Agenda item

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

The report sets out the overall approach the Council wishes to adopt with regard to brownfield sites, the nature of the challenges presented, the current position in relation to brownfield sites and a plan to develop a proactive approach over the coming months that will form the basis for a long term Brownfield First Development Programme.

The Scrutiny Committee is recommended to:-

·         endorse a ‘Brownfield First’ approach to the identification of land for residential and employment development, as outlined in the report, subject to ensuring that overdevelopment of existing urban areas is avoided.

·         consider and comment on the issues and actions proposed in the report and endorse the further development of the approach.

·         note the proposal to engage strongly with Area Committees as part of the early stage of the Local Plan process, particularly to undertake a Call for Sites and update of the Council’s Brownfield Site Register.

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) setting out the overall approach the Council wished to adopt with regard to brownfield sites, the nature of the challenges presented, the current position in relation to brownfield sites and a plan to develop a proactive approach over the coming months that would form the basis for a long term Brownfield First Development Programme.

The Executive Councillor (Economy and Regeneration) (Councillor Kate Butler) attended the meeting to respond to Members’ questions.

The following comments were made/issues raised:-

·         Members requested that a briefing note be sent to all councillors on the Government’s proposals to enhance capacity in planning departments by the use of increased planning fees.

·         The proposal to engage strongly with area committees as part of the early stage of the Council’s Local Plan process was welcomed, particularly the intention to undertake a Call for Sites and update of the Council’s Brownfield Site Register.

·         A member felt that a register of brownfield sites should be put on the Council’s website, together with a way for members of the public to suggest additional sites for the register as a means of ensuring that the Council achieved as full a register of brownfield sites as was possible. This could form part of the Council’s Digital by Design initiative, be maintained and upgraded in the future, and widely advertised at minimal cost.

·         The Council was not in a position to adopt a sequential list of sites at this moment in time. The aim of the ‘Brownfield First’ approach was to ensure that the Council was in the best possible situation when deliverable schemes came forward. It did not mean that development would never take place in the Green Belt.

·         There was relatively low density housing in Greater Manchester. The problems occurred, particularly in the Green Belt, where there was higher density housing proposed without the infrastructure to support it.

·         The higher/minimum density requirement for new residential development on brownfield sites based on locational criteria, i.e. the more accessible the location the greater the potential to allow increased densities, was seen as an important requirement as well as the need to strike a careful balance between protecting the quality of the environment and existing amenities and ensuring that the quality of the residential environment was not compromised.

·         The Council had very little leverage to influence developers and leverage methods should be explored. It was acknowledged that local authorities’ compulsory purchase powers were slow and cumbersome.

·         A Member questioned the timing of the report and why the Council was only now putting forward a ‘Brownfield First’ approach. Under the draft Greater Manchester Spatial Framework, Stockport was required to identify sites for 19,300 new homes over the proposed twenty years period of the plan (2015-2035). These sites must be demonstrably deliverable for development within the time period. The Corporate Director agreed to provide Members with a definition of what criteria was used to define ‘demonstrably deliverable’ development.

·         The aim was for the Council to remove as many barriers as possible to development and provide as strong an evidence base as possible on ‘deliverable development’.

·         Residential development in the town centre was more likely to be higher density with more apartments and flats, with greater connectivity to public transport. The report suggested that a more relaxed approach could be applied to car parking in the town centre and district centres, and consideration given to allowing further reductions in on-site parking provision.

·         The Council’s policies would not be able to deliver the number of sites required for new homes required under the Greater Manchester Spatial Framework without greater funding from Central Government. It was suggested that the elected Mayor for Greater Manchester and the Chief Executive of the Greater Manchester Combined Authority  should lobby Central Government for increased funding to increase staff capacity, both planning officers and legal officers, and avoid the need for Councils to engage consultants. The Council could also lobby for a pilot scheme in Stockport.  The Council had a successful record over the last fifteen years of ensuring that upwards of 90% of new development had been delivered on brownfield sites. Experience from sites in the borough, for example the former Tatton Cinema site in Gatley, had shown that negotiations and discussions on delivering some brownfield sites for development could take many years. Local authorities needed to be able to take a more pro-active approach to such sites.

·         The Scrutiny Committee requested regular updates on what was being achieved through the Brownfield First approach.

·         The original Mills Strategy in 2005 should have requested a national fund from Central Government to deal with old mills in northern England.

RESOLVED – (1) That the Executive Meeting be recommended to endorse a ‘Brownfield First’ approach to the identification of land for residential and employment development, as outlined in the report, subject to ensuring that overdevelopment of existing urban areas is avoided.

(2) That the proposal to engage strongly with Area Committees as part of the early stage of the Council’s Local Plan process be noted, particularly the intention to undertake a Call for Sites and update of the Council’s Brownfield Site Register.

(3) That progress reports be submitted to future meetings of the Scrutiny Committee.