Cabinet Member for Planning
Minutes:
69.1 Councillor Sallie Davies, Cabinet Member for Planning, introduced Paper BC/23/28 Babergh and Mid Suffolk Joint Local Plan for Adoption, outlining the work which had taken place in preparing the plan. Councillor Sallies Davies thanked the officers involved, and the previous Cabinet Member for Planning, Councillor Clive Arthey.
69.2 Councillor Sallie Davies PROPOSED the recommendations. Councillor Ward SECONDED the motion.
69.3 Councillor Potter referred to the biodiversity net gain target and asked what, if anything, would prevent the target of 20% being achieved.
69.4 Councillor Sallie Davies advised that the minimum requirement for net gain in new developments was 10%, and that the Plan would seek to achieve the 20% target via the Supplementary Planning Documents on Biodiversity and Trees.
69.5 Councillor Riley asked whether it could be acknowledged that there would be deficit from previous years, and requested confirmation that it was the intention to make Babergh an affluent area and not living beyond its means.
69.6 In response, the Director for Planning and Building Control advised that the Plan aimed to deliver sustainable growth throughout the Plan period, and that the Council had delivered, through planning permissions, a significant number of the dwellings required across the Plan period, and confirmed he was confident that Babergh District Council would be able to achieve the housing needs required.
69.7 Councillor Holt commented that although he welcomed Part 1 of the Joint Local Plan, the plan could not be considered a success as it was incomplete and Part 2 of the Plan was still to be completed.
69.8 Councillor Jamieson agreed that the Plan was not perfect and had taken a considerable amount of time however he was in support of the Plan.
69.9 Councillor Ward highlighted the difficulty of preparing the Plan, and the examination process, and commented that the importance of the policies contained in Part 1 must not be diminished. Councillor Ward went on to state that this was a momentous moment for both Babergh and Mid Suffolk Councils and provided clarity of the planning policies. Councillor Ward expressed his gratitude to Councillor Clive Arthey for his work on the Joint Local Plan.
69.10 Councillor Derek Davis endorsed the comments made by Councillor Ward regarding Councillor Arthey, he commented that the next stage was to ensure that the hard work undertaken by the officers was not wasted and that Members were fully trained and using the plan to its full advantage.
69.11 Councillor McCraw referred to the issue of the Plan being in two parts and felt that there were advantages to this approach in that it provided time to continue developing the supplementary planning documents and enabled the current Members to contribute to these.
69.12 Councillor Busby raised concerns with the process, in particular the time it would take to complete Part 2 of the Plan, commenting that there was desperate need for social housing throughout the district which may not be able to be delivered through the existing approved applications.
69.13 Councillor Riley commented that the Council should be working with the Private Sector, and that the Plan needed to ensure that the Council was open for business and made Babergh an attractive place to be.
69.14 The Director for Planning and Building Control provided clarification that should the Plan be approved, this would not preclude Committee Members from granting planning permissions in accordance with the policies within Part 1 of the Plan without Part 2 being approved.
69.15 Councillor Beer sought assurance that better skills and employment opportunities for residents were being encouraged to enable them to afford properties in the District.
69.16 In response, Councillor Derek Davis, Cabinet Member for Economic Growth, advised that every effort was being made for regeneration sites to be opened, and agreed that there was a need to develop skills and provide a good level of wages to enable people to afford homes.
69.17 Councillor Potter welcomed the policies relating to Houseboat dwellers in Part 2 of the plan, and the policies on air quality relating to AONB sites.
By a unanimous vote of 29 votes for.
It was RESOLVED:
That the Babergh and Mid Suffolk Joint Local Plan DPD (November 2023) (Appendix A) be approved for adoption under Regulation 26 of the Town and Country Planning Act (Local Planning) (England) Regulations 2012 (as amended).
Supporting documents: