Agenda and minutes

Councillor Fiona Darey sent her apologies to the Panel.

At this point in the meeting declarations of interest are received from Members in any of the agenda items under consideration at the meeting. Members are asked to indicate:

(a) The agenda item number in which they have an interest to declare.

(b) The nature of their interest.

(c) Whether their interest is a disclosable pecuniary interest or an other interest,  (as defined in Part 2, A and B of the Code of Conduct and Rules for Registration of Interests)

Any Member who needs to clarify any matters relating to the declaration of interests is recommended to seek advice from the Council’s Monitoring Officer or a member of his staff before the meeting to expedite dealing with the item during the meeting.

The Chairman, Councillor Rob Appleyard declared a non-pecuniary interest as a non-executive Director of Curo in relation to agenda item 9 (Foxhill Regeneration & Development Charter). He stated that he would remain as a member of the Panel for that item but the Vice-Chair, Councillor Barry Macrae would act as Chairman.

The Cabinet Member for Homes & Planning, Councillor Liz Richardson declared an other interest in relation to agenda item 10 (Local Development Framework Updates) as she is a part time lecturer at Bath Spa University.

Frieda Buckley presented a petition and made a statement to the Panel on the subject of the Foxhill Regeneration & Development Charter. A summary is set out below and a copy of the statement can be found on the Panel’s Minute Book.

She said that she had carried out a petition regarding the Foxhill regeneration planned by Curo. She added that she was a member of the Foxhill Residents Association and also a committee member of the association and that she had their full support.

She informed the Panel that the petition had been signed by 338 residents to oppose the demolition of the homes and community of Foxhill, requests the upgrading of homes in need of improvement and is in favour of the rebuilding or upgrading of Dunster House, Selworthy and Bradford Park flats. She added that our Foxhill Residents Association survey shows that most of the tenants in the flats want their flats to be improved or rebuilt, whereas most of the tenants and owners of houses do not want to move.

She explained that in her view Foxhill was no longer a traditional council estate; it had become a peaceful village with a strong supportive community, a rare occurrence in our modern world. She said that some of the residents had lived there for sixty years and have paid rent to the council, Somer Housing and Curo for all those years – does that not count for something?

She acknowledged the need for more houses in our country but said that they should not be built on an existing, happy and thriving estate. She asked if the fact that 60% of the homes in Foxhill are owned by Curo was a valid excuse for wanting to destroy a peaceful community.

The Chairman thanked her for her statement and asked for the petition to be passed to the Cabinet Member for Homes & Planning so that they could issue a formal response. The other Panel members agreed with this proposal.

David Redgewell, South West Transport Network made a statement to the Panel regarding the Joint Spatial Plan. A summary is set out below and a copy of the statement can be found on the Panel’s Minute Book.

He said that he was concerned about a lack of a retail policy for the Bristol/Bath City Region and the need to regenerate the city centres of Bristol, Bath and Weston-Super-Mare. He stated that the sub-region needs a proper retail plan to go alongside the housing and economic policy. 

He said that to permit such a huge expansion of retail and other main town centre uses at an out-of-centre location goes against Government policy unless Cribbs Causeway is declared a new town or city centre under re-examination of the core strategy.

He stated that national and local planning policy requires that a sequential test is applied to proposals for main town centre uses that are not in an existing centre. The test requires applications to be located in town centres and  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

The Cabinet Member(s) will update the Panel on any relevant issues. Panel members may ask questions on the update(s) provided.

The Cabinet Member for Economic Development, Councillor Patrick Anketell-Jones addressed the Panel. He said that he wished to highlight some of the achievements within his portfolio from the past year.

He said that the Rural Broadband project had formed a significant part of their work and had seen 10 new cabinets go live in 2016.  He added that following a trial of free Wi-Fi in the centre of Bath during the 2015 Christmas Market plans were ongoing to have this in place permanently from early 2017.

He wished to praise the work of the Film Friendly Partnership and informed the Panel of the launch of the Creative Investment Board which will seek to align arts organisations with funding partners.

He thanked everyone involved with the installation of the Keynsham Clock Tower and those involved with the Keynsham Music Festival for running such an enthusiastic event.

He said that the project of Bath Quays North would see new public areas and paths created.

