Agenda item

This report considers the way forward for the Council with regard to the City of York Development Plan following the decision of Council on 12^th July to withdraw the LDF Core Strategy from the examination process.

Prior to consideration of this agenda item, Councillor Barton queried when the working group would be considering the motion on assisted housing which had been put forward by the Conservative Group and carried by full Council at the 12^th July Council meeting.

The Chair advised that officers required some time to put together a detailed report on such an important and complex issue.

Councillor Barton expressed his dissatisfaction with this response as he felt that following Council on 12 July an urgent item should have been brought to the working group for consideration. He then left the meeting.

Members considered a report which outlined the way forward for the Council with regard to the City of York Development Plan following the decision of Council on 12^th July to withdraw the Local Development Framework Core Strategy from the examination process.

A written representation had been received from Mr Chas Jones, in which he requested that consideration be given to restoring Green Belt protection of the land along Germany Beck. It was confirmed that Mr. Jones’s comments would be fed into the consultation process and his comments would also be passed to Officers in Development Management and Design and Conservation for information.

Officers outlined the report and drew Members’ attention to the Local Plan Work Programme, highlighted on page 12 of the agenda.  Officers advised that it was imperative that York produced a Local Plan which was viable and deliverable.

Members commented as follows:

·        Concerns were raised regarding how changes to government policy could affect the progression of the Local Plan.  Officers advised that this was difficult to predict but the priority was to ensure that the plan was viable, represented the city’s wishes and could be delivered with local support.

·        In response to Members’ questions about the Neighbourhood Shopping Parade Study, mentioned as part of the evidence base, officers advised that the study was not as crucial as some of the other studies but it would be time consuming. Members also queried progress with the Public Realm study. Officers confirmed that the work may cross reference with some of the work undertaken for Reinvigorate York.

·        There was a need to ensure that there were no delays in delivering the plan so as to remove any uncertainty.

·        Referring to paragraph 32 of the report, it would be beneficial to receive more detailed information regarding the estimated financial costs.

·        Further work needed to be carried out in terms of gathering comments from local residents on issues such as transport – information should be available for residents to view on-line at the very least.

·        Further consideration should be given as to how best to work collaboratively with neighbouring authorities and other relevant organisations on spatial planning and transport issues (including accessing minutes of their meetings).

·        There needed to be a new retail study carried out.

·        Members queried whether there will still be the same amount of money for local schemes if contributions are pooled for strategic schemes. Officers confirmed that Section 106 will still be used for smaller, local schemes and that it will be about finding the right balance.

RESOLVED:       (i)      That Cabinet be made aware of the views

of the LDF Working Group, as detailed above, on the contents of the report and the move towards the preparation of a new Local Plan for York.

(ii)      That more detailed information be provided on the financial implications, as outlined in paragraph 32 of the report.

(iii)     That it be recommended that the working group be renamed the Local Plan Working Group.

REASONS:         (i)      To inform the preparation of a new Local

                                      Plan for York.

                             (ii)      To ensure that the working group is able to

                                      able to make informed recommendations.

                             (iii)     To recognise the working group’s remit

in terms of the development of a  Local Plan.