Agenda item

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

The Cabinet Portfolio Holder for Planning and Housing, Councillor Upton presented the report of the Director – Development and Economic Growth detailing the Greater Nottingham Strategic Plan (GNSP).

In moving the recommendation, Councillor Upton referred to the Council’s statutory duty to review and adopt a new Local Development Plan, which had taken several years to prepare, in conjunction with Broxtowe, Gedling and Nottingham City, and advised that it was critical that the current Plan was updated, to secure sustainable development and growth. Councillor Upton referred to the significant public consultation already undertaken, together with the meetings of the cross party Local Development Framework (LDF) Group, where at its last meeting, members present had unanimously resolved to accept the draft document and submit it to Full Council for approval. 

Councillor Upton referred to the recent consultation on revisions to the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF), which suggested a transitional period, where not all of the updates had to be completely reflected in local plans, if they had reached a certain stage, and it was thought that the current timeline would meet those new rules, providing Rushcliffe’s Plan was published for consultation by next month. Without approval this evening, Councillor Upton stated that this transitional window would be lost, with the Plan unable to go forward, leaving the Council without an up to date Plan. Each council would have to individually agree and adopt the Plan, and that would be followed by a six week public consultation, and then onto a public examination. 

Councillor Upton referred to Policy 3, which related to Housing Targets and advised that as part of the transitional arrangements, the Plan was only able to be adopted if each councils’ annualised housing target was within 200 dwellings throughout the Plan period, with those housing targets detailed in Table 1 of Policy 3 in the report. Council noted that Rushcliffe had more than sufficient existing housing supply to meet the Borough’s proposed housing target as detailed in Paragraph 4.33.  Economic and employment land had also been carefully considered in draft Policy 5, together with Policy 10, which required all developments to aspire to the highest standards of design and materials. Councillor Upton concluded by thanking all those involved in preparing this report, including partners, officers, in particular the Planning Policy Manager, and members of the LDF Group.

Councillor Butler seconded the recommendation and reserved the right to speak.

Councillor Calvert referred to the long history of close collaboration across the county, including the formation of the Greater Nottingham Planning Partnership in 2008. Governance was provided by a Joint Planning Advisory Board (JPAB), and those arrangements had remained, with the same Board overseeing the development of this Plan. Councillor Calvert felt that the LDF Group had considered the Plan in depth, and he echoed the thanks given to officers; however, he felt that the Group’s ability to influence the Plan was very limited, and it was difficult to grasp the complexities of the individual policies. Councillor Calvert also considered this to be an awkward time to consider the Plan, due to the recent change in Government, together with the ongoing NPPF consultation. Nevertheless, Councillor Calvert confirmed that the Labour Group would vote in favour of the recommendations, which did not mean a wholesale approval of the Plan, rather it was to allow the Plan to go to the next stage of consultation and examination.

As a member of the LDF Group, Councillor S Mallender acknowledged and thanked all those involved for their hard work and was pleased to see the emphasis on climate change mitigation. Council was reminded that Rushcliffe was different to other councils, given its older age profile, which particularly affected those living in rural areas. She was pleased to see the standards being suggested for carbon neutral developments; however, it was disappointing that Rushcliffe did not have a target for area-wide carbon neutrality. Councillor Mallender stated that the Green Group also shared some reservations and reiterated that the LDF Group had agreed that the Plan should be published for public consultation, rather than approving the document in its entirety.        

The Leader acknowledged that the LDF Group had voted in favour of taking the Plan forward and reiterated the importance of not missing the transitional window, and he thanked Councillor Upton, all members of the LDF Group and officers for their hard work on this significant project.

Councillor Barney reiterated those thanks, acknowledged the excellent collaborative working and referred to the importance of adopting the Plan to protect local communities.

Councillor Birch also thanked officers but advised that he would not be voting for the Plan, as it would be an endorsement of mass housing development. He expressed concerns about the Ratcliffe on Soar Freeport site and also about the Tollerton Airfield site.

Councillor Chewings stated that his main objection related to the proposed loss of Tollerton Airport and highlighted the significant public opposition to the proposals and urged the site to be removed from the Plan. Councillor Chewings requested that a recorded vote be taken.

Councillor Simms referred to the importance of having appropriate plans in place to ensure that future housing developments would be built on the most suitable sites, and that the Borough needed to be protected.        

In seconding the recommendation, Councillor Butler acknowledged that allocating sites was difficult but it was necessary to protect the Borough and retain control. Councillor Butler stated that if the Plan was not approved tonight to go onto the next stage, then the Borough’s defences would be lost, with work having to start again, which would take years.

Councillor Upton echoed comments made by Councillor Calvert regarding partnership working, together with the importance of not missing this transitional window. He accepted that a significant part of the Plan related to housing delivery and referred to the ongoing housing crisis, with the new Government’s housing targets calling for 1.5 million homes to be built in five years. Councillor Upton referred to the comments made about mass housing development and advised that the Plan did not propose any more strategic or major sites around the key settlements, there was a slight increase, which could be coped with. In respect of Tollerton Airport, that had been included in the 2014 Plan, when it was accepted by the Government Inspector, and it would be considered again. Councillor Upton stated that Rushcliffe had a good house building track record in the county, building more than any other authority, and of those, more were affordable, which was something to be proud of.

In accordance with Standing Orders Paragraph 4.23, a recorded vote was taken for this item as follows:

FOR: Councillors M Barney, J Billin, R Bird, A Brennan, A Brown, R Butler, S Calvert, J Chaplain, N Clarke, T Combellack, J Cottee, A Edyvean, S Ellis, G Fletcher, M Gaunt, E Georgiou, P Gowland, C Grocock, R Inglis, R Mallender, S Mallender, D Mason, P Matthews, H Om, H Parekh, A Phillips, L Plant, D Polenta, N Regan, D Simms, D Soloman, C Thomas, R Upton, D Virdi, J Walker, R Walker, L Way, T Wells, G Wheeler, J Wheeler, and G Williams

AGAINST: Councillors T Birch and K Chewings 

It was RESOLVED that:

a)  the Publication Draft Greater Nottingham Strategic Plan and Policies Map Changes document, in so far as they relate to Rushcliffe Borough be approved, and their publication for a six-week public representation period be agreed;

b)  it be agreed that, following the representation period, the Publication Draft Greater Nottingham Strategic Plan, the Policies Map Changes document, all supporting documents and all representations received be submitted for public examination; and

c)  the Director for Development and Economic Growth be granted delegated authority, in consultation with the Cabinet Portfolio Holder for Planning and Housing to make any minor editing changes to the Publication Draft Greater Nottingham Strategic Plan and the Policies Map Changes document prior to their publication.