He stated that he was proud that the 300^th affordable home had recently become occupied within Bath Western Riverside.

He informed the Panel that the Council were part assisting to fund the post of an Economic Development Manager for the Somer Valley area.

He said that he was pleased with the performance of Heritage Services and the number of visitors to the Roman Baths, the Victoria Art Gallery and other similar sites.

He encouraged Panel members to take part in the current consultation relating to the World Heritage Management Plan.

Councillor Colin Blackburn asked what % of the rural area was now covered following the rollout of the project.

Councillor Anketell-Jones replied that 90% were now covered, but that the Government subsidy for the project was due to end soon. He added that phase two of the project would take place next year with the likelihood that small providers would cover the next initial 5%.

The Chairman said that connectivity and reliability were required. He added that he understood that the Government had changed the rules on local subsidies. He asked if the Council could do more to help.

Councillor Anketell-Jones replied that he felt that there was no more the Council could do at this time.

Councillor Barry Macrae commented that he was concerned that the initial funding was due to end. He said that the Council should lobby the commercial sector to take advantage of future opportunities.

Councillor Lisa O’Brien asked for further details regarding the Creative Investment Board.

Councillor Anketell-Jones replied that it was in its early stages of development. He said that he was its Chair and that Ben Woods (Group Manager - Economy & Culture) was also involved. He added that a Memorandum of Understanding was under discussion.

Councillor Colin Blackburn asked if he knew when the new Destructor Bridge would finally be in place.

Councillor Anketell-Jones replied that Crest were the contractor for this project, not the Council. He added that he could not recall the current timescale.

The Chairman asked if  ...  view the full minutes text for item 8.

The draft charter has undergone a period of independent consultation with the community and stakeholders and the outcomes of this consultation have been reviewed and incorporated into the Charter Ambitions as part for the development of the final version of the charter for adoption later this summer.

Councillor Rob Appleyard handed the role of Chairman for this item to his Vice-Chair Councillor Barry Macrae.

Councillor Macrae commented that a previous report to the Panel regarding the Charter had been received positively.

The Team Manager for Enabling & Development explained that the draft charter has undergone a period of independent consultation with the community and stakeholders and the outcomes of the consultation have been reviewed and incorporated into the Charter Ambitions as part of the development of the final version of the charter for adoption later this summer.

She reminded the Panel that at the heart of the draft Charter were four ambition themes (Communities, Connections, Housing Choice and Quality of Place) that will guide decision-making about regeneration and development.

She highlighted changes to the wording of the ambitions to ensure delivery, including:

• Ensure that a range of housing types in all tenures will allow for changes in needs and lifestyles as people’s circumstances and ages change, so they can still remain fully included in their neighbourhood

• Ensure that any new housing in the estate is of the same high quality as Mulberry Park.

• Actively promote opportunities to work from home or work close to home.

• Creating 3 separate ambitions around standards, distinguishing between the quality of new build homes, improving standards in the retained Curo housing stock and retained owner occupied homes.

She stated that the final version of the Charter would be presented for adoption by the Cabinet in September 2016 and that she was seeking the support of the Panel with regard to the revised Charter and its ambitions.

Councillor Lisa O’Brien commented that she was not happy with the length of time allocated to the original consultation that took place in February / March 2016. She said that of the 863 households that could be accounted for in Foxhill feedback forms were completed by 15 of the 40 attendees at the consultation workshop.

The Team Manager for Enabling & Development replied that the decision regarding the consultation timescales were taken in the context of an established project plan. She added that all parties were made aware of the consultation. She said that the purpose of the Charter is supposed to be a high level document that sits above the masterplan which is also underway.

The Cabinet Member for Homes & Planning thanked officers for their work on this matter as the Council was not required to carry out this level of detail for the project.

Councillor Barry Macrae commented that he was happy with the work so far and called for the project to remain person focussed.

The Team Manager for Enabling & Development said that the Council has a role in supporting Curo and testing them at the same time. She informed them that additional posts were being assigned to the project to work with the local community. She added that she would be happy to bring further reports to the Panel regarding the project.

Councillor Rob Appleyard asked if all households were notified on the consultation  ...  view the full minutes text for item 9.

