Agenda and minutes

To appoint a Vice Chair until the next Annual Council meeting.

RESOLVED – That Cllr Lenny Grice be appointed Vice-Chair of the Working Party for the period until the next Annual Council

To approve as a correct record the minutes of the meeting held on 25 January 2012.

The minutes (copies of which have been circulated) of the meeting held on 25 January 2012 were approved as a correct record.

Councillors and Officers to declare any interest that they may have in any of the items on the agenda.

The Service Director (Place Development) will report at the meeting on the following aspects of the Local Development Framework:-

a)    Enforcement DPD

b)    Woodford SPD

c)    GM Joint Waste Plan and GM Joint Waste Minerals Plan DPD

A representative of the Service Director (Place Development) reported on the enforcement DPD, Woodford’s SPD, the Greater Manchester Joint Waste Plan and the Greater Manchester Joint Waste Minerals Plan DPD.

The following comments were made/issues raised:-

• A draft of the Woodford SPD had been published on Cheshire East Council’s website. This was not accurate as significant changes had been made since it was published and it has now been removed from the website.
• If a planning application were to be submitted for the Woodford site before the SPD had been finalised then the applicant would need to submit supporting evidence for the suitability of the scheme for that site.

RESOLVED – That the report be noted.

The Service Director (Place Development) will report at the meeting on the Allocations DPD- Draft Preferred Options Paper including:-

a)    Gypsy and Travelling Showpeople Site Provision

b)    Children’s Homes

Links to online documents:-

Gypsy Travelling Showpeople - Note for LDF Working Party

Preferred Options

Habitats Regulations Assessment Screening Report

Sustainability Appraisal Screening Report

Sustainability Appraisal Screening Report - Annex 1 - Site Appraisal Pro Forma

Sustainability Appraisal Screening Report - Annex 2 - SAF Findings

Sustainability Appraisal Screening - Annex 3 - Equalities Impact Assessment

Sustainability Appraisal Screening Report - Annex 4 - HIA Allocations

A representative of the Service Director (Place Development) submitted a report  (copies of which have been circulated) giving details of the draft preferred options paper for the DPD.

The following comments were made/issues raised:-

• The capacity of children’s homes in the borough was 300 places above what is needed to meet Stockport demand. The Working Party felt that further homes could not be justified.
•  A specific policy for development of Mills should help their conservation as some have fallen into disrepair through non-use. Houldsworth Mill is a good example of how Mills could be used for other purposes than their current use.
• Councillors were only Corporate Parents for children whose home authority is Stockport.
• The paper currently states that an application for change of use must show that the building had been unsuccessfully marketed for its current use for 12-18 months. It was suggested that the wording be changed to reflect the Working Party’s view that the period should be 18 months unless the applicant can prove there are mitigating factors.
• It was suggested that there should be a specific policy relating to public houses similar to the one for mills due to their prominence in their communities. The Localism Act allows buildings to be designated as community assets but this may not be practical due to their market value.
• Most changes to green belt boundaries are a result of the advancements in base mapping which had made them more accurate.
• It was hoped that by designating the bus station as a retail area, ancillary units could be developed to enhance the area. It was not intended that the bus station be moved from its current location.
• Work on a development brief for the Offerton High School site is ongoing.
• Members felt that the site in Adswood identified as being potentially suitable for gypsy and travelling show people to use was difficult to access and would require the provision of extensive additional infrastructure. The Service Director (Place Development) had requested information on funding options from HCA.
• The site in the Lancashire Hill area identified as being potentially suitable for gypsy and travelling show people to use would require little infrastructure work and was close to road networks. However, it is small and would have to be designated in conjunction with another site.
• The site in Heaton Mersey identified as being potentially suitable for gypsy and travelling show people to use was designated as green belt land and subject to several Tree Preservation Orders.
• Representatives of the travelling community had stated that their preferred site would be close to transport networks and facilities.

RESOLVED – (1) That the report be noted.

(2) That a representative of the Service Director (Place Development) be requested to investigate the possibility of designating public houses as community assets.

(3) That it be noted that Cllr David White was not in support of the Midland Road site being designated as suitable for housing.

(4) That a representative of the Service Director (Place Development) be requested to produce a briefing note regarding Gypsy and Travelling Show people sites to be shared with Councillors via their group leaders and that group leaders be requested to report back with their views to the next meeting of this Working Party.

(5) That Cllr Peter Burns be invited to the next meeting of the LDF Working Party

With the agreement of the Chair this item was deferred until the next meeting.

With the agreement of the Chair this item was deferred until the next meeting.