Archived decisions

Contact: Stuart Jarvis, ext 6124 email: [email protected]

1. Summary

1.1 Individuals and organisations have been invited to make representations on the draft South East Plan that has been submitted to Government by the South East England Regional Assembly (SEERA). The County Council's response to the South East Plan will be considered by the Cabinet when it meets on 26 June. This report explains the context for the County Council's response, and indicates the broad areas of representations that should be made by the County Council. A presentation will be made at the meeting in relation to the proposed representations.

1.2 Issues arising from the representations made by all parties will be discussed at an informal public inquiry called an Examination-in-Public (EiP) during winter 2006/07. Selected issues only will be discussed and participation will be by invitation. It is proposed that the County Council should state its wish to participate in the EiP.

1.3 A draft list of the issues and participants will be published on 31 August 2006, with four weeks for comments.

2. Background

2.1 The South East Plan is the inaugural Regional Spatial Strategy for the South East of England. It will set the amount and broad location of new urban development over the next 20 years. It will identify the new transport and other infrastructure that is needed, and will conserve the natural and built environment. When finalised, the South East Plan will supersede the County Structure Plans in the Region. District Councils' Local Development Documents - which will replace Local Plans - must accord with the Plan.

2.2 SEERA is responsible for preparing the draft South East Plan. SEERA submitted a draft Plan to the Government in March 2006, after which there was an opportunity for individuals and organisations to make representations on the draft Plan until Friday 23 June 2006. A dispensation for the late submission of the County Council's response has been agreed with the EiP Panel. The main issues arising from the representations will be debated at an EiP during November 2006 to March 2007.

2.3 A copy of the draft Plan has been place in the Members' Room; a copy is also in the Environment Department library. Members may also wish to refer to their copies of the "What is our Future" leaflet, which summarises and indexes the South East Plan policies and proposals as they affect Hampshire.

2.4 This paper recommends the representations that the County Council should make on SEERA's draft Plan and recommends arrangements for the County Council's involvement in the EiP process.

3. Proposed Overall Approach

3.1 SEERA's draft Plan is some 340 pages long and contains 196 draft policies. It incorporates, with only cosmetic changes, the advice submitted last December, in respect of sub-regional policies, by the Partnership for Urban South Hampshire and the Western Corridor and Blackwater Valley Sub-Region Members' Steering Group.

3.2 It also includes the District-level housebuilding figures submitted by Hampshire County Council in respect of Central Hampshire and New Forest.

3.3 The submission of representations on the draft Plan provides an opportunity to reiterate and pursue the points in resolution of the Council meeting held on 8 December 2005. It also provides the opportunity to comment on other aspects of the draft document. However, rather than taking a `scattergun' approach of making comments across the draft Plan, it is recommended that the Council should make a limited number of representations focused on a few key themes. This would signal the key issues on which Hampshire County Council feels the EiP should concentrate. The proposed key themes are:

(i) the amount of development proposed;

(ii) infrastructure provision; and

(iii) sustainable development and quality of life.

3.4 The representations could comprise not only changes which the Council would wish to see made to SEERA's draft Plan, but also explicit support for those parts of the Plan which the County Council endorses. Such expressions of positive support could be an important counterweight to the objections which other parties are likely to make.

Recommendation

That the Committee notes the report and advises the Cabinet of any additional points that it believes should be taken into account when the Cabinet considers this matter.

9382/SJ