Agenda and minutes

To receive any apologies for absence.

No apologies were received.

Members are asked to declare at this stage any interests, which they may have in any of the following items on the agenda. If any member is unsure whether or not they should declare an interest on a particular matter, they are requested to seek advice from the Head of Legal Services before the meeting.

To approve the minutes of the meeting on 11 November 2014

Minutes to follow

The minutes of the meeting held on 11 November 2014 were approved as a correct record and signed by the Chair.

There were no public questions.

Matter for Decision

Monitoring is an important part of the planning process, providing feedback on the performance of development plan policies in terms of their use and implementation. The Council is required to produce an Annual Monitoring Report (AMR) at least on a yearly basis.

The draft AMR was attached as Appendix A to the Officer’s report for comment by Members.

Decision of Executive Councillor for Planning and Climate Change

Agreed the content of the AMR (Appendix A of the Officer’s report).

Reason for the Decision

As set out in the Officer’s report.

Any Alternative Options Considered and Rejected

Not applicable.

Scrutiny Considerations

The Committee received a report from the Planning Policy Officer.

The Chair proposed to review the Officer’s report and appendices chapter by chapter. Councillors made no comment except for AMR Appendix D.

Councillor Ashton sought clarification regarding the consultation process on the number of houses proposed on land in the north of Cherry Hinton near Marshalls. The Planning Policy Manager said that the Area Action Plan set out developments that could come forward for housing. Officers were liaising with land owners including Marshalls regarding the number of houses proposed on different sites. This would feed into the Emerging Local Plan process.

The Head of Planning Services said the Emerging Local Plan identified housing sites in the city, these were critical for delivering housing numbers. The Council fully intended to deliver meet housing targets as it was recognised there was high demand.

Councillor Ashton sought clarification if Cherry Hinton residents and Marshalls had been informed of housing targets for proposed sites. He was concerned stakeholders may think housing numbers were lower than the numbers proposed by the Council. The Head of Planning Services said stakeholders had been fully consulted for the last 18 months.

The Executive Councillor for Planning and Climate Change sought clarification if ‘windfall sites’ were included in the AMR. The Planning Policy Officer said ‘windfall sites’ were included in Appendix D of the AMR. P119 of the agenda pack set out housing trajectory numbers. These were included in the Emerging Local Plan. Officers were confident they could be robustly justified during the Local Plan examination process.

The Committee resolved by 4 votes to 0 with 2 abstentions to endorse the recommendations.

The Executive Councillor approved the recommendations.

Conflicts of Interest Declared by the Executive Councillor (and any Dispensations Granted)

No conflicts of interest were declared by the Executive Councillor.