Please click on the link below to view the consultation on additional evidence base documents.
Minutes:
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The Planning Policy Manager provided a summary of the responses received to date as set out below:
· Representation from a resident on the Gypsy and Traveller Accommodation Assessment querying the number of pitches in a particular table.
· Natural England responded on no specific comments on any of the consultation documents.
· Sedgeford Parish Council on the Spatial Strategy.
· Watlington Parish Council on the Spatial Strategy and Settlement Hierarchy.
· Councillor Kemp on West Winch and transport matters.
The Planning Policy Manager advised that additional respondes were anticipated and that the consultation finished on 20 October 2023.
The Chair, Councillor Moriarty thanked the Planning Policy Manager for the update report and invited questions/comments from the Task Group, a summary of which is set out below.
Under Standing Order 34, Councillor Kemp commented that it was difficult to access documents, copy or forward from the website. The Chair, Councillor Moriarty advised Councillor Kemp that officers would address the issue following the meeting. (Following the meeting Councillor Kemp received an explanation on how to access the documents via the links as follows:
· Click the link in the modgov agenda, copy the URL and email it to email address.
· Open the link on mobile phone in safari, then press and hold finger on the link to the document to get the menu in the attached picture. Select copy link).
In response to questions and comments from Councillor Kemp on West Winch and the proposed number of homes to be delivered, the Planning Policy Manager explained that the West Winch topic paper was accompanied by 11 appendices and that the main modification on transport was set out in appendices 3 and 4.
Following comments made by Councillor Kemp on West Winch and the proposed number of homes and the link road, etc, Councillor Parish explained that he had raised the issues and had asked for negotiations to take place with the agent to identify a second trigger point and added that it was his understanding that the negotiations were ongoing and that hopefully there would be an improvement to the situation.
Following questions from Councillor de Whalley on biodiversity, he said that there were so many different documents interlinking it was difficult to know what had been deleted/were new elements. Councillor de Whalley gave an example, the Supplementary Planning Guidance (SPD) and two planning applications in the system which were not subject to biodiversity net gain and added that it was not clear if existing applications should be subject to the guidance. In response, the Planning Policy Manager explained that the SPD was written before the Biodiversity Net Gain would come into force in 2024. Currently the Council could encourage planning applications to make the best of the natural habitat but there was no legal requirement to do so. In conclusion, the Planning Policy Manager advised that in the future a policy could be included in the Local Plan once it became law to do so.
Following further questions from the Task Group, the Assistant Director, Environment and Planning explained that the 10% biodiversity net gain would only apply to planning applications submitted after January 2024.
In response to questions and comments from Councillor de Whalley on active travel regarding the West Winch site and public transport, etc, the Planning Policy Manager explained that the West Winch SPD set out details on sustainable transport.
Following further comments made by Councillor de Whalley on the above concerns, the Chair, Councillor Moriarty invited Councillor de Whalley to discuss the issues raised with him outside of the meeting.
The Planning Policy Manager responded to questions from Councillor Blunt in relation to the Wisbech Fringe and explained that Fenland District Council had no legal requirement to respond to the Borough Council’s consultation.
RESOLVED: The update report be noted.