Agenda, decisions and minutes

An apology for absence was received from Councillor Graham.

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

Councillor Orson declared an interest in any items relating to Leicestershire County Council, due to his role as a County Councillor.

The Leader to submit a report seeking Cabinet to recommend approval of the Developer Contributions Supplementary Planning Document (SPD) to Council on the 23 September 2021

Cabinet:

1)      Noted the comments received during the consultation period and accepts the proposed amendments to the draft Developer Contributions Supplementary Planning Document (SPD).

2)      Recommended to Council that the final version of the Developer Contributions SPD, shown at Appendix A, is adopted on the 23rd September 2021.

The Chief Executive introduced the report, followed by the Assistant Director for Planning and Delivery who provided Members with more detail.

The Leader stated that the Supplementary Planning Document is vital towards securing the Melton Mowbray Distributor Road for the town. He added that he was informed that the Leicestershire County Council Cabinet are content with the document.

Councillor Browne thanked the Assistant Director for Planning and Delivery for his and his team’s work on completing the SPD.

Councillor de Burle highlighted the issue of lack of waste bins in Parish areas and commented on whether a reference could be made within the SPD, in order to compel developers to provide waste bins as a part of a development.

Councillor Freer commented that the document demonstrates that the Council is doing all it can in order to secure the MMDR.

DECISION (NON-KEY)

Cabinet unanimously:

1)       Noted the comments received during the consultation period and accepts the proposed amendments to the draft Developer Contributions Supplementary Planning Document (SPD).

2)       Recommended to Council that the final version of the Developer Contributions SPD, shown at Appendix A, is adopted on the 23rd September 2021.

Reason for the decision

The content of the SPD had been formulated in collaboration with Members and the County Council and the infrastructure prioritisation approach illustrated within the SPD, was set out within the Cabinet report considered in July 2021. The starting point for the Council will be that all developers should meet all relevant infrastructure requirements in full. However, the approach regarding infrastructure priorities established in Policy IN3 and detailed within the SPD provides clarity to all parties if it becomes necessary and justified to negotiate the content of a section 106 agreement due to issues surrounding viability. Each planning application will continue to be assessed on a case-by-case basis according to the merits of the development and the CIL regulations.

Further to the completion of the six week public consultation from 26th July 2021 to 6th September 2021, 20 responses were submitted. These are summarised in the report at paragraph 5.2 and are reported in greater detail in Appendix B to the report, along with the changes made to the draft SPD responding to the responses received.

It is considered that the finalised SPD is a suitable mechanism for achieving the shared strategic aim of delivering sustainable growth and associated key infrastructure in Melton. This includes the three parts of the Melton Mowbray Distributor Road (MMDR) and education facilities.

Additionally, the SPD demonstrates the Council’s commitment to fully supporting Leicestershire County Council in meeting the financial requirements for the significant infrastructure investment planned for Melton.