Agenda item

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

The Portfolio Holder for Planning & Housing, Councillor Roger Upton, presented the report of the Director – Development and Economic Growth regarding Greater Nottingham Strategic Plan.

Councillor Upton stated that since the Council meeting in September 2024, some important issues had required changes to be made, including the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF), the deadline for publishing the revised draft Plan with the updated housing targets, and the removal of all reference to Gedling Borough Council, following its decision to withdraw from the Partnership.

Councillor Upton explained that transitional arrangements were published on 12 December, which meant that the Plan could not be taken forward without making revisions to its proposed housing targets. The Council would now need to meet 80% of the Government’s annual housing target, resulting in an increase of 600 homes over the time period, as set out in Table 1 of the report, with Table 2 confirming that the new target would not exceed the Council’s existing housing supply, which Councillor Upton believed still provided sufficient protection to maintain a five year land supply. Council noted that if the 12 March deadline for publication was not met then a substantially revised or a new local Plan would need to be prepared. Councillor Upton referred to the revised Plan, as detailed in Appendix 1 to the report, confirming that it had been prepared following significant public consultation, and considered by the cross party Local Development Forum (LDF) Group, which had recently unanimously supported it. Councillor Upton reiterated that if the Plan was not supported, it would be unable to proceed in its current form, and the Council would be without a Plan and at risk of speculative, unplanned housing development. If approved, the Plan would be subject to a further six week public consultation, followed by a public examination, with potential adoption in the autumn of 2026.

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

In supporting the recommendation, Councillor Calvert reminded Council that the Labour Group had previously voted in favour of the publication of the draft Plan, and not its wholesale approval, and as part of the consultation, whilst it supported the partnership approach, it was disappointed that some areas had not participated. The Group also supported having closer coordination to pool expertise and having the design and layout of the site for the Gamston and North of Tollerton allocation determined by a Master Plan and Design Code. There was support for the Policy regarding housing mix, together with a suggestion for a new policy to increase the percentage of affordable homes in the Borough and the Group recommended some transport infrastructure schemes.

Councillor Way thanked officers, stating that the Plan needed to be adopted, to avoid having to start again, and that it was incumbent on the Council to do as much as it could to ensure that the Borough remained a good place to live.

Councillor Chewings thanked officers and clarified that the LDF Group had endorsed the Plan to come to Full Council and not its content and felt that this presented an opportunity to reconsider allocated housing sites. He reiterated his disappointment about the removal of Tollerton Airfield due its vital role in the community and questioned if the impact on the Air Ambulance had been assessed. Councillor Chewings objected to housing numbers dictating the Borough’s planning future and advised that he could not support this flawed Plan, and he requested that a recorded vote be taken.

It was proposed by Councillor Clarke, seconded by Councillor Brennan and RESOLVED by Councillors that the meeting be extended and would finish no later than 10.30pm.

Councillor R Mallender referred to possible contamination on the airfield site, which developers would need to investigate. He noted the considerable time spent to reach this point and felt that the Plan should go out to consultation, where suggestions to remove proposed sites could be made.

The Leader advised that it would not be possible to remove specific areas from the Plan, as it would then fail and the time to raise those issues would be at the Inquiry. The Leader confirmed that the Council was in discussions with the Air Ambulance regarding future arrangements, and in the meantime the developers had granted an extension of time.

Councillor Thomas suggested that the issue of potential contamination on the airfield site be looked at as part of the process in recommendation d) of the report.

In seconding the recommendation, Councillor Butler reiterated thanks to officers and the LDF Group, referred to the many years it had taken to reach this point, confirming that the Council must have a Plan and expressing his disappointment that Gedling Borough Council had withdrawn. He welcomed the consultation, and hoped everyone would respond, and stated that the Plan related to provision of essential infrastructure and services, as well as housing, and without a Plan, speculative development could take place.

Councillor Upton reiterated that this was a long process and to the necessity of approving the Plan tonight, and he confirmed that the time to raise issues about specific sites would be at the Inquiry.

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

FOR: Councillors, J Billin, R Bird, A Brennan, A Brown, R Butler, S Calvert, J Chaplain, N Clarke, T Combellack, S Dellar, A Edyvean, S Ellis, G Fletcher, M Gaunt, E Georgiou, C Grocock, R Inglis, R Mallender, S Mallender, D Mason, H Om, H Parekh, A Phillips, L Plant, D Polenta, N Regan, 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 Council:

a)           approved the withdrawal of the previous Regulation 19 Publication Draft of the Greater Nottingham Strategic Plan, which was published on 4 November 2024;

b)           approved the revised Regulation 19 Publication Draft Greater Nottingham Strategic Plan and revised Policies Map Changes document, in so far as they relate to Rushcliffe Borough, and agrees to their publication for a six week public representation period;

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

d)           delegated authority to the Director – Development and Economic Growth in consultation with the Cabinet Portfolio Holder for Planning and Housing to make any minor editing changes to the revised Publication Draft Greater Nottingham Strategic Plan prior to its publication.