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.

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

To approve and sign the minutes of the meeting of the Local Plan Working Group held on 3^rd September 2012.

RESOLVED:                That the minutes of the meeting held on 3^rd September 2012 be approved and signed by the Chair as a correct record.

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 Wednesday 6^th February 2013.

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

Three speakers had registered for the agenda items, details of which as follows:

Mr Hamill, a building contractor spoke to advise that he was disappointed with the Officers report and felt that the advice provided to the Council from the building trade regarding affordable housing had not been acknowledged.

John Reeves a building contractor spoke to advise that the policy to deliver 5000 homes in 5 years was not achievable and that making what he considered to be small changes as suggested in the report, was not going to help the situation.

Alison Sinclair spoke in relation to agenda item 5 the Heritage List for York. She asked Members to agree to the public consultation and advised that the York Open Planning Forum (YOP) has been working on the list since 2003 and had gathered 200 nominations. She advised that 10 of the 200 buildings are already lost and it is now important to get the list into action. YOP will continue to assist the Council with the list and are happy to help with the consultation process.

The purpose of this report is to seek Members views on a report which is being presented to Cabinet on 12^th February 2013.  The report proposes to update the current affordable housing targets.

Members considered a report which sought their views on a proposed update to the current affordable housing targets for York, prior to a report going to Cabinet on 12^th February 2013.

Officers outlined the report, in particular the following key points:

·        The proposed off site financial contribution on sites of less than 15 homes in rural areas.

·        The investment of £1m to address overcrowding in Council homes and options for a mortgage advice scheme.

·        A wider intention to review Section 106 requirements, in particular new approaches to facilitate greater flexibility in the payment of those contributions.

·        An update to the affordable housing targets in York and the introduction of off-site  financial contributions on small rural sites in lieu of on-site provision.

·        The initiatives detailed in the report are intended to be considered as a whole in order to contribute towards new house building activity.

Discussion took place regarding the updated affordable housing targets highlighted on page 18 of the agenda. Some Members felt that the targets should be less than those suggested by Officers.

The Chair commented that in terms of affordable housing targets, the Council has a balance to strike in order to facilitate sites but also to bring forward a reasonable amount of affordable housing.

A Member asked how many affordable houses will be built in the next 5 years as a result of the changes. Officers advised that although they can undertake desk top work to try and forecast, factors such as the economic climate will also have an impact. Incentives such as those outlined in the report are designed to try and improve the amount of affordable housing being built.

Following discussion on rural off site financial contributions, the Chair asked officers to consider whether the Council’s policy would need amending as a result of any changes to how  the off site financial contributions can be spent.

RESOLVED:                That the Working Group noted the report and commented as above.

REASON:                     To inform Cabinet when they consider the issues on 12^th February 2013.

This report seeks the Local Plan Working Group’s views prior to Cabinet being asked to approve permission for a public consultation on the Local Heritage List for York Supplementary Planning Document. This is part of the wider consultation exercise on the Local Plan and seeks a member steer on taking this forward following consultation.

Members considered a report which sought support to undertake public consultation on the Local Heritage List for York Supplementary Planning Document (SPD) as part of a wider consultation exercise on the Local Plan.

Officers outlined the report and advised that the Council had been working with York Open Planning Forum (YOP) for a number of years on a Local Heritage List. A draft list is in existence however it is proposed to re-advertise the nomination process for the Local Heritage List to include the draft nominations whilst encouraging new nominations from the public, communities and interest groups.

Officers stressed that the inclusion of an asset on the heritage list would not afford the same level of protection given to statutory Listed Buildings, but consideration would need to be given to the associated SPD when  planning applications are being considered.

The Chair acknowledged the hard work undertaken by YOP and encouraged their continued involvement. He welcomed the report and the draft SPD attached at annex 1 and was pleased to note that the Local Heritage List would be taken into account in relation to future planning applications.

RESOLVED:                That it be recommended to Cabinet that the draft SPD be approved for public consultation as part of the wider Local Plan process.

REASON:                     To support the development of a Local Plan for York and to engage local communities with their heritage.