Issue - meetings

The report of the Executive Manager – Communities is attached.

It was RESOLVED that the draft Planning Enforcement Policy be approved, for the purposes of public consultation, to last for a period of six weeks, prior to the Policy being referred to Council for adoption.

The Portfolio Holder for Housing presented the report of the Executive Manager – Communities, outlining the draft Planning Enforcement Policy.

The Portfolio Holder for Housing reminded Cabinet that planning enforcement was discretionary, although the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) did advocate that local planning authorities should have a local enforcement plan.  Currently the Council had a Planning Enforcement Code of Practice, which was due for review in March 2021.  It was reiterated that a code of practice was different to a policy, as a policy had more weight, and given the strength of feeling associated with enforcement locally, it had been decided that a policy should be drafted, to replace the current Code of Practice.  If approved, the draft Planning Enforcement Policy would be subject to a six-week public consultation, before being referred to Council for adoption. 

In seconding the recommendation, Councillor Brennan stated that she welcomed the drafting of the Policy and referred to the importance of maintaining public confidence in planning and enforcement procedures, by ensuring that processes were robust and transparent.  The draft Policy clearly outlined the processes that would be followed to investigate alleged breaches and ensure compliance.

The Leader referred to the timeliness of producing this Policy, given the significant development that continued to take place across the Borough, and the importance of having a resilient policy, which maintained the confidence of the public.  The importance of the public and parish councils taking part in the consultation was reiterated.  

In response to a question from the Leader regarding the timeline for the adoption of the Policy, the Executive Manager – Communities advised that, subject to the consultation being acceptable, the Policy would be referred to Council in March 2021, and if approved, would be adopted.

Councillor Edyvean reiterated the importance of planning issues and effective enforcement to local residents and welcomed the adoption of the Policy, which would strengthen the current process.

Councillor Moore stated that a robust policy would provide Planning Services with the appropriate support and credibility and was welcomed.  

The Leader noted the hard work of the Planning Committee and the conditions that were agreed when applications were approved, and hoped that this Policy would give the Planning Committee confidence that a robust process was in place to ensure compliance of any conditions.  The challenge of balancing a budget to ensure that a policy could be resourced to ensure resilience was also noted.  The Leader stated that above all it was essential that the public had confidence in the planning and enforcement system.

Councillor Inglis welcomed the Policy, which he envisaged would provide the Council with more support than the previous Code of Practice.  He hoped that this Policy would enable the Council to monitor all developments to ensure compliance.  

It was RESOLVED that the draft Planning Enforcement Policy be approved, for the purposes of public consultation, to last for a period of six weeks, prior to the Policy being referred to Council for adoption.