Agenda and minutes

At this point in the meeting, Members are asked to declare:

·        any personal interests not included on the Register of Interests

·        any prejudicial interests or

·        any disclosable pecuniary interests

which they may have in respect of business on this agenda.

Members were asked to declare any personal interests not included on the Register of Interests, any prejudicial interests or any disclosable pecuniary interests which they might have in respect of business on the agenda. No further declarations were declared.

To approve and sign the minutes of the meeting of the Local Plan Working Group held on Tuesday 27 June 2017.

Resolved: That the minutes of the meeting held on 27 June 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 their wish to speak, regarding an item on the agenda or an issue within the remit of the Working Group, may do so.  The deadline for registering is 5.00 pm on Friday 7 July 2017.

Filming or Recording Meetings

Please note this meeting may be filmed and webcast, or recorded, and that includes any registered speakers who have given permission. The broadcast can be viewed at: http://www.york.gov.uk/webcasts or, if recorded, this will be uploaded onto the Council’s website following the meeting.

Residents are welcome to photograph, film or record Councillors and Officers at all meetings open to the press and public. This includes the use of social media reporting, i.e. tweeting.  Anyone wishing to film, record or take photos at any public meeting should contact the Democracy Officers (whose contact details are at the foot of this agenda) in advance of the meeting.

The Council’s protocol on Webcasting, Filming & Recording of Meetings ensures that these practices are carried out in a manner both respectful to the conduct of the meeting and all those present.  It can be viewed at http://www.york.gov.uk/downloads/download/3130/protocol_for_webcasting_ filming_and_recording_of_council_meetings

It was reported that there had been seven registrations to speak on item 4, City of York Local Plan, under the Council’s Public Participation Scheme.

Jane Wright from the Rufforth Neighbourhood Plan Group

spoke on the emerging Rufforth with Knapton Neighbourhood Plan. She stated that the Plan reflected the views of their whole community and it recommended a maximum of 40 extra houses in the Local Plan. She expressed their concerns over the additional housing allocation which would increase the size of Rufforth by 50%, without services and infrastructure to support this development. These sites had been rejected by the Group and she asked the Council to reconsider the proposals and to respect the power granted to Parishes in the Localism Act. 

Edie Jones, Chair of Upper and Nether Poppleton Neighbourhood Group, spoke on Brownfield development. She expressed the Groups views on why the use of Green Belt for housing and employment would encourage Brownfield sites to become less appealing to developers. She expressed concerns on four sites, the former Civil Service ground, the Poppleton Garden Centre and the two areas around Northminster Business Park and suggested development on Brownfield Sites should be a priority.

Richard France, the Managing Director of the Oakgate Group, spoke on the employment land element, in particular land east to the Designer Outlet. He confirmed that the 40 acre site had substantial infrastructure so could accommodate further development and that the land they also owned around the A64/A19 junctions could also be upgraded as necessary. He felt the site would complement city centre developments and could be deliverable very quickly and early in the Plan period.  He confirmed their proposal was fully supported by a range of businesses and he requested the Committee consider this site as it could offer a sustainable employment location that would have little or no visual impact.

Derek Bowen, the Chair of Copmanthorpe Neighbourhood Plan Group, confirmed their Plan was prepared in accordance with the rights granted to ensure that any development was inline with the wishes of a local community and reflected the opinions of residents, contained policies protecting the Green Belt and identified two sites for housing development. He asked Members not to amend present provisions in the draft Local Plan, which would directly affect the Copmanthorpe Neighbourhood Plan.

Dave Merrett spoke on social and overall housing provision and transport implications. He expressed his disappointment on proposals to address the affordable housing crisis in the city. He confirmed that the strategic Housing Market Assessment report made very clear the scale of this issue and he highlighted the problems with house prices and private sector rents in York. He felt the overall housing numbers should be increased, to ensure sufficient affordable housing was available. He raised concerns with the traffic congestion and the transport infrastructure.

Tony Fisher, spoke on behalf of Strensall Parish Council, regarding allocation of the barracks and land around Strensall. He confirmed the Parish Council felt the MOD site should be developed as soon as practically  ...  view the full minutes text for item 8.

This report will:

·        provide an update to Members on the work undertaken on the MOD sites highlighted in previous reports to LPWG and Executive;

·        seek the views of Members on the methodology and studies carried out to inform the housing and employment that the City is tasked with accommodating;

·        seek the views of Members on the most appropriate way of accommodating this future growth;

·        ask for Members approval of non-housing and employment site specific policies; and

·        request the approval of Members for officers to undertake the necessary work to produce a draft plan based on the recommendations of the Executive for the purposes of consultation along with associated technical papers.

Members considered a report that

·        provided an update on the work undertaken on the Ministry ofDefence (MOD) sites highlighted in previous reports to LPWG and Executive;

·        sought their views on the methodology and studies carried out to inform the housing and employment that the City was tasked with accommodating;

·        sought their views on the most appropriate way of accommodating this future growth;

·        sought their approval of non-housing and employment site specific policies; and

·        requested the approval for officers to undertake the necessary work to produce a draft plan based on the recommendations of the Executive for the purposes of consultation along with associated technical papers.

Officers gave an update and confirmed the report and appendices made up the Local Plan for York. It included the responses from the preferred sites consultation and also highlighted officers and various external organisations responses to the future housing and employment needs, including the suitability of sites for future development.

In answer to some Members questions officers confirmed:

·        a compositedraft Local Plan would be opened for city wide consultation around September 2017 for six weeks. The comments raised would then be considered by the Local Plan Working Group and Executive around January 2018 before submitting it to the Planning Inspectorate around spring 2018, where the examination would take between 6 to 9 months. 

·        the Plan could be adopted around early 2019 and would set out the Green Belt boundaries for the next 20 years.

·        the MOD sites identified for housing would be delivered from 2021 and 2031 and the transport infrastructure would continue to be considered in consultation with Strensall Parish Council.

·        they would continue to receive clarity from the MOD regarding their properties being included in the housing stock for York.

·        Neighbourhood Plans had to be produced in accordance with an adopted Local Plan.

·     Local Plans could be subject to a review every 5 years.

In answer to Members questions regarding site H56, St John's Playing Fields on Windmill Lane the Head of Strategic Planning stated that the site was included in the site selection because Sport England had confirmed that the Haxby Road site provided a replacement for the recreational facilities provided by site H56. The officer felt that this meant the site was acceptable to be included in the Local Plan site selection.

The Assistant Director for Planning and Public Protection also clarified that site H56 would not be removed from the site selection regardless of any negative response received during the Regulation 18 consultation because the site already had planning permission and it would be perverse to remove a site from the Local Plan if it had a planning permission approved.

Following questions the Chair highlighted each recommendation and opened each one for debate where GL Hearn’s draft Strategic Housing Market Assessment and the housing allocation figures were discussed in great detail with all Members putting forward their views. Some Members stated their dissatisfaction to reject the evidence put forward and felt the housing allocation was  ...  view the full minutes text for item 9.