Agenda

Planning Policy & Built Heritage Working Party - Thursday, 18th July, 2024 10.00 am

Venue: Council Chamber - Council Offices

Contact: Lauren Gregory  Email: Lauren.Gregory@north-norfolk.gov.uk

Items
No. Item

1.

APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE

2.

PUBLIC QUESTIONS

3.

MINUTES pdf icon PDF 229 KB

To approve as a correct record the Minutes of a meeting of the Working Party held on Monday 13th November 2023.

4.

ITEMS OF URGENT BUSINESS

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.

5.

DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST pdf icon PDF 721 KB

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.

6.

Wells-Next-The-Sea Neighbourhood Plan Making Report pdf icon PDF 169 KB

REPORT TITLE           Wells-Next-The-Sea Neighbourhood Plan Making Report

 

Executive Summary

The purpose of this report is to formally “make” the WellsNext-The-Sea Neighbourhood Plan as part of the statutory Development Plan for North Norfolk. The Plan was subject to independent examination and successful referendum on the 4th of July 2024. The Council has a legal duty to “make” the neighbourhood plan within 8 weeks of the day after the referendum (30th August 2024) was held unless it considers that doing so would breach European Union Obligations.

 

Options considered.

 

1.    Bring the Referendum version of the Wells-NextThe-Sea Neighbourhood Plan into effect as soon as practical and within the 8-week time frame and by no later than 30th August 2024. This would mean that the neighbourhood plan forms part of the Council’s statutory Development Plan for North Norfolk and will be a material consideration in the determination of planning applications in the designated Wells-Next-The-Sea Neighbourhood Area.

 

2.    To not bring the Neighbourhood Plan into effect. This would mean that the Neighbourhood Plan would not form part of the Development Plan for North Norfolk and would not become a material consideration in the determination of planning applications.

 

Consultation(s)

Earlier iterations of the Neighbourhood Plan have undergone public consultation under Regulation 14 and 16 of the Neighbourhood Planning (General) Regulations 2012 (as amended). The submitted version of the neighbourhood plan has undergone independent examination and the final modified version was subject to a public referendum on 4th July 2024 in accordance with Paragraph 12(4) of Schedule 4B to the Town and Country Planning Act 1990.  

Recommendations

 

1. In order to comply with the statutory timeframe, the Planning Policy & Built Heritage Working Party recommends to the Leader to make a delegated decision on behalf of Cabinet, that having been subject to successful local referendum; 

 

a.   The Wells-Next-The-Sea 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) as soon as practical and within the 8 week statutory time frame and no later than 30th August 2024;

 

b.  The issuing of the Decision Statement

 

required under Regulation 19 of the

Neighbourhood Planning (General) Regulations 2012 (as amended) in order to bring it to the attention of the qualifying body, and the people who live, work and or carry out business in the Neighbourhood Area, is delegated to the Director of Planning in conjunction with the Acting Planning Policy Manager.

 

Reasons for

recommendations

 

All Neighbourhood Development Plans are required to gain a majority of those voting in favour (50% plus) at a local referendum in order to proceed and be considered for adoption by the Local Planning Authority. If the Plan receives a positive result, then the local planning authority has a legal duty to bring the plan into force within an eightweek period following the day after the referendum was held, unless it considers that doing so  ...  view the full agenda text for item 6.

7.

North Walsham Development Brief pdf icon PDF 161 KB

North Walsham Development Brief

 

Executive Summary

This report seeks the approval from Members for the use of the updated North Walsham Development Brief in assisting in the determination of proposals in association with the strategic policies and site allocation NW62/A, Land West of North Walsham as detailed in the emerging Local Plan (hereafter referred to as eLP).

 

Options Considered

 

The Planning Policy and Built Heritage Working Party has previously considered the alternatives to approving the Development Brief, which is a condition of the emerging Local Plan site allocation policy NW62/A. Not approving the Development Brief could significantly delay the application process for the site and the ability of the Council to rely on the site within the eLP’s housing delivery trajectory and the Councils updated Five Year Housing Land Supply Statement.

 

An option remains that further work could be requested prior to endorsement to provide additional certainty or update the Development Brief to any new or upcoming changes in national legislation or to reflect newer version(s) of the eLP.

Consultation(s)

Public Consultation on the draft development brief was undertaken from 4th September – 1st October 2023. The Council had consulted prior to this on the scope of the development brief, a draft Master Plan, Vision and set of high-level principles of development. The Development Brief builds on these themes.

 

Recommendations

 

Members are asked to recommend to Cabinet that:

·      The Development Brief is endorsed as a material consideration in order to assist in the development and determination of applications in relation to the emerging site allocation, Land West of North Walsham (NW62/A)

     and  

·      Prior to Cabinet, authority to make further minor changes to the Development Brief is delegated to the acting Planning Policy Manager.

 

Reasons for recommendations

 

The Local Plan is now at an advanced stage of examination and has undergone Public Examination.

 

Preparation and prior approval of the Development Brief is a policy requirement of the site allocation in the Local Plan (NW62/A). Its approval by the Council will be a key indicator of the site’s deliverability in the ongoing eLP examination. Approval is also required in order to progress the next stages of developing a Design Code for the site and to assist in the determination of an outline planning application for the site, expected in Autumn 2024.

 

 

Background papers

 

The Submission version of the Local Plan, background papers and supporting evidence including the previous consultation documents for North Walsham and the Council’s Hearing Statements at Local plan examination are published and available on the Councils emerging Local Plan examination Library Home | Local Plan Examination Library (north-norfolk.gov.uk)

 

 

Wards affected

North Walsham wards

Cabinet member(s)

Cllr Andrew Brown, Portfolio holder for Planning

Contact Officer

Matthew Gutteridge – Senior Planning Policy Officer

 

Additional documents:

8.

Local Plan - Verbal Update

9.

EXCLUSION OF PRESS AND PUBLIC

             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.”