Agenda and minutes

To approve as a correct record the minutes of the meeting held on 13^th September 2011.

The minutes of them meeting held on 13^th September 2011 were approved as a correct record.

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

No declarations of interest were made.

A representative of the Corporate Director for Place provided details of planned changes by the government and their effect on how the Council enforces its planning policies. Planning Policy Guidance 18 (PPG18) is currently the basis for the corporate policy; however this is being withdrawn so it will be necessary to formulate a new enforcement policy. This will be based on PPG18 but it will need to be part of the development plan and follow the statutory consultation procedure. The following comments were made/issues raised:-

·         The schedule for implementation will be the same as the Allocations DPD and should be put in place in the Summer of 2013.

·         An interim policy will be drawn up for approval by the Executive Committee in March.

·         The Council does need to have an enforcement policy and if the Working Party wanted the interim measures to go to Scrutiny this would delay implementation.

·         It is unlikely that the interim policy would include any major changes.

RESOLVED – (1) That the general process be approved

(2) That the Working Party were of the opinion that the proposed interim policy need not be considered by the Environment & Economy Scrutiny Committee prior to its submission of the Executive in March.

Feedback on responses for information and discussion.

A Representative of the Corporate Director for Place submitted a report (copies of which have been circulated) which provided details of the consultation responses to the Issues and Opinions Paper which was discussed at the last meeting of this Working Party. The following comments were made/issues raised:-

·         Andrew Taylor, of Andrew J Taylor Solicitors, has raised concerns that they would need to disclose the proposals in the consultation document when completing conveyancing work. Advice has been given by a representative of the Corporate Director for Place.

·         With regards to the sites identified as being suitable for gypsies or travelling people, no gypsy/travelling group has identified sites that they would wish to use. They have, however, provided information on the types of site that they would use. The Travellers’ Association support the criteria given for identifying sites.

·         Provided all reasonable steps have been taken to identify suitable sites then planning decisions on traveller sites should hold up to scrutiny by the planning inspectorate.

·         Flood risk data is updated by the Environment Agency on their website every six months. The allocations DPD will direct people to this as its flood risk data will not be updated.

·         If the current use of listed buildings is critical to its heritage status then this is unlikely to be changed. However, English Heritage recognise that a change of use in some cases can encourage the maintenance of historic buildings and so deals with requests on a case by case basis.

·         The new owners of the former BAE Woodford site have had initial discussions with the Chief Executive. A meeting will be held to discuss what their plans are and if these can be incorporated into the Supplementary Development Plan for the site. The core strategy states that in areas where house prices are above average, new sites must have 50% affordable housing. This will be the aim for the Supplementary Development Plan.

·         The consultation documents do consider the Metrolink being extended to Stockport however that is more of an aspiration at the present time.

·         Appropriate uses of greenbelt land are infill, outdoor spaces and agricultural and this is not like to change substantially in the national plan.

·         The installations of solar panels are usually within the permitted development rights of property owners. If planning permission is needed then each application is considered on its own merits.

RESOLVED – (1) That the report be noted

(2) That regular updates be submitted to the Planning and Highways Regulation Committee concerning the future of the former BAEWoodford site.

(3) That the correspondence between Andrew Taylor and Richard Wood with regards to disclosure during conveyancing be circulated to members.

A representative of the Corporate Director for Place provided details of how the consultation process would continue. Currently, the responses to the consultation documents are being studied and replies given. A draft copy of preferred options will be made available for discussion to the Scrutiny and Corporate Leadership Team meetings as well as the meeting of this Working Party in late March. The final draft will be taken to the second Executive meeting after the May local elections.