The Chairman of the Council to answer any questions from the public of which notice has been given no later than midday three clear working days before the day of the meeting in accordance with Council Procedure Rule 12.
Minutes:
Question 1
Mr Pyle to Councillor Gould, Cabinet Member for Assets and Investments
Given that on the 9th November 2022 a development control committee refused permission for a single house in Elmswell because it was to built on Public Open Space (POS), how is it possible that Mid Suffolk Cabinet continue to plan for 50 houses on 9 acres of POS on the other side of the village?
Response from Councillor Richardson, Cabinet Member for Economic Growth, on behalf of Councillor Gould, Cabinet Member for Assets and Investments
I am not party to the specifics of the case that you refer to, although I am reliably informed that the planning committee report concluded that insufficient information had been provided by the applicant in that case to determine whether the proposal accorded with the National Planning Policy Framework. As each planning case is considered on its own merits, I don’t think it is appropriate to compare sites in this way particularly as the formal status of these sites differs within our emerging local plan.
As Members will be aware the Council is considering the delivery of an exemplar sustainable residential development in Elmswell of approximately 50 homes on a site which is within the Councils ownership at Church and School Road, though it is still in its early days in terms of shaping this proposal further. The first community engagement event took place last week which provided significant feedback for further consideration, and we are very grateful for the high level of attendance and engagement from the community within Elmswell and there will be further engagement in this regard and any scheme will in due course be considered by the planning authority and assessed accordingly.
Supplementary Question
Given the positive discussion with Elmswell Parish Council about the possibility of a new primary school on the site why has this option been dropped?
Response from Councillor Richardson
The question of the primary school has been discussed at Cabinet both early this month and last year as well, the issue being, and members will be aware of the difficulties associated with HRA ownership of land, but for simplicity the actual site itself is owned by the Housing Revenue Account which for legal reasons is a separate ringfenced entity from Mid Suffolk’s otherwise General Fund. What this means in practice is that for any disposal of the land for purposes not for housing purposes we would need to prove that there is no way the land could facilitate housing, and there was no need for housing within a particular area. Now, given that Elmswell is designated as a core village within the emerging local plan, given that it’s a highly sustainable village, given the amenities that are present, and that it’s got excellent transport connections, we cannot prove either of those two criteria and the decision ultimately would have to go to the Secretary of State for approval provided we didn’t meet either of those conditions and unfortunately in this particular instance we can’t prove that and we don’t think we will get the Secretary of States approval for disposal of the land. So, whilst we have had extensive conversations with local stakeholders the approach that we have taken, that’s the advice that we as Cabinet have received from Officers is that this site is suitable for delivery of housing, there is a need for particularly affordable housing, within Elmswell and the local area, and for that reason Cabinets indication earlier this month was that we wish to proceed with housing at this site.
Supporting documents: