Agenda item

This report seeks the views of the Panel on the forthcoming consultation on the West of England Joint Spatial Plan (JSP) and Joint Transport Study (JTS) document entitled “Towards the Emerging Spatial Strategy”.  The consultation is due to take place across the West of England from 7th November to 19th December 2016.

The Chairman had invited members of the Communities, Transport & Environment Panel to be present for this item and contribute to the debate. Councillors Gilchrist, Simmons and Butters were in attendance.

The Divisional Director for Development introduced this item to the Panel. She explained that the forthcoming consultation on the draft West of England Joint Spatial Plan (JSP) and Joint Transport Study (JTS) document entitled “Towards the Emerging Spatial Strategy” had been designed to start a conversation following on from the work undertaken between November 2015 and January 2016 (Issues and Options consultation).

She said that the consultation was due to take place across the West of England from 7th November to 19th December 2016.

She stated that the JSP will be a statutory Development Plan Document and will therefore need to be prepared in accordance with local plan regulations and national policy to ensure it is a ‘sound’ document supported by technical evidence. She added that the selection of development locations will need to be clearly justified and that at this stage no final decisions have been made and the spatial strategy is not fixed. She said that responses to this next stage of consultation will help to inform the Plan as it progresses.

She informed them that the Transport Vision is very ambitious, representing a total of around £7.5 billion of investment in multi-modal packages, for delivery across the West of England over the next 20 years.

She said the approach to formulating the spatial strategy had sought to adhere to sustainability principles, including a focus on developing in main urban centres and making the best use of urban land; seeking to locate development outside of the Green Belt as far as possible; and consideration of Green Belt locations only where there is strong justification and evidence of exceptional circumstances.

She stated that the current evidence identifies a need for 102,200 homes to be developed during 2016-2036 across the four local authorities although the JSP will test for up to 105,000 homes during 2016-2036. This is a working number until the evidence to support the publication plan is finalised in Summer 2017.

She added that a significant proportion of the overall Housing Target would need to be delivered as affordable housing in light of the identified level of need. She said that it will not be able to fully meet the affordable housing need over the plan period through the planning system alone. Instead the JSP recognises that a proportion of the overall affordable housing need could be delivered through the planning system.

She said that around 66,800 dwellings are committed across the West of England in the form of permissions, local plan allocations or future small windfall sites and that the JSP prioritises the need to maximise the use of brownfield sites, particularly within existing urban areas, and 14,600 dwellings are identified from this source – primarily in Bristol.  This leaves up to 23,600 dwellings to be identified through the JSP.

The Group Manager for Planning Policy & Transport said that the Transport Vision represents the scale of investment that is considered necessary to tackle key existing challenges, and to support future economic growth, with an emphasis on public transport and sustainable travel options.

He said it was important to have a long hard view of the transport infrastructure required and to be able to provide Government with evidence to support schemes and gain funding.

The Divisional Director for Development explained that a partial review of the Core Strategy was also due to commence.

The Chairman commented that he felt that the Panel could have an effective role in reviewing the consultation strategy.

Councillor Ian Gilchrist asked if the figure quoted in the report should be nearer to £10bn rather than £7.5bn.

The Group Manager for Planning Policy & Transport replied that the figure of £7.5bn was what they were currently working within and that in the words of Sir Peter Hendy it was important to have a ‘costed strategy’, not necessarily an affordable one. He added that potential future funding could come from Highways England and Network Rail.

Councillor Cherry Beath commented that she wanted to hear that rail improvements will be sought and that the Green Belt will be preserved. She said that she also welcomed Bristol’s density plans.

The Group Manager for Planning Policy & Transport replied that the Council would look to maximise what it can from the rail network. He added that if some housing is not put in the Green Belt this may cause further transport issues.

The Chairman commented that he was concerned over the use of some known flood areas.

The Divisional Director for Development replied that these areas would be avoided where possible.

Councillor Neil Butters asked how certain was it that the proposed Mayoral Combined Authority would go ahead.

The Divisional Director for Development replied that the Government had not changed its view with regard to this process.

Councillor Paul May asked why areas such as Long Ashton and Ashton Vale had not formed part of the emerging spatial strategy due to issues relating to the Green Belt yet Whitchurch had been included in the plan. He added that he was concerned over the costs associated with the plan and that the format of the maps between the two documents was not consistent.

The Divisional Director for Development replied that the nature of its location, the contribution that could be made to improving sustainable transport options south east of Bristol, as well as its relative performance in Green Belt terms constitute the exceptional circumstances to justify the release of land south of Whitchurch Village from the Green Belt.

This additional response below in italics was supplied following the meeting.

We agree with you that consistency between the emerging JSP and Transport Vision is essential, and we are making every effort to achieve this through partnership working between the planning and transport workstreams.

Specifically, you referred to the A4-A37 and south Bristol orbital route, and its presentation in the relevant JSP and Transport Vision diagrams.

The Transport Vision diagram given on page 61 of the meeting report pack has now been superseded, by a new diagram which will be released very shortly as part of the engagement presentation material. The new diagram is updated in content, and much improved graphically.

The latest Transport Vision diagram does not show any new continuous road link around south Bristol, instead a new/improved alignment is shown, from the A37 at Whitchurch only as far as the Hengrove employment area in south Bristol.

