Agenda item - Ratcliffe on Soar Local Development Order

The report of the Director – Development and Economic Growth is attached.

It was RESOLVED that Cabinet:

a) approves in draft the Ratcliffe on Soar Local Development Order and Statement of Reasons (Appendix 1), the LDO Design Guide (Appendix 2) and the LDO Parameter Plans (Appendix 3);

b) approves the draft LDO Statement of Consultation (Appendix 4) and the publication of all supporting documents for the LDO;

c) agrees that the draft Ratcliffe on Soar Local Development Order (LDO) and LDO supporting documents be published for consultation;

d) agrees that, in conjunction with the consultation on the Ratcliffe on Soar LDO, views be sought on the decision-making and delegation arrangements for determining LDO Certificate of Compliance applications; and

e) delegates authority to the Director for Development and Economic Growth, in consultation with the Cabinet Portfolio Holder for Planning and Housing, to make any necessary final minor textual, graphical, and presentational changes required to the draft Ratcliffe on Soar LDO prior to publication for consultation.

The Cabinet Portfolio Holder for Planning and Housing, Councillor Upton presented the report of the Director – Development and Economic Growth, outlining the Ratcliffe on Soar Local Development Order (LDO).

Councillor Upton referred to the significance and complexity of this project, and thanked the site owners, Uniper, Arup Consultants, the Planning Policy Manager, the Director – Development and Economic Growth, members of the Local Development Framework Group and many others for the work that they have already put into this project, against a very challenging timeline.

Councillor Upton referred to the previous Cabinet decision in November 2021, that an LDO should be prepared, which would grant planning permission for the site’s redevelopment, subject to any conditions applied by the Order. Cabinet noted that the LDO would have the aspiration of creating an industrial park, focused on advanced manufacturing, including technology required to transition to net-zero, green and low carbon energy generation, and energy storage.

Cabinet noted that consultations had already been undertaken with non-statutory consultees, and if approved in draft tonight, it would then be published for a six-week statutory consultation. Councillor Upton confirmed that the report detailed the justification for the benefits of preparing an LDO for this site, together with the approval process, and stated that the final decision to adopt the LDO would be taken by Full Council.

Councillor Upton informed Cabinet that the proposed draft LDO and Statement of Reasons document attached as Appendix 1 of the report had been written as a final version of the LDO; however, it would be subject to revisions to consider feedback from the statutory consultation, and a further review prior to its final adoption.

Cabinet was reminded that there was a risk that the site could remain undeveloped following its decommissioning; however, the adoption of this LDO should help to significantly mitigate that risk, by providing a framework for development, simplifying, and streamlining the planning process and by creating more certainty for investors, whilst enabling the Council to retain control over the future use and development.

In seconding the recommendation, Councillor Inglis welcomed this exciting major project and referred to the many significant advantages that this proposal would bring to the area. Councillor Inglis agreed that an LDO would provide greater control and assurance over future development and should meet any time constraints before the deadline to qualify for full Freeport benefits in September 2026. A scenario in which any possible development could be delayed or not take place at all had to be avoided, and Councillor Inglis stated that the LDO would mitigate that and thanked all parties for the hard work already undertaken.

Councillor Brennan also welcomed this exciting project and stated that this was yet another example of how quickly and creatively this Council could work in order to maximise any investment. Councillor Brennan stated that once this process had been completed, it would be interesting to see what had been learnt and if LDOs could be used elsewhere.

The Leader referred to the timelines for the Freeport going forward and agreed that the completion of this LDO would be a key milestone. The Leader stated that the consultation process was very important, given the sensitivity of this key local, regional and national strategic site. Cabinet was reminded that this was the first LDO that the Council had worked on, and the Leader agreed that it was good to see how the Council had adapted so quickly and thanked all those involved.