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Greater Cambridge Joint Planning Committee

Meeting: 08/07/2020 - Civic Affairs (Item 27)

27 Greater Cambridge Joint Planning Committee pdf icon PDF 456 KB

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Minutes:

The County Council resolved in May 2020 to withdraw from the Joint Development Control Committee (JDCC) after July 2020. The effect of their resolution was that the current JDCC would no longer be quorate. 

 

The report of the Joint Director for Planning and Economic Development was first considered by  the Planning and Transport Scrutiny Committee on 30 June 2020 for comments on the establishment of a new Committee (suggested name was the Greater Cambridge Joint Planning Committee GCJPC) and set out the proposed terms for the new Joint Committee to come into effect from 1 August 2020.

 

The Joint Director for Planning and Economic Development updated the Committee on amendments to the original proposed Terms of Reference by both the Planning and Transport Scrutiny Committee and the South Cambridgeshire District Council’s Civic Affairs Committee (which met on 1 July 2020).

 

 The amendments were:

 

i.                    Amend the membership of the new committee so there would be six Cambridge City Council (CCC) members and 6 South Cambridgeshire District Council (SCDC) members rather than three members each.

ii.                  Retain the name of the Committee as the Joint Development Control Committee rather than the Greater Cambridge Joint Planning Committee and reflect this throughout the terms of reference document.

Confirm that the Chair and Vice-Chair positions rotate between Cambridge City Council and South Cambridgeshire District Council each municipal year.

 Provide for County Council members to address the new Committee.

 

In response to questions from the Committee, the Joint Director for Planning and Economic Development said the following:

 

      i.         The current membership of JDCC comprised: six CCC members, six SCDC members and four Cambridgeshire County Council members. It was originally proposed that the new committee should have three members from CCC and SCDC but both local authority’s scrutiny committees resolved to increase this back to six members each. Members felt that three members from each authority was not enough to consider strategic planning applications.

    ii.         Confirmed that Cambridgeshire County Council would be included in the updated Terms of Reference, 14.1 Attendance at the Committee by other members of the Councils when presented to the full Council meetings for approval.

   iii.         Under the scheme of delegation to officers the current arrangements provided for a threshold of 100 dwellings and officers had not proposed to change this. If the committee proposed a scheme of officer delegation for 10 units and below only, then almost every application would be brought forward for scrutiny’s committee’s consideration as this equated to the threshold for “major applications” which was the Committees focus.

  iv.         Following legal advice, and in the interests of clarity, it was proposed to amend the “Functions of the Committee” as defined in the report to make clear the power of the Committee to amend and modify Standing Orders and to consider previous applications of the former JDCC    

    v.         The Standing Orders before the meeting provided for County Council members to “call in” applications to the Committee and officers therefore proposed to amend these prior to Full Council to remove this provision.

 

Resolved (unanimously) to recommend to Council:

 

i.               On the withdrawal of Cambridgeshire County Council to dissolve the JDCC between Cambridge City Council and South Cambridgeshire District Council as surviving members, pursuant to section 101 (5) Local Government Act 1972 and cease all delegations to the same with effect from 31 July 2020; and 

ii.             To establish a new joint planning committee between Cambridge City Council and South Cambridgeshire District Council (to be called the Joint Development Control Committee) with the Terms of Reference as set in Appendix A and to delegate functions to the joint committee and officers as set out therein, pursuant to section 101 (5) and section 102 Local Government Act 1972 with effect from 1 August 2020

iii.            To agree that any ongoing planning matters or any other continuing action relating to development covered by the terms of reference in appendix A which would otherwise fall to be determined by the previous Committee will, after 31 July 2020, transfer to the newly formed Joint Development Control Committee for determination

iv.           To authorise the Joint Director of Planning and Economic Development, in consultation with the Chair and Vice Chair of the Committee, to decide whether to refer any development control matters for determination by the Joint Development Control Committee where the boundary of the site concerned overlaps or is adjacent to the boundary between Cambridge City Council and South Cambridgeshire District Council

v.              To authorise the Monitoring Officer to make any consequential amendments to the Council’s constitution arising from the above decisions

vi.            Appoint 6 members (and substitutes) from Cambridge City Council to serve upon the new Joint Development Control Committee from August.

vii.           To amend the “Functions of the Committee” to insert two additional provisions:

 

The following points were noted:

 

The review, change, amendment, or modification of the Standing Orders of the Committee.

 

Any matter related to an application previously determined by the Joint Development Control Committee for Cambridge Fringes and which would continue to form a part of this Committees functions.

 

To amend part e of the scheme of delegation to exclude County Council members from the capacity to “call in” applications under the scheme