Report No. 194/2018 was received from the Strategic Director for Resources.

Mr Gordon Brown, Deputy Leader and Portfolio Holder for Environment, Finance, Planning and Propertyintroduced the report the purpose of which was to update Cabinet on progress with the preparation of the Local Plan and to recommend the next steps to be followed. The recommended steps were intended to ensure that the plan was sound, positively prepared, justified, effective and consistent with national policy and legally compliant.

During discussion the following points were noted:

·         Mr Walters asked whether the delay in the preparation of the new Local Plan would leave the Council vulnerable to inappropriate and unwarranted development proposals.  However because of the Plan already in place, the Council was in as good as a position as it could be.

·         Given the considerable additional work required to produce a revised Local Plan, together with extra time needed to assess the Government’s latest announcement on household projections, the Cabinet Member reserved judgement on whether the May target for submission to Cabinet would be achieved.

DECISIONS:

1.    Cabinet considered the report setting out progress with the preparation of the Local Plan for Rutland and AGREED to:

a.    Fully consider consultation responses received;

b.    Take account of the revised housing requirement and Government’s proposed consultation on the methodology to determine what our “minimum” requirement would be and the subsequent implications for making appropriate and suitable allocations in the Pre-Submission Local Plan accordingly, noting that the timing of this consultation remained uncertain;

c.    Consider the Woolfox Proposal to determine whether it was realistic and deliverable and if so, to undertake the appropriate site assessments, update the evidence base and consultation.

2.    Cabinet DELEGATED authority to the Deputy Leader and Portfolio Holder for Environment, Finance, Planning and Property, in consultation with the Interim Director for Places, to agree the form and nature of any additional consultation which may be required to produce the Pre-Submission Local Plan with respect to the Woolfox Garden Village, should the site be considered as a realistic and deliverable proposition.

3.    Cabinet RESOLVED that a revised Local Development Scheme was prepared for approval by Cabinet at the earliest opportunity

Reason for the decisions

The report sets out the implications for the Local Plan regarding:

·         The new National Planning Policy Framework;

·         The new 2016 household projections and the Government’s intention to consult on a revised standard methodology for calculating the minimum housing requirement;

·         The late submission to propose a Garden Village at Woolfox;

·         All aspects of public consultation.

The next stage in the process of preparing the Local Plan would be the publication of the Pre-Submission Local Plan.  Given the additional work required to produce this, the timetable for production of the Local Plan was uncertain and it was recognised that the Regulation 19 statutory consultation might now have to be delayed until after the local government elections in May, prior to submission to the Secretary of State.