Agenda and minutes

At this point in the meeting, Members were asked to declare any personal or prejudicial interests they may have in the business on the agenda.

Councillor Simpson Laing declared a personal interest in relation to agenda item 5 as she is the Ward Councillor for Acomb Ward and also lives in the Leeman Road area.

To approve and sign the minutes of the meeting of the Local Development Framework Working Group held on 7 November 2011.

RESOLVED:                That the minutes of the meeting held on 7 November 2011 be approved and signed by the Chair, subject to the following amendment:

                                      Minute item 7 Declarations of Interest:

                                      Councillor Merretts interest be amended to state ‘his neighbours have a proposed extension’.

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 2^nd December 2011.

It was reported that there had been no registrations to speak under the Council’s Public Participation Scheme.

This report advises Members on the production of a revised Local Development Scheme (LDS) for the City as required under the Planning & Compulsory Purchase Act (2004, amended 2008).

Members considered a report which advised them on the production of a revised Local Development Scheme (LDS) for the City as required under the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act (2004, amended 2008). The LDS is effectively the project plan for the delivery of the Local Development Framework (LDF). A draft of the LDS was attached at Annex A of the report.

Officers outlined the report and provided an update, in particular that after the 15 January 2012, there is no longer a requirement for the LDS to go to the Department for Communities and Local Government (CLG).

Members suggested that the colour scheme for the graph at Figure 2 of the Annex should be reconsidered as it is currently not clear enough.

RESOLVED:                That Members recommended to Cabinet that it:

                                      (i)Approves the proposed Local Development Scheme, subject to the comments made by the LDF Working Group.

                                      (ii)Delegates to the Director of City Strategy in consultation with the Cabinet Member for City Strategy the making of any other necessary changes arising from either the recommendations of the LDF Working Group or Cabinet.

REASONS:                  (i)So that the Local Development Scheme can be progressed.

                                      (ii)So that any recommended changes can be incorporated into the Local Development Scheme and it can be progressed.

This report sets out the findings of work undertaken to establish a transport approach, including site access strategy, on the York Central (YC) and former British Sugar/ Manor School (fBS/MS) development sites. Members are asked to note the findings of the work, and to endorse the proposed approaches to taking these findings forward, as outlined in the report.

Members were asked to consider a report which set out the findings of work undertaken to establish a transport approach including site access strategy on the York Central (YC) and former British Sugar/Manor School (fBS/MS) development sites. Members were asked to note the findings of the work and to endorse the proposed approaches to taking these findings forward as outlined in the report.

The Chair addressed the Committee and asked that this item be deferred as the York Northwest Transport Masterplan had not being appended to the report nor had it been placed on the Council’s website. He asked that the decision on this item be deferred to a future meeting to enable Members and the Public to have more time to consider the report and its background documents.

Members asked that the following be considered by Officers:

·        The proposed Fly Over at Water End – few objections had been received from local residents and Members advised it was important that a cross section showing the gradient be available to ensure residents fully understand what it will look like.

·        Clearer details of the North and West access including traffic impact.

The Chair asked the Committee to email any queries in respect of the report to the relevant officers for consideration in the revised report. Members also asked that 2 hard copies of the Halcrow Report be made available to them.

RESOLVED:                That consideration of this report be deferred to a meeting in early 2012.

REASON:                     To enable full consideration of the report and its related documents by Members and the Public.

Members are asked to consider a report which advises them on proposed changes to affordable housing targets in rural areas.

A report on a proposed interim approach to affordable housing was considered by the Council’s Executive on 14^th December 2010. This endorsed the reduced affordable housing targets  in line with the Fordham’s Affordable Housing Viability Study (AHVS, July 2010), as amended following consultation with the York Property Forum and Developers, as an interim measure in advance of the LDF Core Strategy examination in 2012. The AHVS has previously been adopted as part of the LDF evidence base.

However, whilst Members approved the recommendation, the minutes exempted the reduction of the rural affordable housing target on sites between 2 and 15 homes from the interim approach.  This resulted in an affordable housing target of 25% on brownfield and 35% on Greenfield sites on urban and rural developments above 15 units, but retained a 50% target on rural sites between 2 and 15 homes.

This report sought to clarify and amend this anomaly, reducing the rural target in-line with the study recommendations and current interim approach for sites above 15 homes.

Officers outlined the report and Members queried the use of commuted sum money and whether it could go back into the rural community. Officers advised that legal advice would be required before settling on such a policy.

Members asked that their request that preference be given to rural housing with rural funding be noted.

Councillor Watt expressed concern that the targets are still too high.

When the recommendation to approve Option 1 was put to the vote, Councillors Watt and Barton voted against Option 1.

RESOLVED:            That Members recommended Cabinet to:

Approve Option 1 and reduce the affordable housing target for rural sites between 2 and 15 units in line with the Councils evidence base (targets identified in Table 2 of this report), until such a time as it is superseded by the adopted Local Development Framework Core Strategy.

REASON:                 This will ensure that the interim approach is consistent and in line with the Councils own approved evidence base (Affordable Housing Viability Study). It will also publically reduce the affordable housing requirement to a level that has proven achievable through recent planning applications and discussions.

The Chair asked that those present observed a silence in remembrance of Roger McMeeking who had recently passed away.