Agenda item

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

The Chair confirmed that a report on theproposed reforms to the National Planning Policy Framework Consultation had been considered under urgent business due to the imminent deadline of 24 September 2024 to provide the council’s response to the consultation.

The Head of Strategic Planning Policy provided a presentation, attached as an agenda supplement to the published agenda, to the committee that highlighted the consultation process and the policy objectives as well as providing an overview on how the framework would plan for homes, deliver developments, deliver affordable homes and well-designed places, and support infrastructure, transport, green energy and environment planning. The application fees and the public sector equality duty arrangements were also addressed, and it was noted that:

·        Changes to the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) were vital to deliver the government’s commitments to achieve economic growth and build 1.5 million new homes.

·        The housing requirement target for City of York Council was 1251 but an additional buffer of 20% could be added if the council did not meet the housing delivery test, which would increase the target to 1501.

·        Brownfield land would be prioritised first for development then greenfield and then green belt. New golden rules for public benefit would also be incorporated alongside further green belt release and would include:

o   at least 50% affordable housing, where viable;

o   necessary improvements to local or national infrastructure;

o   provision of new, or improvements to existing, local green spaces that were accessible to the public.

·        For the purposes of plan-making and decision-making, grey belt was defined as land in the green belt comprising previously developed land and any other parcels and/or areas of green belt land that make a limited contribution to the five green belt purposes.

Members were also informed that the proposals:

·        encouraged a mixture of tenures on development sites, including affordable housing and social rented homes, which was required to be evidenced by local need.

·        included a new element of meeting the needs of looked after children but omitted any standards for accessible homes or changes for other specialist provision, and this had been raised as a concern.

·        removed the word ‘beauty’ from the design policy.

·        encouraged the importance of facilitating new, expanded, or upgraded public service infrastructure when considering proposals for development.

·        requested feedback on providing a greater direction and clarity on the promotion of health.

·        supported a ‘vision-led’ approach to transport planning which focused on the outcomes desired and planning for achieving them.

·        provided increased support for renewable energy schemes, and the restrictions on onshore wind had been removed.

·        provided significant support for energy efficiency and climate change.

·        considered the ability for local authorities to set their own charging schedules and included raising planning application fees to an estimated £528 for a householder application.

During discussion, Members provided feedback for officers to consider in the council’s response to the consultation, which included:

·        Supporting the increased planning application fees.

·        Accelerating the timescales for planning developers to develop sites and the infrastructure required alongside delivery of housing. 

·        Supporting the proposals to tackle the housing crisis.

·        The significant change to transport polices required additional detail to support how they would be operationalised to have any meaningful impact. 

·        That the housing trajectory target be considered, as it could be challenging to meet local affordable housing targets.

·        Short-term lets required addressing and a mixture of tenure homes were required to support the cycle of life.

·        To preserve the green belt and to protect the nature and climate value, Ecosystem services should also be incorporated into the Green Belt Purposes.

·        Large developments must be self-sustaining and have the facility to support a community and include green and shared open spaces that provided accessible facilities for all ages.

·        A clear steer from government was required to support and deliver the infrastructure around the golden rules, and how the subjective language used throughout the framework would meet the definition expectations.

·        The eight-week consultation period over the summer months was not good consultation practice.

·        York’s unique historic character and setting should be considered to enable the configuration of communities and homes that truly reflected local need.

·        That the importance of Neighbourhood Plans be recognised and that further clarification around Neighbourhood Plans be required, particularly how they would interact with proposed policy approaches.

Officers discussed the affordability housing ratio figures andconfirmed they were attending a suite of national workshops run by the Planning Advisory Service and the Ministry for Housing and Communities Local Government and feedback on these sessions could be issued to committee members.

Officers then provided a brief update on the Local Plan examination and confirmed that the council had recently held a statutory consultation on amendments and modifications to policy H5 which related to Gypsy and Traveller provision. Officers had received 37 responses which had been reported back to the Inspectors and officers would submit the consultation statement shortly. This was anticipated to be the last matter to be considered by the Planning Inspectorate as part of the examination process and the Inspectors had acknowledged that following these modifications, the Plan as a whole would be sound. Officers hoped to receive a final report from the Inspectors in due course.

Officers were thanked for their update, and it was

Resolved:

 (i)        That the contents of the NPFF consultation be noted and the above feedback be considered in the council’s response to the consultation.

(ii)         That the update on the Local Plan be noted.

Reasons:

(i) To inform a council response to the Government’s consultation on Proposed Modifications to the National Planning Policy Framework by the deadline of 24 September 2024.

(ii) To keep the committee updated.