Issue - meetings

The Council is preparing the Placemaking Plan which is a statutory planning document.  The Plan complements the adopted Core Strategy by setting out detailed planning policies up to 2029. This report seeks Council approval of the Draft Placemaking Plan for submission to the Secretary of State for independent examination.

The Council considered a report seeking Council approval for submission of the Draft Placemaking Plan to the Secretary of State for independent examination.

On a motion from Councillor Liz Richardson, seconded by Councillor Patrick Anketell Jones, it was

RESOLVED

1.  To agree that the B&NES Draft Placemaking Plan be submitted to the Secretary of State for independent examination;

2.  To agree the list of limited changes in Appendix 2 as part of the submitted plan;

3.  To authorise the Divisional Director for Development to present the Council’s case at examination;

4.  To invite the Inspector to recommend any modifications which may be necessary to make the Plan sound; and

5.  To agree the Plan for Development Management purposes.

[Notes;

1.  The above resolution was carried with 42 Councillors voting in favour, 0 against and 17 Councillors abstaining.]

This report seeks the views of the Scrutiny Panel on the Pre-submission Draft Placemaking Plan which was published for public consultation on 16^th December 2015.  The consultation period ends on 3^rd February 2016 and any comments from the Panel can be taken into account as part of the forthcoming examination process.

NOTE: Given the large file size of the pre-submission draft B&NES Placemaking Plan it can be only viewed on Council’s website at http://www.bathnes.gov.uk/services/planning-and-building-control/planning-policy/placemaking-plan/placemaking-plan-pre.

The Group Manager for Policy & Environment introduced this item to the Panel, He explained that the draft Placemaking Plan includes;

·  Spatial frameworks for Bath, Keynsham, the Somer Valley & the Rural Areas.  It allocates sites for development where these are necessary to deliver the strategy, setting out the required land-use mix and the development principles.

·  Designations where there is a need to identify and protect valued assets, such as important open hillsides or Local Green Space

·  Identifies schemes to be implemented such as road or cycleway improvements 

·  Generic criteria-based planning policies

He said that the consultation period ends on 3^rd February 2016 and any comments from the Panel can be taken into account as part of the forthcoming examination process.

He stated that in Bath, the key issue is how to facilitate the Council’s ambitions for growth and change in a relatively small city, recognized for its unique heritage and environment and constrained by the Green Belt. The development of the spatial strategy has therefore required that the Council make choices, in order to ensure its key priorities are met. The Plan reflects the ambitions of the Economic Strategy the Housing & Well-being Strategy and the Bath Transport Strategy.  In particular the proposals of the Bath Enterprise Area Masterplan have been formalised. The Plan highlights the transport interventions that are needed to realise the District’s growth proposals.

In Keynsham, the Plan seeks to build on the growing strengths of the town, providing a Masterplan for future change. This takes account of the significant growth contained in the Core Strategy.  It seeks to consolidate this growth and address the identified key issues facing the town.  It includes the allocation of Riverside for mixed use, residential led development including a replacement Leisure Centre. He said that a key element of the strategy for the town is the need to regenerate the High Street and the Plan includes a number of policies to achieve this.

In the Somer Valley, the Plan focuses on regeneration in light of the Core Strategy objectives of seeking a greater balance between homes and jobs. Both Midsomer Norton and Westfield are preparing their own Neighbourhood Plans and the Placemaking Plan complements the Neighbourhood Plans.

In the rural areas, B&NES has worked closely with the parishes to produce spatial frameworks for inclusion either in the Placemaking Plan or in their own Neighbourhood Plans. The approach has been to identify locations for new development where required in consultation with the local communities whilst identifying the key environmental assets for protection and conservation.

Councillor Paul Crossley questioned the need for approx. 30,000 m² of comparison retail up until 2029 as a vast majority of people now do their shopping on the internet.

The Group Manager for Policy & Environment replied that this recommendation was within the Plan following advice that had been sought by retail experts.

Councillor Lisa O’Brien commented that whilst internet sales were obviously massive a great number of people still look at items in shops prior to purchasing.  ...  view the full minutes text for item 44

This report seeks Cabinet approval of the Pre-submission Draft Placemaking Plan for public consultation prior to submission to the Secretary of State for examination.

NOTE: Given the large file size of the pre-submission draft B&NES Placemaking Plan it can be only viewed on Council’s website at http://www.bathnes.gov.uk/services/planning-and-building-control/planning-policy/placemaking-plan/placemaking-plan-pre.

Robin Kerr (Chairman of the Federation of Bath Residents’ Associations) in a statement [a copy of which is attached to the Minutes as Appendix 6 and on the Council's website] highlighted the importance of the Placemaking Plan for Bath.

Councillor Karen Warrington said that she was here to represent residents from her Ward whose part of their land had been included in the Placemaking Plan for residential purposes.  Councillor Warrington asked for an amendment of the Plan in terms of the housing development boundaries in that area.

Caroline Kay (Bath Preservation Trust) said that the Trust welcomed the conclusion of the Placemaking Plan consultation and highlighted six overarching points with the Cabinet: the Trust welcomed inclusion of the policy for Bath Central Area; the Trust congratulated officers on progressing with conservation area appraisal for Bath; the Trust had asked that the building height strategy should be robust enough and had recommended an urgent adoption of the SPD status; site ownership in terms of sites owned by the Council; the Trust had felt there was a need for robust part of the plan addressing student housing challenges; and, the land value should reflect marketing value.

Councillor Eleanor Jackson commented that Westfield had not been mentioned in the Plan as a community on its own right.

Councillor Liz Richardson said that the Placemaking Plan would provide a district-wide suite of planning policies for B&NES, complementing the strategic framework in the Core Strategy.  The Core Strategy had formed Part 1 of the B&NES Local Plan and the draft Placemaking Plan would be Part 2.  The Plans had been combined for clarity but it was only the Placemaking Plan part which was the subject of this report. In a few instances, the Placemaking Plan contained a policy that was intended to supersede a policy or text in the Core Strategy.  The next step in the preparation process would be for the Council to comply with the statutory requirements concerning publication and receiving representations relating to the Draft Placemaking Plan (consultation would run from 16^th December until 3^rd February) and for Full Council to agree submission of the Draft Placemaking Plan for independent examination by an Inspector appointed on behalf of the Secretary of State. Also submitted alongside the Draft Placemaking Plan to the Secretary of State would be the schedule of public representations received by the Council. It would for the appointed examination Inspector to consider the issues raised in the public representations in their role to assess the soundness of the Draft Placemaking Plan as with the other requirements of S20 (5) of the 2004 Act.  As a result the Council would not be formally considering the representations received from the next stage.

Councillor Liz Richardson formally thanked to: officers for the detailed piece of work; Members of the Council for cross-party work within Local Development Framework; residents for their feedback so far; and, to number of organisations who contributed to the Plan with their feedback.  Liz  ...  view the full minutes text for item 65