The Committee considered a report by the Graduate Planning Policy Officer regarding the Feedback on the Member Growth Workshop of November 2024 (circulated previously). 

The Graduate Planning Policy Officer presented the report to the Committee and confirmed that:

·       The workshop was well attended, and each group had a mix of Members from each Council.

·       Scale of growth, and housing requirements were set out with examples given to help visualise what may be required and to confirm we are not starting from scratch as we have existing allocations and planning permissions.

·       Planning for growth was recognised as not only focusing on housing but also the need to plan holistically with consideration given to a variety of other areas.

·       Activity one focused on what made a successful place, and Members were invited to suggest examples of places that they thought were successful. These were not limited to the local area as it was just important to draw out common themes or distinguishing features believed to contribute to success, no matter where this may be.  Examples were given from the local area, other places in the UK, and locations abroad.

·       Members felt housing was key to successful places as this could be planned to meet local needs and made suitable for local communities, along with community, infrastructure and services.

·       A few points were raised around employment, education and retail. Successful places were noted as those with good employment opportunities and good wages, with education providing people with the skills necessary to get the jobs they want. Members felt that town centres in successful places have high streets which are used and supported by locals.

·       Activity two looked at options for growth and aimed to explore what Members thought would deliver the required growth and which options would be preferable.

·       Activity three focused on the outcomes from a map-based activity exploring locations from growth.

Cllr Hackett of TDC declared an interest as a Field Officer for the British Horse Society.

Cllr Hackett advised the Committee of an incident involving a horse and a motor vehicle.

The Committee discussed cycling routes, and routes suitable for horse riders, as part of ‘active travel’.

Cllr Hames suggested that comments on climate change resilience from tree planting and Green Infrastructure should be more clearly noted.

Cllr Cottle-Hunkin asked for her name to be added to the attendance list the Feedback for the Member Growth Workshop of November 2024 to make this correct.

RESOLVED that the report on the Feedback on the Member Growth Workshop of November 2024 be noted with the final report to include the extra Cllr comments mentioned above with a correction to the attendance list.