Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Cllr P Fisher, Cllr L Paterson, Cllr J Punchard and Cllr J Toye. Cllr H Blathwayt was present as a substitute for Cllr J Punchard.

None received.

To approve as a correct record the Minutes of a meeting of the Working Party held on Monday 10^th July 2023.

The Minutes of the Planning Policy & Built Heritage Working Party Meeting held Monday 10^th July were approved as a correct record subject to a minor typographical amendment on p.8 viii.

The Chairman thanked the Vice-Chairman for deputising at the July Meeting.

To determine any other items of business which the Chairman decides should be considered as a matter of urgency pursuant to Section 100B(4)(b) of the Local Government Act 1972.

None.

Members are asked at this stage to declare any interests that they may have in any of the following items on the agenda.  The Code of Conduct for Members requires that declarations include the nature of the interest and whether it is a disclosable pecuniary interest.  Members are requested to refer to the attached guidance and flowchart.

Cllr M Batey declared a non-pecuniary interest in item 6 – he is the Local Member for Holt and a Member of Holt Town Council.

Cllr A Varley declared a non-pecuniary interest in item 7 – he is the Local Member.

Cllr G Bull declared a non-pecuniary interest in item 10 – he is one of the Local Members for North Walsham.

Cllr P Heinrich declared a non-pecuniary interest in item 10 – he is one of the Local Members for North Walsham.

Cllr H Blathwayt declared a non-pecuniary interest in item 7 – he is the representative for the Broad’s Authority, and Chairman of the Broad’s Authority Planning Committee.

1. The PPTL introduced the Officers report and recommendation to endorse the making or the Holt Neighbourhood Plan. The Plan had been subject to public consultation and referendum with 552 votes in support, around 80% of the total turn out.

2. The Chairman noted the recommendations, which included sequential amendments to policies.

3. The PPTL confirmed that amendments would need to be made, noting changes required to the policies map. This would ensure that the Neighbourhood Plan appeared in constraints when planning searches were conducted. 

4. Cllr M Batey – The Local Member – expressed his support for the Neighbourhood Plan, and affirmed that he did not consider this to be a controversial matter.

5. Cllr P Heinrich proposed and Cllr M Hankins seconded acceptance of the Officers recommendations.

IT WAS UNANIMOUSLY RESOLVED

1. Members of the Planning Policy & Built Heritage Working Party recommend to Cabinet that having been subject to successful local referendum;

a. The Holt Neighbourhood Plan be made (brought into force) as part of the statutory Development Plan for North Norfolk in accordance with section 38A(4) of the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004 (as amended) on the 25th August 2023;

b. The issuing of the Decision Statement required under Regulation 19 of the Neighbourhood Planning (General) Regulations 2012 (as amended) in order to bring to the attention of the qualifying body, the people who live, work and or carry out business in the Neighbourhood Plan Area is delegated to the Assistant Director of Planning in conjunction with the Planning Policy Team Leader;

2. Acknowledge that the required consequential amendments to the adopted policies map and the required minor consequential changes to the referendum version of the neighbourhood plan through delegated powers to the Planning Policy Team Leader.

Horning Knackers Wood Updated Joint Position Statement

1. The PPTL introduced the Officers report and recommendation.  He advised that the joint position statement would aid decision making on development proposals in Horning. The PPTL noted that there was currently an embargo on new homes in the Horning catchment, primarily as the Horning waste water recycling centre lacked the capacity to accommodate further foul flows, which remained significantly above the permitted limit set by the Environment Agency (EA) and license limit.

In 2022 Anglian Water issued a statement of fact and subsequently withdrew from the existing process. Further, since the original joint position statement was signed, Anglian Water had undertaken a number of investigations regarding excessive flows and had concluded that unstable ground conditions in the area were causing structural failures in the public sewage network and privately owned sewage networks. This, in addition with the combined high water table, frequent over topping and high levels of ground water, resulted in infiltration inundations in private and public water systems at multiple points. Significantly, this was estimated to be 200% above the licenses amount and Anglian Water had concluded that there was no single engineering solution.

NNDC had worked with the Broad’s Authority and EA to update the position to remedy the situation. It was considered that there was a real risk of nutrient loading downstream on nationally and locally significant land.

