Archived decisions
AT A MEETING of the STRATEGIC PLANNING JOINT ADVISORY PANEL held on 19 November 2003 at the Civic Offices of Portsmouth City Council.
PRESENT:
Hampshire County Council:
Councillors: K.B. Estlin (Chairman); C.R.H. Davidovitz; J.K. Glen; K. House; M.J. Roberts
Portsmouth City Council:
Councillors: A. Bentley; B. Maine; J. Patey
Southampton City Council:
Councillors: S. Letts; A. Samuels
Representatives of Hampshire District Councils were also in attendance as follows:-
Councillors: Councillor P. Burridge, East Hampshire District Council
Councillor G. Bennetts, Winchester City Council
Councillor S.H.B. Cook, Winchester City Council
Councillor D. Farrow, Havant Borough Council
Councillor A. Mandry, Fareham Borough Council
Councillor S. Parker, Hart Borough Council
Councillor Mrs I. Binfield, Gosport Borough Council
28. DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST
Members were mindful that, where they had a personal or personal prejudicial interest in any matter to be considered at the meeting, they should declare their personal interest and, having regard to the circumstances described in paragraphs 9, 10, 11 and 12 of the County Council's Code of Conduct, consider whether to leave the meeting whilst the matter was discussed, any declarations to be made at the time of the debate. No such declarations were made.
29. MINUTES
The Minutes of the meeting held on 2 April 2003 (Item 2 in the Minute Book) were confirmed as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.
Arising thereon:
Minute 18(ii): having attended a seminar on Affordable Housing on 28 October 2003, Councillor Roberts requested that a report be submitted to the next meeting of the Committee addressing how the Strategic Planning Authorities and District Councils would go about delivering affordable housing in Hampshire. In response, the Hampshire Director of Environment confirmed that a report would be considered by the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Local Authorities (HIOWLA) group at its next meeting on 28 November 2003, recommending that the issues and ideas that came out of the recent seminar be looked at by a working party. The intention would be for the working party to report its findings to the spring meeting of HIOWLA and an update report would be submitted to the Strategic Planning Joint Advisory Panel at the appropriate time.
30. DRAFT ADDENDUM TO STRUCTURE PLAN SUPPLEMENTARY PLANNING GUIDANCE `IMPLEMENTING POLICY H4'
The Panel considered a report of the Hampshire Director of Environment, Portsmouth City Planning Officer and Southampton Executive Director of Development and Sustainability (Item 5 in the Minute Book) in respect of a draft Addendum to the Structure Plan Supplementary Planning Guidance. The document had been prepared to amplify the process and the factors for deciding where to trigger a release of the reserve housing provision should it be deemed necessary. Members of the Panel were asked to agree to the publication of the draft Addendum for consultation purposes.
In respect of the period of consultation, Members emphasised the importance of allowing enough time for District Council's to comment on the document. In response to this view, a closing date of Friday 16 January 2004 was proposed thus allowing an eight week period of consultation. Having received comments, officers would recommend any amendments to the relevant Executive Member for each of the Strategic Planning Authorities for decision. For Hampshire County Council, the Executive Member for Environment intended to consult the County Councillors on the Panel on any proposed modifications prior to taking a formal decision.
RESOLVED:
(i) That the draft Addendum to the Supplementary Planning Guidance,
`Implementing Policy H4', be published for consultation.
(ii) That comments on the draft Addendum are to be received by close of
business Friday 16 January 2004, addressed to: Sue Clark,
Environment Department, Hampshire County Council, The Castle,
Winchester, SO23 8UD or e-mail: [email protected].
31. HAMPSHIRE HOUSE COMPLETIONS 2002-2003
The Panel considered the report of the Hampshire Director of Environment, Portsmouth City Planning officer and Southampton Executive Director of Development and Sustainability (Item 6 in the Minute Book) setting out house completions in Hampshire for the year ending March 2003. It was reported that last year's figures were an improvement but still below Regional Planning Guidance targets and a robust approach should continue to be pursued by all planning authorities.
