Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Beaken, Glancy, Holmes, Hutchison, Lumley, and Sheldon. 

Members to declare any interest as appropriate in respect of items to be considered at this meeting.

Councillor Graham declared a pecuniary interest by virtue of being a representative on the Sir John Sedley Educational Trust which was a land owner within the Borough and indicated he would leave the meeting before the discussion on the Melton Local Plan commenced.

Councillors Pearson, Orson, Posnett, and Rhodes each declared a personal interest in any matters relating to the Leicestershire County Council due to their roles as County Councillors.

Councillor Orson declared a pecuniary interest in the three items relating to the Melton Local Plan as a land owner and indicated he would leave the meeting before the discussion on the Melton Local Plan commenced.

Having sought advice from the Chief Executive, Councillor Freer-Jones declared a personal interest arising from being a trustee of the Melton Mowbray Town Estate.

[Councillors Graham and Orson here left the meeting.]

The Deputy Leader referred to the importance and complexity of the matter before the Council and requested that Standing Order 13.5 be suspended for this meeting only to enable Members to make supplementary comments and ask further questions if they so wished.  Councillor Chandler seconded the motion.

The Mayor called for a vote on the suspension of Standing Order 13.5 which was subsequently carried.

Before taking the first item, the Mayor drew Members’ attention to the two representations which had been circulated at the meeting.

The Head of Regulatory Services to submit a report describing the recent consultation exercise on the Addendum of Focussed Changes to the Pre Submission Draft Local Plan and the resultant update to the Consultation Statement (Appendix 1)

Members had before them a report prepared by the Head of Strategic Planning & Regulatory Services which sought to appraise the Council about the Addendum of Focused Changes Consultation.  The Council was asked to agree a further addendum to the Melton Local Plan Community Consultation and Engagement Statement which brought the record of consultation activity up to date.

Councillor Chandler, as Chair of the Melton Local Plan Working Group, commended the report to the Council, commenting in particular on the following:

·         the ‘Focused Changes’ were made in response to a series of representations and new information comprising 13 significant amendments to the Local Plan.  The report explained how they were presented to the public and provided an overview of the consultation process;

·         the breadth of the consultation which had taken place and the level of responses received which had been incorporated into the Consultation Statement appended to the report;

·         her concern at the behaviour of some members of the public who had subjected staff  to verbal hostility and aggression.  She had personally witnessed this level of unacceptable behaviour at the Bottesford event.  Such incidents prevented genuinely interested residents from getting the information they were seeking about the Local Plan and its procedures from staff.  If further events were to be held, the Council would seriously consider the employment of security measures in the future.

Councillor Chandler then moved the recommendations as contained within the report and this was seconded by Councillor Illingworth who reserved his right to speak later in the debate if he so wished.

The Deputy Leader referred to the abusive incidents at the consultation events and condemned the people who had behaved in such an unacceptable way towards the staff and impinged on the ability of others to participate.

Councillor Illingworth made reference to the two representations that had been circulated at the meeting and expressed concern that such late submission precluded Members having the time to take in and absorb the contents.

The Mayor moved to the vote on the recommendations contained in the motion as proposed and seconded.  This was carried unanimously.

RESOLVED: that

(1)       the contents of this report are noted; and

(2)       the further Addendum to the Community Consultation and Engagement Statement forming Appendix 1 to this report be agreed.

The Head of Regulatory Services to present a report conveying the representations received to the recent consultation exercise on the Addendum of Focussed Changes to the Pre Submission Draft Local Plan, and seeking agreement to proposed responses comprised with Appendices 1a to o and 2.

In a report, previously circulated, the Head of Strategic Planning & Regulatory Services provided a summary of the representations received in response to the consultation on the Melton Local Plan Addendum of Focussed Changes.  The report  highlighted the main issues they raised, and sought agreement to the proposed responses to all of the representations.  It also addressed previously unreported representations from the Pre Submission stage that were not considered at the meeting on 4 July 2017.