The position would remain that the EA would continue to maintain their objection to development proposals, Anglian Water would still invest and seek solutions, though would not do so in isolation, and would work with the Norfolk Strategic Alliance. The PPTL noted that £5.2 million had been set aside by Anglian Water to improve capacity at the local recycling centre, details of which were available in the Infrastructure Delivery Plan. Ultimately, the settlement was not considered sustainable for long-term growth. 

2. The Chairman commented that he was surprised that there was no reference to Nutrient Neutrality in the report.

3. The PPTL advised that the catchment was located outside of the Nutrient Neutrality Zone. 

4. Cllr A Varley – The Local Member – Thanked Officer’s for their work and engagement. He considered that this was an important issue and argued that the joint position statement would continue to have a significant impact on the community of Horning. The Local Member noted that Horning had a high water environment which provided an ideal habitat for many species of flora and fauna, further improving the quality of life for residents. Cllr A Varley thanked Anglian Water for their comprehensive investigatory works, but concluded that that the issues remained outstanding and expressed his disappointment that Anglian Water had pulled out of the joint statement. Whilst encouraged by mentions of the proposed investment, the Local Member affirmed that additional details including a time scale were required. He noted that the joint statement maintained to serve as an embargo for development, which it was noted would have a significant effect on the ability of the Local Planning Authority to  ...  view the full minutes text for item 23.

Weight to be given to the Emerging Local Plan

1. The PPTL introduced the Officers report and recommendation. He advised that, at present, limited weight was given to the emerging Local Plan as a whole, with policies used on a case-by-case basis by developers to justify development. As detailed in paragraph 2.3 of the Officer’s report, the NPPF established that Local Planning Authorities may give weight to policies in an emerging local plan due to the stage of production, with greater weight attributed to the more advanced plans, with high degrees of consistency and fewer unanswered objections.

The PPTL confirmed that 30 policies of the emerging Local Plan had been identified which Officers considered could now been given weight in the consideration and determination of Planning Applications alongside the existing development plan. The PPTL stated that it would remain the case that it would be individual Officers to conclude the appropriate planning balance and judgement based on the specific circumstances of each Planning Application. A further 3 policies could only be given partial weight, as they establish a contested strategic position, with substantive objections which challenge the principle of the approach.

The PPTL advised that the Plan was at a significantly enhanced stage, having been in the public domain for over 18 months, undergone significant consultation, and in accordance with the NPPF. Officers therefore sought the views of Member’s as to the level of weight the Council wishes to apply to the emerging plan in decision making. Notably, the Environment Act 2021 makes biodiversity net gain mandatory for all but small sites and some exemptions from an as-yet in November 2023 and for small sites from April 2024. The emerging Local Plan included policies to address this mandatory requirement, and would provide Officers guidance on how this should be implemented.

The PPTL confirmed what would occur should Members choose not to support the Officers recommendation, as set out in paragraph 48 of the Officers report. Should Members be minded to support the Officers recommendation, there will be a transition period to allow for Officers to be briefed, provided appropriate training along with Members, internal systems updated, developers informed on the change of emphasis on policies and a decision made on how to address applications already in the system.

2. The Chairman asked, if a Local Planning Authority was unable to demonstrate a 5 year Housing Land Supply, what impact this would have the on the weight applied to an emerging Local Plan.

3. The PPTL advised that the Councils 5 year Housing Land supply positon was not taken into consideration in the Officers report and recommendation. If the Council were unable to demonstrate a 5 year Housing Land Supply, the relevant policies would still apply. The spatial strategy and housing figures were contested and should not be relied upon, and the presumption of sustainable development as set out in the NPPF would still apply.

4. Cllr P Heinrich welcomed the Officers recommendation and considered many of the existing policies to be outdated, being some  ...  view the full minutes text for item 24.

Adoption of Coastal Adaptation Supplementary Planning Document

1. SPOCD introduced the Officers report and recommendation to accept the coastal adaptation supplementary planning document (SPD). She confirmed that the purpose of the SPD was to build upon the statement of common ground on coastal zone planning, formally signed by Norfolk and Suffolk Coastal Authorities in 2018, by seeking to provide consistent planning guidance through a whole coast approach.

The SPD had been subject to two rounds of public consultation, the first in the form of a questionnaire, the second consultation took place between January-March 2023 with 52 respondents forming 185 comments. The Main themes of the second consultation were set out in paragraph 3.5 of the Officers report, with responses offered in 3.6.

