Agenda and minutes

To approve and sign as a correct record the Minutes of the Inquiry Meetings held on 6^th February and 6^th March, 2014, attached

RESOLVED

  (i)  that the Minutes of the Inquiry Meeting held on 6^th February 2014 be approved subject to the following amendment to the third paragraph on page 7:-

“Chris Lyons stated that it was likely that a HMO may only need to prove” instead of “Chris Lyons confirmed that a HMO only needed to prove”.

Amended sentence to read “Chris Lyons stated that it was likely that a HMO may only need to prove that it had been used as such for 4 years now.”; and

  (ii)   that the Minutes of the Inquiry Meeting held on 6^th March 2014 be approved and signed as a correct record. 

Report of the Assistant Chief Executive focussing on increasing understanding of Neighbourhood Plans, attached.

The Panel received a presentation from Deb Appleby, Development Manager from Locality.

The background to Locality and its role with regard to Neighbourhood Planning was outlined.  With partners, Locality formed part of a nationwide network which delivered funding and support under the Department of Communities and Local Government’s “Supporting Communities and Neighbourhoods in Planning” programme to help communities produce neighbourhood plans. Neighbourhood Planning came about due to changes to the Planning process arising from the Localism Act 2011.

Key points of the presentation and subsequent discussion included:-

• Neighbourhood Plans (NPs) were a legal document that could be used as a tool to empower communities to identify local issues / solutions and influence aspects of land use and development.
• NPs had to comply with European, national and local planning policies and strategies, be community led, evidence based and could not be used to stop growth.
• Government regulations required that a forum be set up to prepare, publicise and manage the process for creating a Neighbourhood Plan.
• Local planning authorities had a statutory obligation to support Neighbourhood Forums (NFs) with their NP.
• As Southampton had no town or parish councils (which could produce their own NP) they would have to be via Neighbourhood Forums which had to consist of at least 21 residents or workers and include a locally elected councillor.
• There were no specific boundaries for a NP/Forum – it could be based on an existing ward boundary, or predefined area chosen by communities and could encroach into other LA areas but the area did have to be designated by the LPA.
• There were three main stages to the process of producing a NP:
  • Designation – by the LPA
  • Independent examination (by a locally appointed examiner agreed by both the Local Planning Authority and Neighbourhood Forum).  Examiners could be appointed from a national register; they could be local and should be suitably qualified.  They could be used to provide guidance and ultimately would recommend whether or not the Plan should go forward to referendum, with or without modifications, and who should vote in the referendum.
  • Referendum - where 51% or higher vote of support meant the adoption of the NP.  Referendums represented substantial cost for local authorities but funding could be drawn down for this and there was a limit on the number of referendums that could be held for any plan.
• There were approximately 1,000 NPs at varying stages of development with 17 plans at examination stage and seven having become part of their local development plan.
• It was felt that development pressure led to the popularity for NPs being higher in the South East than anywhere else in the country
• It was emphasised that there had to be strong local interest for the NP to succeed – where the community recognised the need for development and wished to shape it – it could also be used as a tool for regeneration in deprived areas.
• Several examples were cited including:-
  • rural Cumbria which had held the first referendum  ...  view the full minutes text for item 10.