B - seeking endorsement of a recommended approach to plan making for North Yorkshire, taking into consideration legal requirements, local context, an assessment of risks and benefits, and feedback from the Members Planning Task and Finish Group held on 3 October 2022

County Councillor Simon Myers introduced both reports and thanked the members of the Working Group for their diligence and officers for the support given. 

Specifically in regard to Report A, he noted the importance of having the Planning Committees set up and ready to go as of vesting day.  He drew attention to the modelling work that had been undertaken on the two options under consideration i.e. to have one Strategic Planning Committee and either three or six Area Planning Committees, and confirmed that both options would work.  Finally, he confirmed the preferred option of the Member Working Group was to have six Area Planning Committees based on the six MP Constituency areas, in line with the six Area Constituency Committees. 

It was noted

·          The number of applications received across the county had been considered as part of evaluating both proposed models;

·          The proposed scheme of delegation was an essential component, and attention was drawn to the triggers that would require a planning application to go to the Strategic Planning Committee, which included those more contentions applications and where an application covered more than one Area Planning Committee area;

·          The Area Planning Committees would need to have a degree of autonomy to ensure the decisions were made locally;

In regard to Report B, Linda Marfitt Head of Planning at Harrogate Borough Council confirmed a robust approach had been taken to the review involving all Planning Authorities across the county, which had led to an agreed position across all teams.

It was noted:

·          The proposal took account of the legal duties and national legislation etc, and was considered to be capable of delivering the new priorities and challenges of the new Authority;

·          A new Local Plan and Minerals & Waste Joint Plan had to be delivered within 5 years and the extensive resources and costs associated with delivering them within that time frame;

·          The willingness of officers to work hard to get as far down the road to delivery of the new Plans within that timeframe, and their eagerness to start that work as soon as possible;

·          Having the new Local Plan in place would enable the Authority to have consistency across some other required and linked policies and strategies e.g. affordable housing policy, and the protection of heritage and natural assets;

·          The new Local Plan could be made up of a series of Sub Plans covering specific areas of the county;

·          The importance of having an ambitious Local Plan that informed the decisions taken by the Planning Committees, in part to avoid the dangers of parochialism and also to support economic development and inward investment opportunities;

County Councillor David Chance drew attention to Appendix 1 of Report B and expressed concern about the large housing number (500) that would qualify an application as being significant and therefore required to go to the Strategic Planning Committee, as in his view it would adversely affect smaller communities.

In response, Martin Grainger, Head of Planning at Selby District Council confirmed it was just one part of the Scheme of Delegation, and other issues would also be taken into account.  He also confirmed that the Working Group and Planning officers from across the county were all in agreement that fundamentally Area Planning Committees would be able to deal with contentious applications.

County Councillor Arnold Warneken expressed concern about a particular ongoing planning application made to Harrogate Borough Council in relation to Maltkiln New Settlement DPD, as detailed in an email he had previously circulated to Executive Members ahead of the meeting.  He suggested the issue of a relief road had yet to be properly addressed and expressed concern about the speed at which the process was being rushed through.

Following some discussion, Members agreed the matter needed to be addressed to Harrogate Brough Council, and Linda Marfitt agreed to 

Regarding Report A, it was

Resolved – That:

i.       The recommended approach of the LGR Planning Member Task and Finish Group relating to Planning Governance be endorsed;

ii.      The proposal to have a Strategic Planning Committee and six Area Planning Committees be endorsed as the most appropriate way forward

Regarding Report B, it was

Resolved – That the following Executive recommendations be taken forward for decision by Full Council:

iii.     A single local plan be prepared and progressed as far as possible within five years and

a)   Work on the new local plan start as soon as possible

b)   A separate Minerals and Waste Local Plan be prepared

c)   The following plan reviews be halted in order to focus resources on preparing a new Local Plan:

·      Craven Local Plan

·      Hambleton Local Plan

·      Harrogate District Local Plan

·      Richmondshire Local Plan  

·      Scarborough Borough Local Plan

iv.     The following reviews be continued:

·      Harrogate: Maltkiln New Settlement DPD

·      The Ryedale Plan

·      Selby Local Plan

·      Minerals and Waste Joint Plan

v.      An Interim Local Development Scheme, including key milestones and programme management arrangements, be prepared on the basis of the above recommendations

vi.     A specific report be prepared setting out the required evidence base and associated costs/ resource to support the preparation of the new plan

vii.    Formal governance arrangements be established to oversee plan making ahead of transformational changes