Agenda and draft minutes

To receive and note apologies for absence.

Apologies were received from Cllr Coles, who was substituted by Cllr Kent; from Cllr Ravilious, who was substituted by Cllr Whitcroft; and from Cllr Smalley.

At this point in the meeting, Members and co-opted members are asked to declare any disclosable pecuniary interest, or other registerable interest, they might have in respect of business on this agenda, if they have not already done so in advance on the Register of Interests. The disclosure must include the nature of the interest.

An interest must also be disclosed in the meeting when it becomes apparent to the member during the meeting.

(1)         Members must consider their interests, and act according to the

following:

(2)         Disclosable pecuniary interests relate to the Member concerned or their spouse/partner.

(3)         Members in arrears of Council Tax by more than two months must not vote in decisions on, or which might affect, budget calculations, and must disclose at the meeting that this restriction applies to them. A failure to comply with these requirements is a criminal offence under section 106 of the Local Government Finance Act 1992.

Members were asked to declare any disclosable pecuniary interests, or other registerable interests, they might have in respect of business on the agenda, if they have not already done so in advance on the Register of Interests.

None were declared, although in the interests of transparency, Cllr Pavlovic noted in relation to agenda item 5 (Local Development Scheme) that planning policy fell within his portfolio area as Executive Member for Housing, Planning and Safer Communities.

To approve and sign the minutes of the meeting of the Local Plan Working Group held on 10 September 2024.

Resolved: That the minutes of the last meeting held on 10 September 2024 be approved as a correct record and then signed by the Chair.

At this point in the meeting members of the public who have registered to speak can do so. Members of the public may speak on agenda items or on matters within the remit of the committee.

Please note that our registration deadlines are set as 2 working days before the meeting, in order to facilitate the management of public participation at our meetings. The deadline for registering at this meeting is 5:00pm on Friday 11 April 2025.

To register to speak please visit www.york.gov.uk/AttendCouncilMeetings to fill in an online registration form.  If you have any questions about the registration form or the meeting, please contact Democratic Services.  Contact details can be found at the foot of this agenda.

Webcasting of Public Meetings

Please note that, subject to available resources, this meeting will be webcast including any registered public speakers who have given their permission. The meeting can be viewed live and on demand at http://www.york.gov.uk/webcasts.

It was reported that there had been one registration to speak at the meeting under the Council’s Public Participation Scheme, but that the speaker was no longer able to attend.

The Council is required to prepare and regularly review a Local Development Scheme (LDS) under the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004 (as amended by the Localism Act 2011). This paper presents an interim LDS which supersedes all previous versions and sets out a planning work programme for the Council from March 2025.

The Group considered a report presenting an interim Local Development Scheme (LDS) in line with the Council’s obligations under the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004 (as amended by the Localism Act 2011) and setting out a planning work programme for the Council from March 2025.

Officers provided an overview, including a summary of the Government’s response to a consultation on reforms to the planning system as set out in the addendum to the report, and in response to members’ questions it was noted that:

·       With reference to timescales for plan-making it was confirmed that the Council was technically in a five-year review period following adoption of the Local Plan in February; it was noted that plan-making would begin in late July 2026 to coincide with the introduction of the new housing Standard Method.

·       It was confirmed that Neighbourhood Plans would retain significant weight and importance in the planning system; officers were working with Parish Councils and Neighbourhood Forums to ensure that policies remained up to date. Neighbourhood Plans should be reviewed from production date to ensure that they were up to date against with national planning policy. It was suggested that reviews should take place within the five-year period and noted that officers would support any that came forward. In terms of financial support for reviews, a grant could be provided early in the process, while national schemes were also available.

·       For neighbourhoods with no Parish Council, it was confirmed engagement in plan-making could take place through the formal establishment, following consultation, of Neighbourhood Forums. Several members emphasised the need to ensure support was available in the development of

Neighbourhood Plans, and the Executive Member for Housing, Planning and Safer Communities confirmed that he would discuss with officers ways to codify support for Neighbourhood Plans through Parish Councils and Neighbourhood Forums and update members.

