Issue - meetings

This report seeks endorsement of a suggested response from the Council to the Secretary of State’s Proposed Changes to the Draft Revised Regional Spatial Strategy (RSS), to be submitted to the Secretary of State by 21^st December.

RESOLVED: (i)         That the draft Council response to the Secretary of State’s Proposed Changes to the RSS, as attached at Annex B to the report, be agreed and approved for submission to Government Office by the deadline of 21 December 2007.

                        (ii)        That authority be delegated to the Director of City Strategy to make any incidental changes to the Council’s response to the Proposed Changes that are necessary as a result of Members considering the report.

REASON:      To ensure that the views of the authority are taken into account before publication of the Regional Spatial Strategy in Spring 2008.

Members considered a report which summarised the key issues regarding the Secretary of State’s Proposed Changes to the Draft Revised Regional Spatial Strategy (RSS) and presented a suggested response to the changes.

The Proposed Changes had been subject to wide ranging consultation since their publication in September 2007.  This was the last opportunity to make comments on the RSS before the final version was published.  The key issues for the Council to respond to included: York’s role in the region, the York Green Belt, the Leeds City Region, the York sub area, Housing, Economy, Transport, Environment and Climate Change.  Within these areas, the proposed response, at Annex B to the report, focused particularly on the issues of: housing numbers, affordable housing, mix and type of housing, job growth numbers, climate change, green infrastructure, on-site renewable energy generation and bio-diversity. 

Members commented on the lack of clarity regarding the reasons behind some of the Proposed Changes, particularly those which did not comply with the recommendations arising from the Examination in Public in 2006.  They also stressed the importance of protecting the Green Belt and expressed the hope that decisions on Eco-town developments would not be made without local authority involvement.

With reference to the comments of the Shadow Executive, it was noted that the ‘further comments’ referred to therein had not been received.

RESOLVED: (i)         That the draft Council response to the Secretary of State’s Proposed Changes to the RSS, as attached at Annex B to the report, be agreed and approved for submission to Government Office by the deadline of 21 December 2007.¹

                        (ii)        That authority be delegated to the Director of City Strategy to make any incidental changes to the Council’s response to the Proposed Changes that are necessary as a result of Members considering the report.²

REASON:      To ensure that the views of the authority are taken into account before publication of the Regional Spatial Strategy in Spring 2008.