Agenda and minutes

To approve as a correct record the Minutes of the meeting held on 13 March 2016.

The Minutes (copies of which had been circulated) of the meeting held on 10 May 2017 were approved as a correct record.

Councillors and Officers to declare any interests which they may have in any of the items on the agenda for the meeting.

No declarations were made.

To receive an update on the development of the Greater Manchester Spatial Framework.

Steve Johnson (Planning Policy Officer, Stockport Council) attended the meeting to provide an update on the progression of the Greater Manchester Spatial Framework.

It was reported that the planned commencement date for the second stage of the consultation on the Spatial Framework had been due to commence in September 2017, however indications from the Greater Manchester Combined Authority suggested that the newly elected Mayor of Greater Manchester was considering a significant rewrite of the Framework which may have an impact on this timescale.

The following comments were made/ issues raised:-

·         There had been 29,103 responses to the first stage of the consultation from 27,070 individual consultees.

·         There had been 690 comments received in respect of the proposed Woodford site, 1140 in respect of High Lane, 690 in respect of the A34 site, 700 at the Heald Green site and 20 in respect of the Bredbury site.

·         The thematic issues raised related largely to concerns over infrastructure, affordable homes, transport and the assumptions made in calculating a housing requirement for Stockport.

·         The Council continued to pursue the development of its own Local Plan.

·         Should the assumptions around the progression of the Spatial Framework change, then it would be possible to pursue a Local Plan in isolation.

RESOLVED – That the update be noted.

To consider a report of the Corporate Director for Place Management & Regeneration.

A representative of the Corporate Director for Place Management & Regeneration submitted a report (copies of which had been circulated) providing an update on work relating to the Stockport Local Plan an Open Space Assessment has been undertaken.  This assessment provides an evaluation of the quantity, quality and accessibility of open space provision in the Borough; to identify shortfalls in provision and recommend standards and effective mechanisms in order that appropriate provision is secured to meet future needs.

The following comments were made/ issues raised:-

·         A key element of the study was identifying where there were shortfalls in the quantity and quality of existing provision.

·         Consideration needed to be given to alternative uses for poorer quality open space to facilitate improvements elsewhere.

·         Indoor leisure provision would form part of the evidence base for the Open Space Study.

·         Playing pitches were being assessed differently.

·         It was interesting to note the inclusion of civic spaces and market squares as part of the Study which would give the opportunity to think differently about the use of open space and make informed decisions about development in the town centre.

RESOLVED – That the report be noted.

To consider a report of the Corporate Director for Place Management & Regeneration.

A representative of the Corporate Director for Place Management & Regeneration submitted a report (copies of which had been circulated) providing an update on the preparation of the draft Issues and Options document, along with proposed timescales for its approval for consultation.

The following comments were made/ issues raised:-

·         It was important that as part of the community engagement element of the consultation, local members were closely involved.

·         The Local Plan would be a key planning document for the Borough which would include as wide a range of issues as possible in a broad manner and which would include housing and employment.

·         It was important that the consultation was seen as a genuine piece of public engagement and that members become heavily involved with discussions within communities.

·         Any consultation would be open for the longest period possible and was seen to be open and unconstrained.

·         A discussion took place in relation to the suggested housing requirement for Stockport in the Greater Manchester Spatial Framework and the robustness of the assumptions made in its calculation.  In response it was stated that any independent calculation of housing need would likely result in a broadly similar figure.

·         Different approaches to meeting the housing requirement were being developed by each of the ten Greater Manchester authorities.

·         The Local Plan needed to be ‘Stockport-centric’ in its approach.

RESOLVED – That the proposed to extend the consultation period on the first part of the Stockport Local Plan from 24 July to 6 October 2017 be endorsed.

To agree the date for the next meeting of the Working Party.

RESOLVED – That the date of the next meeting be approved as 21 June 2017.