Councillor Chandler presented the report to Members and drew their attention to an Erratum/Update paper which had subsequently been prepared in which a small number had been addressed previously.  Councillor Chandler

·         mentioned that a wide range of views had been expressed on almost every subject, quite often diametrically opposed to one another. However, none had been so persuasive to lead the Working Group to conclude that further changes to the Plan at this stage should be made, whether in relation to the fundamental issues such as development quantity or the balance between Melton and the villages, or more details policy or site specific issues;

·         stressed that it was important to understand the stage that had been reached.  If the Council submitted the Plan for Examination, as recommended by the Working Group, every single contribution to both Pre Submission and Focussed Changes would be forwarded for the Inspector’s consideration and every contributor could appear at the Examination and explain why they believe their approaches are a better way forward than the drafted Plan.  If the Inspector was persuaded, he/she could make modifications to the Plan that would be the subject of further consultation and Examination;

·         emphasised that the Plan was a plan for growth and prosperity, it was not just about housing.  To enable businesses in the Borough to grow and prosper, increased labour supply must be provided in the locality.  More jobs required an increase in the working age population, would arise from planned new households.  The Local Plan allocating around 6,000 houses and 30 ha of employment land in Melton Mowbray would allow the opportunity for businesses to expand.  These developments brought with them infrastructure provision to unleash the potential that existed in the area, and policies to tackle some of the issues faced with – an aging population, expensive housing and lack of affordable housing, as well as the pressing need to solve the congestion problems in Melton Mowbray through the Distributor Road which was now out for consultation.

Councillor Chandler moved the recommendations contained in the report and these were seconded by Councillor Illingworth who reserved his right to speak later in the debate.

The Deputy Leader spoke on the ethos of the Plan coming from the Government’s National Planning Policy Framework but it would also secure the optimum funding for the Distributor road and provide the best opportunity for the next generation to own their own homes.  Equally as important, it would give the Council a greater degree of control over development.  Officers and Members had worked hard to obtain the  ...  view the full minutes text for item CO50

The Head of Regulatory Services to submit a report proposing next steps for the submission of the Local Plan for Examination, proposed modifications and proposals for delegation and reporting of the progress of the submission and subsequent Examination.

Members had before them a report prepared by the Head of Strategic Planning & Regulatory Services which outlined the remaining steps of the Local Plan preparation process, informed the Council about what the Council needs to do when it submitted the Local Plan for examination, and explained why delegated powers would be needed by officers to ensure that the Council can participate efficiently and effectively during the Examination.

The report was presented by Councillor Chandler who explained :

·         that the report covered the detailed practical arrangements for submission.  The period after submission and through the Examination was dynamic and Members needed to allow the Officers the freedom to be able to respond to issues as and when they arose.  In Examination, this could be as short as a couple of hours or overnight;

·         Members would need to be kept informed about progress and the issues raised, and the report also suggested how this could be done – through the Working Group, briefings and close liaison with Lead Members;

·         this was a seminal moment for the Plan.  The recommendation was that it now be submitted along with a series of suggested amendments that were set out in Appendix 1.  These were issues where it was believed that the Plan could be improved without affecting its fundamental objectives and design and the Inspector would be invited to consider these amendments as potential modifications.

Councillor Chandler then moved the recommendations contained in the report and this was seconded by Councillor Illingworth.

Before moving to the vote, the Deputy Leader stated it had been a long journey to reach this point and wished to place on record his thanks to Councillor Chandler for her considerable work on the Local Plan and the collaborative approach which had been taken by the Working Group.  He also expressed his thanks to the members of the public for submitting representations and taking part in the focus groups.  Thanks were given to the officers, in particular the Head of Strategic Planning & Regulatory Services (Jim Worley) and the Local Plan Manager (Valerie Adams) who had gone above and beyond the call of duty.  On behalf of all members he expressed the Council’s gratitude.

The vote on the recommendations was taken en bloc and unanimously carried.

RESOLVED: that

(1)       the contents of this report are noted; and

(2)       the Melton Local Plan Pre Submission, as amended by the changes outlined in the Addendum of Focused Changes, be agreed and submitted to the Government for Examination as soon as possible; and

(3)       authority be delegated to the Head of Strategic Planning & Regulatory Services to :

a)         complete all the documents required to fulfil the regulatory requirements at Local Plan submission, as set out in the Town and Country Planning (Local Planning)(England) Regulations 2012 and to meet the best practice advice of the Planning Inspectorate and Planning Advisory Service; and

b)         agree actions and make decisions that are necessary during the Local Plan Examination to ensure that the Local Plan can be found  ...  view the full minutes text for item CO51