Issue - meetings

Planning Policy Update

Meeting: 10/06/2014 - Cabinet (Item 4)

Minutes:

Background:

This report provided details of the programme for the production of a replacement Local Plan as set out in an updated Local Development Scheme (Appendix 1 to the report), following the withdrawal of the draft Medway Core Strategy from Examination in November 2013. The report also presented the findings of independent demographic modelling and relevant data analysis to establish a basis for assessing housing needs in Medway. This information was set out in the Housing Position Statement (Appendix 2 to the report) and this indicated a revised annual target of needing to plan for 1000 new homes annually in Medway.

It was noted that planning for Medway would be based on the principles of sustainable development. Sustainability Appraisals would be carried out at key stages of the plan preparation process, to ensure that the impacts of options and draft policies were properly identified and considered.

A Diversity Impact Assessment screening had been completed (Appendix 3 to the report). The Council’s planning policy sought to deliver sustainable development for the benefit of all communities, and to recognise the needs of specific groups for services and infrastructure. It was considered the content of this report did not have a disproportionate impact on any specific community sector or group.

Clarification was provided at the meeting regarding the reference to the 25% (60/40 split) of affordable housing (recommendation 9.1.3 (h)), in that there was a 60/40 split between affordable rent and shared ownership or other form of intermediate housing.

Decision number:	Decision:
	The Cabinet noted the content of the report and the documents set out in the Appendices.
104/2014	The Cabinet approved the publication of the updated Local Development Scheme 2014-2017, as set out in Appendix 1 to the report.
105/2014	The Cabinet approved the use of an updated housing needs target of 1000 dwellings per year as a basis for planning in Medway, pending the completion of a comprehensive assessment of housing and economic needs in 2015.
106/2014	The Cabinet approved the recommendations set out in the Housing Position Statement, as set out in Appendix 2 to the report, as follows: a) Seek endorsement from adjoining authorities to the boundaries of the functional Medway housing market area being the administrative boundary, not least to ensure continuity with the assessments for adjoining market areas. b) That Opinion Research Services’s recommended annual housing requirement figure for Medway of 1,000 dwellings per annum be accepted as the ‘basis for calculating 5 Year land Supply and determining planning applications until a full Strategic Housing Market Assessment has been completed in 2015. c) Put in place specific monitoring arrangements for the key variables identified in this assessment and particularly migration so that the robustness of the 1,000 per annum figure can continue to be tested. d) This monitoring should also cover house and land prices to ensure that over supply does not soften a market that is markedly more affordable than adjoining and nearby market areas. e) Pending preparation of the new local ... view the full minutes text for item 4