Agenda and minutes

There were no apologies for absence.

There were no declarations of interest reported.

The report of the Executive Manager – Transformation

The Chairman provided a brief outline of the Councils ambition to relocate the depot to a more suitable site, bringing the land at Abbey Road forward for housing development. He continued to explain to the Group what is required from them by way of scrutiny, to ensure the project is delivered as expected. The Chairman highlighted the aspirations of Cabinet and Council for the delivery of a showcase development of new high quality housing that would be an example to other developers in the market of what can be achieved.

The Executive Manager – Transformation delivered a presentation that provided the Group with information on the Cabinet recommendations, the Council’s objectives, design code and the progress to date.

The Executive Manager - Transformation reported the progress made in respect of the Cabinet recommendations on 9 October 2018 as follows:

a)    Agrees that officers undertake the necessary work to submit an outline planning application for housing on the Abbey Road site, accompanied by a design code.

b)    Dependant on an appropriate planning permission for the site being secured, authorises the Deputy Chief Executive to undertake a marketing exercise for the disposal of the site with the benefit of planning permission for housing.

c)    Requests a follow up report with the results of the marketing exercise and detailing any other options for the Council to consider with regards to the future development of the site.

And subsequent Cabinet recommendation on 9 July 2019 as follows:

a)    Authorises the Chief Executive to shortlist the developer bids and undertake appropriate due diligence to arrive at a preferred bidder.

b)    Requests a follow up report providing details of the preferred bid for further consideration with regard to the future development of the site.

The Executive Manager – Transformation continued to advise the Group that Cabinet supported appointing an architect to prepare a housing scheme with focus on high quality design, including 30% affordable housing. In appendices attached to the report the Executive Manager – Transformation  provided the Group with a Masterplan, which included specific design standards and illustrative examples of how the housing may look. These included:

·         Minimum house sizes

·         Building for Life Standards

·         Off road parking and cycle storage

·         Roof top gardens

·         Level access

·         Central open space

·         Non-standard house type, using different elevations styles and materials

The Executive Manager – Transformation informed the Group that these documents formed part of the outline planning application and that planning permission was granted in June 2019. The site was marketed and 17 offers were received, 9 that mostly met the criteria of the Design Code and Masterplan with the highest offers were shortlisted. The shortlisted developers were asked to prepare a second bid based on revised Design Codes to include a list of energy efficiencies, which was provided for the Group to view in a separate appendix with the report. The Executive Manager – Transformation advised that from the 9 shortlisted, 4 developers, who met the additional criteria have been selected for interview and the preferred  ...  view the full minutes text for item 3.

The report of the Executive Manager - Communities

The Principal Policy Planning Officer delivered a presentation as a supplement to the report on the Council’s Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL), which came into force on 7 October 2019.

The Principal Policy Planning Officer provided the Group with background information that supports the adoption of CIL explaining how the Levy is calculated and supporting infrastructure evidence and financial liability. He explained that the levy was developed alongside the preparation of Local Plan Part 2 and that there had been two stages of consultation and examination in public conducted by an independent person. In addition, the Principal Policy Planning Officer informed the Group that the Introduction of CIL had recently been considered by the Local Development Framework Group and subsequently  approved by Council on 19 September 2019.

The Planning Technician Officer provided examples and percentages on where collected CIL receipts would be spent as follows:

·         5% of CIL collected retained for administration purposes

·         15%-25% of CIL receipts collected within parished areas passed on to relevant Parish Councils

·         15%-25% of CIL receipts collected within unparished areas spent by the Borough Council in consultation with local community

·         Remaining receipts to be spent on specified strategic infrastructure as defined in a specific list

In addition, the Planning Technician Officer provided examples of what the Council would expect to receive from CIL contributions using residential examples for each pricing zone and an example of expected contributions for retail development.

In concluding his report, the Principal Policy Planning officer provided the Group with an estimation of receipts explaining that evidence supporting the Draft Charging Schedule suggests the Council would collect up to £13m over the period 2019-2028. However, it is not likely that the Council will see any significant receipts generated for 2-3 years as planning permission and commencement of development catch up.

The Group considered the information Officers had provided and asked specific questions relating to the boundaries for the charging schedule zones and whether these could be altered, as some parishes were split by old ward boundaries, which do not reflect the current market.  The Principal Policy Planning Officer explained that the work prior to the CIL being adopted, was commissioned in 2015 using the ward boundaries at that time. He added that to change the charging schedule at this stage would require a further consultation period.

The Group questioned why those parishes who have adopted a Neighbourhood Plan should receive a higher percentage than those who have no Plan in place and what the Council could do to assist with the shortfall in the meantime. The Executive Manager explained that currently parishes receive very little and smaller developments seen across parts of the Borough have not had to pay anything by way of Section 106 money. The Council was investigating how all areas of the Borough could benefit from 25% of future CIL proceeds not just those areas that have adopted a Neighbourhood Plan. The group were also advised that now CIL was in place the majority of all developments would be  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4.

The report of the Executive Manager - Communities

The Group considered its Work Programme. The Chairman suggested that the chosen developer for the Abbey Road site is invited to a future meeting of the Group.

Looking ahead to future meetings the Group suggested potential items for the Groups Work Programme, these included:

·         Negotiating Section 106 Agreements

·         Engagement with Stakeholders – e.g. LEP, Growth Boards, Midland Engine

·         Development Corporation

·         Employment Land – allocated sites and others

·         Digital Economy

The Executive Manager – Communities suggested that Councillors complete a Council scrutiny matrix for items they wish to consider at future meetings, explaining that items they wish to consider would need to be approved by the Corporate Overview Group of which the Chairman and Vice Chairman attend.

It was RESOLVED that the Work Programme, as detailed below be approved.

7 January 2020

·         Economic Development/ Business Support Offer

·         Work Programme

17 March 2020

·         Abbey Road Development – Meet the Developer

·         Customer Service and Digital Transformation

·         Work Programme

Action Sheet – 15 September 2019