The report going to the Resources and Public Realm Committee on the Council's Planning Committee proposes a review of the Local Plan.
It proposes a 'Local plan Working Party' to carry this out made up of 'a representative group of councillors' . The first, rather clumsy, sentence of this section of the report mentions the local community but there is no mention of residents' associations or other community groups making a contribution to such a working party.
Surely they should be involved at an early stage to avoid further disaffection and feelings of powerlessness in the force of development and regeneration?
Extract:
It proposes a 'Local plan Working Party' to carry this out made up of 'a representative group of councillors' . The first, rather clumsy, sentence of this section of the report mentions the local community but there is no mention of residents' associations or other community groups making a contribution to such a working party.
Surely they should be involved at an early stage to avoid further disaffection and feelings of powerlessness in the force of development and regeneration?
Extract:
To plan proactively for its future and guide
development in the form and location where the Council and the local community
feels it is most appropriate, the Council will need to start a review of the
Local Plan. Whilst it provides the opportunity to refresh the Council’s
approach to support current corporate priorities, it is likely to involve some
potentially difficult decisions in prioritising housing delivery against other
considerations, e.g. balancing affordable/family housing requirements against facilitating
what will be high levels of housing delivery; the extent to which low density
housing in areas with high public transport accessibility are considered
sustainable in the long term; and safeguarding and providing existing
infrastructure and non-residential uses against the need to meet housing
targets. To meet housing needs and support timely regeneration/development, the
Council is also likely to have to take a greater pro-active approach to site
assembly/direct delivery than might have been the case in the past.
To
ensure a wider elected democratic mandate a representative group of councillors
will be involved in and facilitate the content and direction of the Local Plan
as it makes its way through the adoption process. It is proposed that this will
be through a Local Plan Working Party, for example dealing with vision and
objectives and how themes, such as housing and employment can best contribute
to these. The extent and timing of the review will become cleared once a
restructure of Planning has been undertaken and the Development Management
Policies Plan has been adopted.