·       With reference to Supplementary Planning Documents (SPDs) which were not among those being prioritised through the LDS, it was noted that officers would provide an update with an indicative timetable for their implementation; pending further Government announcement on plan-making.

·       With reference to the Government’s indication that reference to ‘beautiful places’ would be replaced with ‘well-designed places’ in the new plan-making system, it was noted that this was a less subjective criterion which could be measured more effectively, with no loss of quality being key. This should not mitigate against innovative design; new developments would be looked at on a case-by-case basis and the Climate Change SPD would set out more detail on encouraging innovation in delivering sustainability.

·       In relation to capacity to deliver within the proposed timescale, it was noted that a decision had been taken to move forward with the SPDs and Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL), with the timetable staggered to make best use of resources.

·       The Government was seeking to bring the shorten the timeframe for local plan examination to six months, with needs assessments being brought forward to before the examination part of the process; mini examinations would form part of the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 10.

The Parish Council of Murton have produced a Neighbourhood Plan for their area. This plan sets out their planning policies and has been subject to an independent Examination. This report presents the conclusions of the Examination in the Inspector’s Report and recommends Executive to endorse the Examiner’s recommendations to enable the Neighbourhood Plan to proceed to Referendum.

Members considered a report setting out the Examiner’s Report, including modifications, on the Murton Neighbourhood Plan. Officers provided an overview and in response to questions from the Group it was noted that:

·       A public consultation on the Plan documents had taken place between 6 November 2024 and 10 January 2025 prior to the Examination.

·       While the Examiner had made several modifications, he had emphasised that the Plan was a good example of a neighbourhood plan.

·       The local referendum process was clarified, and it was noted that a simple majority was required to approve the Plan.

·       The Executive Member for Housing, Planning and Safer Communities thanked officers and Murton residents for their dedicated efforts through the Neighbourhood Plan process.

Resolved:   To recommend that Executive:

            i.                        Agrees the Examiner’s modifications set out at Annex C (Decision Statement) to the Submission Draft Murton Neighbourhood Plan (Annex A) and that subject to those modifications the Neighbourhood Plan meets the Basic Conditions and other legislative requirements.

          ii.                        Agrees that the Submission Draft Murton Neighbourhood Plan as amended proceeds to a local referendum based on the neighbourhood area outlined in the Examiner’s Report (Annex B).

         iii.                        Approves the Decision Statement attached at Annex C to be published on the City of York Council’s website.

Reason:     To allow the Neighbourhood Plan to progress in line with neighbourhood planning legislation.

Any other business which the Chair considers urgent under the Local Government Act 1972.

The Chair indicated that he intended to consider the role of the Local Plan Working Group, particularly in relation to its engagement with the emerging SPDs, under Urgent Business as he had received correspondence from several members on this issue.

It was noted that:

·       The Chair had already held conversations with officers and would be discussing the subject further with the Council Leader, and invited members to contact him with their suggestions as to the approach to be taken.

·       The remit of the committee did not include approving or amending, but making recommendations to the Executive.

·       Officers indicated that they intended to bring draft SPDs to the Group ahead of their consideration by the Executive, with a longer period between Local Plan Working Group and Executive meetings so that any contributions from the Group could be incorporated ahead of an Executive decision being taken.

·       The SPD process provided an opportunity for clarity in long-term thinking and achieving Local Plan priorities, including around sustainable development. Examples from the London Borough of Richmond Council’s approach to achieving zero-carbon standards in both major and smaller residential developments through contributions to a carbon-offsetting fund were highlighted, and it was suggested that a similar approach could help ensure that all new developments in York contributed to reducing carbon emissions. It was noted that York’s SPDs would have to clarify the Council’s own Local Plan policies, and that officers would explore the examples suggested.

Resolved: That the Group consider the drafts of the emerging SPDs at an appropriate point in advance of Executive decisions.

Reason:     To enable the Local Plan Working Group to contribute effectively to the SPD process.