The JSP diagram after p50 in the report pack shows a ‘lozenge’, representing strategic transport improvements generally between the A4 and A37. This is the main focus of investment in B&NES south east of Bristol, and as noted above, there is now no indication in the Transport Vision of a continuous road for all traffic around the southern edge of Bristol.

Additionally, as will be noted clearly in both diagrams once they are released, all locations and alignments are illustrative, and not intended to indicate specifics.

Therefore broad consistency is the best that can be achieved at this level of presentation, and based on the above, the JSP and Transport Vision diagrams are considered to be broadly consistent.

Councillor Barry Macrae said that he agreed with comments made earlier that Government need to hear a consistent message. He added that this process must be explained clearly to residents and their views must be taken into account. He said that it was of paramount importance to get the right infrastructure in place.

The Chairman asked officers to explain the consultation process and asked how communities would be made aware of the process.

The Divisional Director for Development replied that there would be a West of England JSP launch event on November 8^th 2016. Themed round table discussions will then take place November 21^st 2016. Information exhibitions will be held across B&NES in Keynsham Library (7^th – 18^th November), The Hollies, Midsomer Norton (21^st November – 2^nd December) and Bath One Stop Shop (5^th – 16^th December).

She said that Community Forums would also receive briefings and that specific workshops had been arranged for Whitchurch (15^th November, 6.30pm – 8.30pm in Whitchurch Village Hall) and Keynsham (30^th November, 6.00pm – 8.00pm in the Somerdale Pavilion).

Councillor Paul May said it was important to make sure that other Local Authorities were doing similar exercises.

The Divisional Director for Development replied that they were and that she felt ours would be a very thorough process.

Councillor Ian Gilchrist asked if there would be an opportunity to see information and give feedback online.

The Divisional Director for Development replied that there would be.

Councillor Barry Macrae said that this information needs to be on the front page of our website.

Councillor Neil Butters said that there should be a press release and it should form part of the weekly e-newsletter that is sent out to the public.

The Divisional Director for Development agreed with these comments.

The Chairman asked who the Dedicated Engagement Officer is.

The Divisional Director for Development replied that it was an officer within South Gloucestershire who has been working with the four Local Authorities across the West of England regarding communications.

Councillor Barry Macrae commented that information on this matter should be sent to all Councillors.

The Chairman said that he was concerned that some of the events were for invitees only.

The Divisional Director for Development replied that some of the events were directly about encouraging developer input into the process and agreeing their commitments. She added that our local businesses will have discussions and feedback through Business West on the process.

Councillor Paul May asked if there was a timescale for this process.

The Divisional Director for Development replied that an examination of the JSP was scheduled for Summer 2018 and that development would be due post 2026. She added that the Transport Vision would end in Spring 2017 whereby detailed transport planning would then commence.

Councillor Neil Butters asked about the prospect of a light rail service to Bristol from B&NES.

The response below in italics was supplied following the meeting.

While rapid transit can be delivered in the form of a bus-based mode, the ambition is for new light rail solutions, where the potential is greatest for high passenger flows. Furthermore, on some corridors in the greater Bristol area, there will be a limit to which the current bus system is able to accommodate more demand, and new rapid transit options will be needed to meet growing travel demand.

One such corridor experiencing high demand for public transport is from Bath to Central Bristol. Consequently an LRT (light rapid transit) route is included in the Transport Vision, following a broad alignment along the A4.

Rapid transit between Bath and Bristol is proposed to complement an improved rail corridor and better accommodate a wider range of trip patterns. A new Saltford Bypass would help to remove through traffic in the village and release roadspace for effective rapid transit through the village.

Options would need to be considered for the best mode for this rapid transit route. This could initially be a MetroBus standard route, for example to provide early access to the Keynsham growth area identified through the emerging Joint Spatial Strategy, but the longer-term ambition would be for a light rail solution.

The initial focus would be the route from Keynsham to central Bristol, but in the longer term this would extend to (and through) Bath east-west, most likely via Lower Bristol Road and through Bath Western Riverside. It is recognised that this would require substantial re-engineering of the road network along the whole A4 corridor, including at Bath, Saltford and Keynsham.

Councillor Neil Butters asked if further Park & Rides were planned as part of this process.

The Group Manager for Planning Policy & Transport replied that one was still being considered for the East of Bath and that he believed new ones were being considered within Bristol.

Councillor Neil Butters commented that an East of Bath Park & Rail should not be discounted as an idea.

The Group Manager for Planning Policy & Transport replied that he was willing to take this proposal on board.

Councillor Neil Butters asked if any HGV restrictions could be put in place on the A36 and traffic diverted onto the A350.

The Group Manager for Planning Policy & Transport replied that discussions would need to take place with Wiltshire County Council regarding the A350 and Highways England in terms of the A36.

Councillor Barry Macrae asked how the Council will tackle developers attempting to use specific areas of land.

The Divisional Director for Development replied that the best defence will be to follow the Acts and Government guidance and to have a robust strategy in place.

The Chairman referred the Panel to the Core Strategy Review Programme that was set out on page 137 of the agenda pack.

The Panel RESOLVED to:

i)  Ask that their comments made during the meeting regarding the West of England “Towards the Emerging Spatial Strategy” consultation document be recorded as part of the consultation process.

ii)  Note the Core Strategy Review Commencement Document.

iii)  Note the proposed amendments to the Local Development Scheme.