In respect of how those numbers relate to the Structure Plan and regional planning provisions and to the forecast for house completions in last year's Policy H4 Monitoring report, it was noted that four planning authorities were currently below their annualised Structure Plan baseline figure, namely: Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council, Eastleigh Borough Council, East Hampshire District Council and Portsmouth City Council, as detailed in Appendix 2 of the report. Each of these planning authorities was invited to address the Panel with any further comments and it was noted that each authority felt optimistic that their position would improve and the necessary steps were being taken to achieve their Structure Plan baseline figure.
RESOLVED:
That the Panel:
(i) calls on all local authorities to increase their efforts to meet or exceed their annualised Structure Plan figure for completions; and
(ii) confirms that all districts are required to deliver their Structure Plan baseline figure and cannot draw on completions in other districts to reduce this requirement.
32. SOUTH HAMPSHIRE STUDY
The Panel considered the report of the Hampshire Director of Environment, Portsmouth City Planning Officer and Southampton Executive Director of Development and Sustainability on the South Hampshire Study. It was noted that the South Hampshire Study would be published shortly and a copy would be sent to all Members of the Committee in due course.
During a full discussion, Members questions were answered. The Study was commended as a good example of joint working putting South Hampshire in a good position for the next stage of developing a sub-regional strategy to 2026.
RESOLVED:
That the completion of the South Hampshire Study be noted.
33. ARRANGEMENTS FOR REGIONAL AND SUB-REGIONAL PLANNING IN HAMPSHIRE, PORTSMOUTH AND SOUTHAMPTON
The Panel considered the report of the Hampshire Director of Environment, Portsmouth City Planning Officer and Southampton Executive Director of Development and Sustainability (Item 8 in the Minute Book) detailing various developments at national and regional level since the previous meeting of the Panel and outlined the way forward.
Some amendments to the report were noted as follows:-
· Opening paragraph "Purpose and Summary" - delete the last sentence of this paragraph; and
· Paragraph 3.4 - it was noted that the Planning Committee of the South East England Regional Assembly (SEERA) met on 6 November 2003, not 6 November 2004 as stated in the report.
In respect of paragraph 2.1, it was noted that the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Bill had recommenced its passage through Parliament, would receive Royal Assent in April 2004 and come into operation in July 2004. During the ensuing discussion, it was noted that Members felt it important that the strategic planning authorities retain a substantial role in light of the proposed changes.
It was reported that SEERA were yet to decide which areas in the South East would require a sub-regional strategy. In order to assist them in making a decision, SEERA had commissioned local authorities in 10 areas to undertake a sub-regional study which were to be completed by February/March 2004. A detailed study timetable was appended to the report. It was noted that three sub-regional studies would affect Hampshire:-
(i) Blackwater Valley (the northern part of this is also in the Western Corridor);
(ii) Western Corridor (based on the Thames Valley but including Basingstoke town, the northern part of Hart district and the whole of Rushmoor Borough); and
(iii) South Hampshire, including East Dorset and the Isle of Wight.
RESOLVED:
(i) That, subject to the final content of the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Bill, this Panel should continue to oversee the implementation and monitoring of the Hampshire Structure Plan until it is superseded by the adopted Regional Spatial Strategy.
(ii) That the Strategic Planning Joint Advisory Panel recognises that the appropriate arrangements for Member and officer involvement in sub-regional strategy preparation may vary from area to area, and are best determined by the authorities involved.
(iii) That there was general support for the preparation of a Hampshire vision and consideration would need to be given to the appropriate Member steering arrangements for the work.
34. MEETINGS OF THE PANEL IN 2004
Following consultation between the three Strategic Planning Authorities, arrangements for meetings of the Strategic Planning Joint Advisory Panel in 2004 were agreed as follows:-
Wednesday 10 March 2004 10.00am Hampshire County Council
Thursday 15 July 2004 10.00am Southampton City Council
Wednesday 17 November 2004 10.00am Portsmouth City Council