Agenda and minutes

To approve as a correct record the Minutes of the meeting held on 20 September 2017.

The Minutes of the meeting held on 20 September 2017 (copies of which had been circulated) were approved as a correct record.

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

Councillors and officers were invited to declare any interests which they had in any of the items on the agenda for the meeting.

No declarations were made.

To consider a report of the Chief Planning Officer.

The report provides an update on proposed programme of the Greater Manchester Spatial Framework through to June 2018.

The Working Party is recommended to note the report.

Officer contact Adrian Fisher on 0161-474-3452 or email: adrian.fisher@stockport.gov.uk

A representative of the Corporate Director for Place Management & Regeneration submitted a report (copies of which had been circulated) providing an update on the proposed programme of the Greater Manchester Spatial Framework through to June 2018.

The following comments were made/ issues raised:-

·         The results of the consultation had now been published online which largely reflected known concerns in relation the loss of green belt; the scale of development and its impact on the environment; the quality of associated infrastructure; and the type and variety of housing that would be developed.

·         The refocus of the GMSF by the Mayor of Greater Manchester may entail a movement away from larger site allocations to minimise green belt incursion and the bringing forward of smaller sites.

·         Members would continue to be involved at each stage of the process through briefings and the area committees.

·         The planning and development process was upset by the ability of developers to submit prior approval applications for the conversion of offices to residential accommodation which meant that the Council may need to more regularly review its employment and housing allocations.

·         The quality of some of the conversions of office accommodation was a concern.

·         Concern was expressed in relation to the ability of the Council to control the quality of development in the Borough and, in particular, the suitability of family accommodation.

·         The Council needed to leverage rigorous control of development through the full range of mechanisms open to it, including through the Greater Manchester Spatial Framework, the Local Plan and Neighbourhood Plans.

·         There was an increase in the number of development applications for Houses of Multiple Occupation which did not constitute the type of housing that Stockport needed.

·         There needed to be effective controls on the density of development in the Borough.

·         Consideration needed to be given to the establishment of controls over the minimum size of rooms for new developments.

·         The Council could make better use of the land within its ownership to bring forward quality residential developments.

·         The need to enforce design standards needed to be balanced with the viability of the development. 

·         In response to concerns about the quality of a particular development, it was stated that the right suite of policies needed to be in place in order to control and assess future developments against.

·         There were a large number of brownfield sites for which the costs of remediation meant that development was not currently viable.  It was queried whether the Council was seeking external funding to mitigate against the cost of site remediation.

RESOLVED – That the report be noted.

To consider a report of the Chief Planning Officer.

The report outlines the anticipated Local Plan work programme towards the preparation of a Draft Plan.

The Working Party is recommended to note the report.

Officer contact: Darren Pegram on 0161-474-3171 or email: darren.pegram@stockport.gov.uk

The Interim Chief Planning Officer submitted a report (copies of which had been circulated) outlining the anticipated Local Plan work programme towards the preparation of a Draft Plan.

The following comments were made/ issues raised:-

·         Following the end of the public consultation, officers were working towards producing a draft Local Plan by December 2018

·         It was commented that the workshops which had been held in the various localities had been well received and the level of public engagement was encouraging.

·         There was a degree of risk associated with the ongoing process for the Greater Manchester Spatial Framework, but that this risk had been accommodated for within the planning and preparation for the delivery of the Local Plan.

RESOLVED – That the report be noted.

To consider a report of the Chief Planning Officer.

The report provides an update on the Local Development Scheme which aims to inform the public about the current planning policies for Stockport as well as to set out the programme for the preparation of the Local Plan.

The Working Party is recommended to comment on and note the report.

Officer contact: Steve Johnson on 0161 474 3509 or email: steven.johnson@stockport.gov.uk

The Interim Chief Planning Officer submitted a report (copies of which had been circulated) providing an update on the Local Development Scheme which aimed to inform the public about the current planning policies for Stockport as well as setting out the programme for the preparation of the Local Plan.

RESOLVED – That the report be noted.

To consider a report of the Chief Planning Officer.

The report provides an explanation of how Neighbourhood Plans relate to the Local Plan and the GMSF.

The Working Party is recommended to comment on and note the report.

Officer contact: Steve Johnson on 0161 474 3509 or email: steven.johnson@stockport.gov.uk

The Interim Chief Planning Officer submitted a report (copies of which had been circulated) provides an explanation of how Neighbourhood Plans related to the Local Plan and the Greater Manchester Local Framework.

RESOLVED – That the report be noted.

To approve the dates for future meetings of the Working Party:-

Wednesday, 13 December 2017

Wednesday, 24 January 2017

Wednesday, 7 March 2017

RESOLVED – That future meetings of the Working Party be held as follows:-

Wednesday, 13 December 2017

Wednesday, 24 January 2017

Wednesday, 7 March 2017