Since the close of the consultation the steering group had spent the intervening period refining the document, taking into account responses supplied. Officers considered the final SPD to be well balanced both in terms of its scope and content, further, it had been written in such a way that it could be applied to all relevant authorities. The SPD would support both the existing and emerging Local Plan policies in relation to development in the coastal change management area and provide comprehensive advise for both rollback and relocation proposals.

If adopted the Coastal Adaptation SPD would supersede the 2009 Development Control guidance. The SPOCD noted that the final SPD was due to be considered at all relevant authorities which may result in some minor changes. Officers were seeking to have the SPD adopted by the end of September 2023.

2. The Chairman asked about the relationship of the Local Plan and a SPD.

3. The PPTL advised that a SPD was guidance which added detail to policies and how they work.

4. Cllr H Blathwayt endorsed the revised Coastal Adaptation SPD and proposed acceptance of the Officers recommendation. As the Portfolio Holder for Coast, he advised that whilst he was in attendance in the capacity of a substitute, he would have otherwise attended the meeting as Portfolio Holder. Cllr H Blathwayt noted that the Council had, in principle, endorsed the SPD at Full Council. He considered that implementing the SPD in practice would call for hard decisions to be made. Cllr H Blathwayt noted that there was a planning application which had been deferred at Development Committee, and asked that those Members properly consider the SPD when reaching their determination.

5. Cllr V Holliday was pleased that more detail had been offered to the sensitive environment. She noted that her Ward was subject to risk of flooding and not erosion.

6. The Chairman thanked Officers for their hard work, and stated that it was a major undertaking to work with several authorities.

7. Cllr G Bull seconded the Officers recommendation.

IT WAS UNANIMOUSLY RESOLVED.

Planning Policy & Built Heritage Working Party recommended to recommend to Cabinet that the Coastal Adaptation SPD is adopted.

That the Planning Policy Manager, in consultation with the Portfolio Holder for Planning, is authorised to make any presentational or typographical amendments to  ...  view the full minutes text for item 25.

1. The SPOMG introduced the Officers report and recommendation. Officers considered that the North Walsham Development Brief (DB) was far enough progressed to engage in public consultation, with the Council due to form its opinion at a later date after public consultation had been concluded.

Since the last meeting Members had been provided advance notice of the DB and were provided the opportunity to engage and discuss the DB with the Planning Policy Manager (PPM). The SPOMG noted that feedback received from these briefings was positive.

The DB was formed in collaboration with the promotors, the Council, and NCC Highways – who had expressed their approval to the DB and the detailed Highways proposals. The Planning Policy Team considered that the DB was policy compliant with the emerging Local Plan, and specifically allocation NW62-a. The SPOMG advised that the PPM had previously explained that through the consultation of the DB, the Council would be able to demonstrate to the Planning Inspector for the Local Plan that the scheme was achievable, and the allocation viable.

The SPOMG detailed the sites location and the three core themes of the DB; open space, community and economy. Open space in the DB had been designed to become more linear in nature and act as a soft edge to development whilst also promoting active travel, with Weaver’s Way incorporated in the green infrastructure to enhance the overall development. Link Road, which formed the spine of the development was to be flanked by tree-lined avenues, with built in foot and cycle paths separate to the road to enable better permeability by foot and cycle across the site and beyond, complaint with GIRAMs requirements. The development would provide playing pitches, play areas for children, and allotments. At the centre of the site would be a new school, a community hub and elderly care facility, creating a nexus point for the community.

It was noted that part of the DB included details of a proposed access over the railway line to the North of the site to facilitate a further Northern Expansion. However, it was considered that the benefits from such extension would not justify the high costs.  NNDC were engaging with Norfolk County Council with regards the upcoming infrastructure delivery plan to include a dedicated project for delivering North Walsham West. It was considered that the new link road would help direct traffic and alleviate current traffic pressures. The SPOMG noted that the new roads would not remove HGV movements for Aylsham Road entirely, but would significantly reduce movements by redirecting those that need to access facilities in the centre of North Walsham. Bespoke traffic models forecasted a 50% reduction in HGV movements in the town centre, this was endorsed by NCC Highways. Aylsham Road had been modelled to account for pedestrian use access and traffic improvements, with the DB proposing the introduction of traffic lights for one way use, this would enable the widening of footpaths and ensure larger vehicles were able to make use of the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 26.

             To pass the following resolution (if necessary):

“That under Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act 1972 the press and public be excluded from the meeting for the following items of business on the grounds that they involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Part I of Schedule 12A (as amended) to the Act.”

None.