Issue - meetings

Members will consider the final draft of the report of the Planning and Transport Scrutiny Board into Guidance for Sustainable Development.  Members will be asked to agree the content, format and recommendations of the report.  The agreed report will then be considered by Scrutiny Management Committee on Monday 24 July.

Members considered the final draft of the report prepared by the former Planning and Transport Scrutiny Board entitled “Guidance for Sustainable Development.”  They were asked to approve the report for submission to the Scrutiny Management Committee, subject to any amendments they might wish to make.

Members noted that the report did not appear to encompass the “wish list” agreed at a meeting of the Planning and Transport Scrutiny Board last November, which was attended by Officers from Building Control and the Acting Assistant Director of City Development and Transport.  They asked that this be re-examined by the Scrutiny Officer and that the report be amended to:

• Include a recommendation that Building Control act as a “portal” for the public to access information on sustainable building, as suggested by Building Control Officers last November, since funding had now been secured for an additional Sustainability Officer;
• Include a recommendation that the Council adopt the LDF Core Strategy for development control purposes as soon as possible, replacing the draft 4^th set of changes to the Local Plan;
• Add the words “and subsequently in the LDF Core Strategy” after every reference to the Local Plan;
• Clarify the issue of solar gain by making reference to the need to ensure that new developments do not compromise the solar gain of existing developments;
• Advise that green travel plans should include guidance on taking into account accessibility by public transport when considering applications for doctors’ and dentists’ surgeries;
• Correct the typographical errors in paragraphs 6(a) and 9, and re-number the duplicate paragraph 6(a) and paragraphs thereafter.

RESOLVED: (i)         That the Scrutiny Officer, in consultation with the Chair, make the requested amendments to the report, as outlined above.

(ii) That the amended report be made available to Board Members electronically for final agreement before being referred to the Scrutiny Management Committee.

REASON:      To ensure that the final report reflects the Board’s intentions and to complete the work of the former Planning and Transport Scrutiny Board.