This report updates the Scrutiny Panel on Local Development Framework Issues on; (1) The Joint Spatial Plan for the West of England and the review of the B&NES Core Strategy, (2) The Placemaking Plan examination, (3) The implications of the Housing & Planning Act 2016, (4) Preparation and review of Supplementary Planning Documents and (5) Housebuilding rates in B&NES.

Councillor Rob Appleyard resumed the role of Chairman at the beginning of this item.

The Divisional Director for Development introduced this item to the Panel. She explained that following the publication of the Joint Spatial Plan Issues and Options consultation document at the end of last year, work has been progressing on the preparation of options for the draft Plan. This has entailed amongst other things an assessment of the infrastructure required to support new development, especially transport (The Infrastructure Delivery Plan or IDP). She added that this work has included transport modelling as part of the preparation of the Joint Transport Strategy (JTS) which is being prepared in tandem with the JSP in light of the need to ensure that new development is properly aligned with new infrastructure, in order to assist in comparing alternative locations.

She stated that the next key step is the formulation of the most appropriate spatial strategy which enables the delivery of the housing and economic development needed and which is supported by the necessary new infrastructure. She said that this is scheduled to be produced by the middle of July for consideration and for public consultation in the autumn of 2016. She added that the JSP is still in the formative stages of preparation and so there is still the scope to consider different options as the first formal draft of the Plan is due to be prepared by the spring of 2017.

She informed the Panel that the Planning Inspectorate (PINS) have confirmed that Claire Sherratt has been appointed as the Examination Inspector regarding the Placemaking Plan and that the Council has appointed Chris Banks as the Examination Programme Officer. She said that his role will be to help organise and programme the Examination and will act as the liaison point between the Council, the Inspector and representors.

She explained that the Examination is into the soundness of the Plan i.e. whether it has been positively prepared and is justified; effective; and in line with national policy. She stated that the programme for and issues to be considered through the Examination will be determined by the Inspector and that the Examination will therefore be structured around the issues that the Inspector identifies as of critical importance for the soundness of the Plan and is not driven by the representations.

She said that the Inspector has started the process of reviewing the Plan; supporting evidence; and representations received during public consultation. She added that it was anticipated that the Inspector would outline the main matters and issues for consideration at the hearings by the end of June, although these have not been received yet.

Councillor Barry Macrae asked for the Panel to be informed if no information had been received by the end of the week.

On the matter of student accommodation the Divisional Director for Development said that the Adopted Core Strategy and the Draft Placemaking Plan sets out the proposed policy approach. She explained that at the time of preparing the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 10.

This report updates the Scrutiny Panel on a new chargeable Planning Pre-application Service that is being promoted to developers, agents and private households.

The Divisional Director for Development introduced this item to the Panel. She explained that pre-application advice is provided by planning officers and other specialist advisors within the planning department and other Council departments. She said that it is a non-statutory service and fees can be locally set which can generate additional income in order to cover the cost of providing the service.

She stated that the National Planning Policy Framework 2012 is clear in its expectations that planning authorities should engage pro-actively at pre-application stage. She said that early engagement has significant potential to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the planning application system for all parties. She added that good quality pre-application discussion enables better coordination between public and private resources and improved outcomes for the community and the more issues that can be resolved at pre-application stage, the greater the benefits.

She said that following a full review of the pre-application service that was being offered pre-April 2016 the service was re-designed. She explained that this included benchmarking with other Local Authorities in relation to the scale of fees charged for the pre application service and having regard to the special environment of Bath and North East Somerset. She said that instead of charging per hour the new schedule separates different proposals by size and complexity.

The Chairman asked how the service was monitored.

The Divisional Director for Development replied that Team Leaders review all of the officer responses.

Councillor Colin Blackburn commented that providing this service will make such a difference to the planning process. He asked how the work would be quantified.

The Divisional Director for Development replied that all discussions will be followed up in writing.

The Chairman asked if the service would be cost neutral.

The Divisional Director for Development replied that the intention was to cover the costs of providing the service.

The Panel RESOLVED to note the progress of the pre-application service that launched in April 2016.

This report presents the latest workplan for the Panel. Any suggestions for further items or amendments to the current programme will be logged and scheduled in consultation with the Panel’s Chair and supporting officers.

The workplan of the Panel was noted as printed.