Agenda item

To update and consult the Development Plan Committee on the recommendation to cease work on the preparation of the Selby Local Plan.

Officers summarised the key points of the report of the Corporate Director of Community Development, updating and consulting the Committee on the recommendation to cease work on the preparation of the Selby Local Plan.  It was highlighted that this report would be presented to both the Development Plan Committee, and later the Selby and Ainsty Area Committee, seeking comments and recommendations.  The Executive would then consider those, before making a final recommendation to Full Council on 26 February 2025. 

The report outlined the status of the Selby Local Plan, and the recent changes arising from the publication of the revised National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) in December 2024.  The increased overall housing requirements for North Yorkshire, and the reversion from a 4-year to 5-year land supply requirement, meant that the situation had changed considerably, and the requirement to have completed a Regulation 19 consultation and allocated 80% of the new housing by 12 March 2025 would not be achievable.  These changes meant that it was no longer tenable to take forward the plan, and it was proposed to use the work done up to this point to inform development of the wider North Yorkshire Local Plan.

Members sought further information on how any decision by Executive to halt development of the Selby Local Plan would affect the area and what policies would apply in assessing planning applications.  Officers emphasised that having sought legal advice, in certain limited circumstances the developing local plan would carry weight as it approached completion, even before it was submitted to the Secretary of State for approval which was currently anticipated to take place in 2028.

It was recognised that the changes in circumstances imposed by the NPPF, combined with the recent guidance given by Government to the Planning Inspectorate in 2024, which clarified that inspectors were no longer to allocate resources to resolving outstanding matters, meant that it would not be feasible to continue developing the Selby Local Plan.  While some transitional arrangements had been provided for in the new NPPF, the Selby Local Plan was not at a sufficiently advanced stage to be able to make use of these.  Members highlighted the importance of localising work on the North Yorkshire Local Plan and ensuring local views were represented.

Members discussed the issue of land supply, and how housing targets would be allocated to different areas under the North Yorkshire Local Plan.  Officers advised that the area would move towards a 5-year land supply, although this would be a difficult process.  It was also asked whether housing targets should be allocated across the whole county, rather than being disaggregated along former district and borough boundaries.  Advice had been sought from the Ministry of Housing, Communities, and Local Government on this point, and officers were currently assessing over 1,500 sites which had been submitted.

Members asked officers to ensure that Development Management and Policy communicated closely and ensured that comments were provided in writing and included in reports.  It was recognised that the evidence base at its current stage was not adequate to support a Selby Local Plan, but could be used to inform development of the wider North Yorkshire Local Plan.

The need to balance the revised development targets and the impact on local communities was also emphasised, along with a strong desire for Development Plan Committee members and local members to be closely involved in forming the new North Yorkshire Local Plan.  Officers advised that the Issues and Options Consultation was expected to begin in May 2025, and would provide an opportunity for local people to engage in development of the policy.

Resolved:

To recommend that Executive recommends to Full Council that:

1)    Work on the emerging Selby Local Plan is ceased.

2)    The council works proactively to bring forward sites within the Selby area to seek to maintain land supply, using those sites identified within the draft Selby Local Plan as the starting point for discussions with site promoters/developers.

3)    The council continues to promote the regeneration of Tadcaster, working with key stakeholders to support the delivery of sites and to bring derelict buildings back into use and work to ensure that evidence in respect of delivery is secured as we move through the preparation of the North Yorkshire Local Plan.