Report by the Senior Planning Policy Officer (NDC) (attached).

The Planning Policy Team Leader (TDC) introduced the report, the purpose of which was to set out the draft response to the Government Consultation on proposed reforms to the National Planning Policy Framework and other changes to the planning system.

Member were advised that the response had been draft by various officers from both District Councils, taking into account views previously provided by Members and that today’s meeting was an opportunity for Members to review the draft consultation response, request any further additions, before providing their endorsement for it to be submitted prior to the deadline on Tuesday 24^th September.

A presentation providing the details of the proposed changes and consultation response was provided to Members of the Committee.

The Planning Policy Team Leader and Planning Manager for TDC provided an overview of the proposed changes and provided additional detail on the possible implications for both Local Authority areas, highlighting the proposed response and providing additional context for further clarity.

Below follows a summary of the questions and relevant discussion on each of the areas:

Changes to the Standard Method

The formulas currently used and the proposed changes were highlighted for Members, along with the consequences of the proposed requirements for northern Devon per annum and in the longer term.

It was asked what happens to housing that is already allocated but is not yet built, and whether this would this be included in the numbers highlighted in the presentation?  The Planning Policy Team Leader advised that any outstanding housing as of the start date of the new local plan could potentially be included, so long as they were not completed as of that start date.

Housing evidence for the last local plan showed a greater demand for Torridge that North Devon – the figures in the presentation seem to show a switch in this and it was asked how this was worked out. The Planning Policy Team Leader advised this change was based on a switch from the previous household projections to the housing stock in the new formula – North Devon has a proportionally higher housing stock so the new method takes this into account – and went on the explain the reasoning behind this.

In follow up it was asked, going forward and doing a joint Local Plan, what impact the ratio would have in how the 2 councils go ahead with distributing growth. When deciding on new town urban extensions and growth to local centres and bigger villages, does the distribution need to consider these ratios?

The Planning Policy Team Leader advised that a starting point would need to be understanding what the needs are for each Local Authority however, the benefits of completing a Local Plan across northern Devon and the scope for planning more holistically  was noted. 

Members reflected that they felt the numbers were undeliverable and asked that this be reflected in the consultation response noting the potential impact for rural areas. The potential impact for tourism and agriculture were also highlighted,  ...  view the full minutes text for item 38