Agenda and minutes

Councillor Whittaker substituted for Councillor Marsh and Councillor Dabell substituted for Councillor Belsey.

Apologies were received from Councillors Cromie, Marsh and Margaret Belsey.

Councillor Paul Brown advised that he is the local correspondent for the Open Spaces Society and had a personal interest.

The Minutes of the meeting of the Committee held on 18 July 2019 were agreed as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

None.

Rob Anderton, Divisional Leader for Contracts and Commercial Services introduced the report.  He advised the Committee that the current parking strategy for Mid Sussex expires in 2020.  This is a key objective in the Corporate Plan and a Working Group to refresh this strategic document will be drawn from the Scrutiny Committee for Housing, Planning and Economic Growth.

As there were no questions the Chairman took Members to the recommendation which was agreed unanimously.

RESOLVED

The Scrutiny Committee agreed to the establishment of a Member Working Group to oversee the preparation of the Parking Strategy refresh.

The Chairman informed the Committee of the background to the Site Allocations Development Plan Document (DPD):  At the examination of the District Plan the Council were committed to the Site Allocations DPD (the Sites DPD) to identify sites for a five year land supply throughout the term of the Plan. A report came before the Scrutiny Committee on 14 November 2017 to set up the Working Group.  It was agreed that at every stage the process would be monitored by the Scrutiny Committee.  The Committee have reviewed the process on four occasions and each time, through due diligence, have thoroughly examined every stage. He noted that the original 233 sites had been now reduced to 22, and the residual housing figure had been revised to 1,507 dwellings.  He highlighted that Councillors Whittaker and Hatton, as Members of the Working Group, can confirm the amount of time spent scrutinising the papers at the Working Group.  He thanked the Members and the officers who worked to produce the report.

Sally Blomfield, Divisional Leader for Planning and Economy introduced the report and explained the background and context. She noted that the purpose is to allocate enough sites to meet the residual need for housing and employment, to allocate a site for a Science and Technology Park and also included a small suite of additional policies to ensure sustainable development in the District. The Committee were informed that a consultation would follow, and the procedure is regulated by law.  The final Sites DPD would be examined by an independent Planning Inspector following a final public consultation and then the Plan would be adopted by the Council.

The Divisional Leader reminded the Committee that the Government’s objective is to boost housing supply to meet need and affordability. She confirmed that the local requirement for Mid Sussex was agreed in the examination of the District Plan, and DP4 set out a minimum requirement of 16,390 homes up to 2031 and committed the Council to allocate sites to meet this need.  This figure included some unmet need in Crawley.  The Divisional Leader noted that after accounting for Completions, Commitments, Strategic Allocations and Windfalls the residual figure of dwellings still required was 2,439 as at March 2017. She highlighted that the Inspector required the Council to commit to the preparation of this Sites DPD in order to allocate sites to meet the residual figure.  She confirmed the importance of allocating sites for the purpose of a five year housing land supply. The Sites DPD, in ensuring the five year housing land supply, will ensure that the District Plan remains the starting point for considering applications.    

The Divisional Leader confirmed that the preparation of the Sites DPD is guided by legislation, the NPPF and Planning Practice Guidance, it is a prescribed, lengthy and complex process. The Site Allocation Working Group had met 16 times to review the work undertaken. The Council had involved stakeholders, town and parish councils, land owners and site promoters in the process to assess the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.

Tom Clark, Solicitor to the Council, introduced the report which presented the Committee’s Work Programme for the year.  He noted the items at the next two meetings and advised that the Site Allocations DPD report would come back to the Committee and the date was dependent on the number of replies from the consultation

The Committee noted the Committee’s Work Programme as set out at paragraph 5 of the report.

None.