To receive a verbal update on progress on the Local Plan submission and forthcoming Examination in Public, as this is progressing from day to day.

The Spatial Planning Manager gave a verbal update on progress on the Local Plan submission and forthcoming Examination in Public.

The Spatial Planning Manager stated that the Local Plan was published on 19 December 2014.  There was then a 6-week public consultation period before the document was finally submitted to the Planning Inspectorate.  She stated that following that public consultation, 810 representations from 144 individuals and bodies were received and they had all been sent to the Inspector to consider.  She noted that this was fewer than the previous public consultation undertaken in August 2013 where 1,600 points from 342 individuals and bodies had been received.  Most of the representations received from the final public consultation had been from developers in respect of developer targets being too low and raising consequent queries on the soundness of the plan. 

The Spatial Planning Manager reported that the Local Plan, its supporting strategy documents and all the evidence base was submitted on 11 April 2015.  The Secretary of State had appointed Mrs Sue Turner to conduct the examination.  The Spatial Planning Manager explained that Mrs Turner was a very experienced Inspector who had recently considered the Chichester Local Plan.  The Chichester Local Plan had been found sound, subject to modifications. 

The Spatial Planning Manager further reported that a Programme Officer had also been appointed to assist the Inspector with the examination.  The Spatial Planning Manager explained that the Programme Officer’s role was to help the Inspector with practical arrangements and her contact details were on SBC’s website: www.swale.gov.uk/local-plan-submission-and-examination/.  All correspondence had to go via the Programme Officer as officers, and participants in the Examination may not contact the Inspector direct. 

The Spatial Planning Manager outlined the following items that could also be viewed via the website: library of documents that would form the background for the examination; statutory required documents; evidence base; and technical supporting documents.  The Spatial Planning Manager advised that officers would continually update the website as the examination progressed.   The Spatial Planning Manager stated that the Inspector had already made notes which were prefixed ID/ and drew attention to ID/3 and ID/4 where the Inspector had expressed concern about developer targets and the justification for these.  The Inspector had noted that the issues around developer targets were complex and she was content to hold the examination in public and explore those issues and let participants put their cases forward.

The Spatial Planning Manager advised that the Inspector had requested further evidence and justification on housing need issues and land supply and officers were working on that.  She explained that specifically officers needed to address changes in government planning guidance that had occurred even since the Local Plan had been submitted.  The Spatial Planning explained that the new ONS household projections that came out in March 2015 and the Government Planning Guidance had changed and officers needed to look at and provide commentary on that work.  The Inspector would need to look at the result of that work and other evidence from our own Strategic Housing Land Availability Assessment.  She would then use those pieces of evidence to decide whether or not the plan was sound as it was; whether it could be made sound with modifications; or fundamentally unsound and beyond the scope of modifications to make it so. 

The Spatial Planning Manager reported that a Pre-hearing would be held at 2pm on Monday 22 June 2015 in the Council Chamber, Swale House.  She explained that this was basically a housekeeping meeting where the Inspector introduced herself and explained how she would run the Examination and programme for receipt of written statements.  The Inspector would focus only on soundness issues.   The Spatial Planning Manager stated that all Members could attend the pre-hearing and any of the hearing sessions which were set to commence at the start of September 2015 as observers.   

The Chairman stated that he had liaised with the Head of Planning about how details of the hearing sessions and information as the Examination progressed would be communicated to Members.

Members raised the following points: website was extremely helpful and well detailed and pleased some of the comments made had been discussed in detail by the LDF Panel; recommend Members look at the Chichester Local Plan as there were similarities with the Swale Local Plan; and transparency through the process was crucial.

In response to queries from a Member, the Spatial Planning Manager advised that you would only be able to speak at the hearings if you had made representations on the submission draft Local Plan.  Members would not be able to just turn up and speak.   With regard to the Gypsy and Traveller Policy, the Inspector had queried why this had been split between Local Plan Part 1 and Part 2 and also how we intended to meet that through Policy CP3 and Policy DM10.  Officers had also picked-up work on Part 2 with another call for sites. 

In response to a query, the Spatial Planning Manager stated that officers were disappointed about the extent of comments made by the Planning Inspector for the Brogdale appeal, in respect of the draft Local Plan Gypsy and Traveller policy insofar as the comments appeared to go further than necessary in determining the appeal at hand.  She stated that officers would need to prepare evidence on how SBC’s proposed policy approach would meet the identified need for the Local Plan Examination hearings.

A Member requested that a Briefing Note for Members be circulated outlining the programme and providing hearing dates and the rules of engagement.  Officers agreed to provide this.  Dates and agenda might be subject to change as a result of new work and possibly as a result of discussions at the hearings themselves, so frequent check backs to the website were advised.

The Chairman thanked the Spatial Planning Manager for the update.