Agenda and minutes

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

No declarations of interest were made.

To consider a report of the Democratic Services Manager

The report sets out the Scrutiny Review Panel Procedure Rules and suggests that the Panel should adopt them for the purpose of conducting the review.

The Panel is requested to formally adopt the Scrutiny Review Panel Procedure Rules for the purpose of conducting the review.

Officer Contact: David Clee on 0161 474 3137 or email: david.clee@stockport.gov.uk

A representative of the Democratic Services Manager submitted a report (copies of which had been circulated) setting out the Scrutiny Review Procedure Rules and suggesting that the Panel should adopt them for the purpose of conducting the review.

RESOLVED – That the Scrutiny Review Procedure Rules be adopted for the purpose of conducting the review.

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

The report outlines the proposed scope and brief for the review of the Mills Strategy 2005-2015, with background information provided as the appendices to the report.

The Panel is requested to approve the scope and brief for the review.

Officer Contact: Nicola Turner on 0161 218 1635 or email: nicola.turner@stockport.gov.uk

A representative of the Corporate Director for Place Management and Regeneration submitted a report (copies of which had been circulated) outlining the proposed scope and brief for the review of the Mills Strategy 2005-2015 with background information provided as the appendices to the report. The report would review the current status and development potential of the mill building resource in Stockport and consider priorities for future mill development in Stockport in the context of brownfield development priorities.

The Panel was advised that the 'Greater Manchester's Historic Textile Mills: Buildings At Risk Survey' had been commissioned  from the Greater Manchester Archaeological Advisory Service in order to review the condition of historic mills in Greater Manchester. The work was being carried out one local authority area at a time and Stockport's mills were expected to be reviewed sometime in 2017.

The review of brownfield sites was currently underway and would identify priority sites and the further work necessary in order to progress development on these sites.  Mills formed an element of the borough's brownfield sites.

The following comments were made/issues raised:-

•           Ultimately it was a commercial decision by the owners of a particular mill whether or not to develop it.

•           Some of the mills were either Grade 2 listed buildings or locally listed and the starting point would usually be to see if a conversion of an empty mill for residential accommodation was possible.

•           It was acknowledged that many of the successful mill conversions had taken place in a different economic climate and therefore demolition could not be discounted. Part demolition of a mill could also be an option. The Council may need to review its planning policies to make it easier for demolition if it was not feasible to covert the mill and better use could be made of the space.

·         Planning briefs may be required for the site of a particular mill, including a justification for the loss of the mill. Initial work may be necessary to see if a mill could be converted.

·         The Council needed to develop some form of criteria as to why a particular mill could not be developed, for example it not being cost effective or not providing  enough floorspace.

•           The mills which had successful businesses in them would remain as such, although there was the opportunity to have a mixture of uses in some mills.

•           In general terms the mills lent themselves towards smaller units, although planning applications had been received for housing in the past.

•           The balance for Planning Officers and Members may be that a significant amount of additional residential accommodation may result from converting a mill, but car parking maybe deficient to the required standard.

•           Part of the remit of the review to be undertaken as part of the ‘Greater Manchester's Historic Textile Mills: Buildings At Risk Survey’ would assess the condition of the mills, including whether they were at risk of collapse. There would be no duplication with the work to be undertaken by this Scrutiny Review and it was the intention that both reviews would inform each other.

•           Any possible compulsory purchase of a mill would need to be the subject of a business case.

•           Some of the mills which were undeveloped or in the process of being developed were subject to anti-social behaviour.

RESOLVED – (1) That the scope of the review be as set out in the report,

(2)       That the review be restricted to mills and not include other historic buildings.

(3)       That the Corporate Director for Place Management and Regeneration be requested to investigate whether there were any case studies which had been carried out by other local authorities on the development of a historic building.

(4)       That the Corporate Director for Place Management and Regeneration be requested to investigate whether any other local authorities had carried out Mills Development Plans recently, including Cheshire  ...  view the full minutes text for item 3.

To agree the dates of future meetings of the Scrutiny Review Panel.

RESOLVED – That the Democratic Services Manager be requested to arrange the next meeting of the Panel at an appropriate time, in consultation with the Corporate Director for Place Management and Regeneration and Chair of the Scrutiny Review Panel.