Committee and date Item Whitchurch & Prees Local Joint Committee 18 June 2014 Public Responsible Officer : Nicki Young Email: [email protected] Tel: 07990 085187 WHITCHURCH & PREES LOCAL JOINT COMMITTEE NOTES OF MEETING HELD ON THURSDAY 27 TH FEBRUARY 2014 IN TILSTOCK VILLAGE HALL, TISTOCK AT 7PM Committee Members Present : Name Council Mr Paul Wynn (Chair) Shropshire Council Mrs Peggy Mullock Shropshire Council Mr Gerald Dakin Shropshire Council Mr Thomas Biggins Shropshire Council Mr Peter Lea Whitchurch Town Council Mr Will Allen Whitchurch Rural Parish Council Mrs Jean Betteridge Ightfield & Calverhall Parish Council Mr Paul Gill Prees Parish Council Officers present: Name Role Nicki Young Community Action Officer, Shropshire Council Eddie West Planning Policy Officer, Shropshire Council Neil Willcox Commissioning Manager, Shropshire Council CSO Nicola Parry MD Local Policing Team, West Mercia Police Ian Johnson Shropshire Fire & Rescue There were approximately 30 members of the public at the meeting. ACTION 29. WELCOME AND INTRODUCTIONS The Chair welcomed everyone, each member of the Committee introduced themselves and the Chair explained the nature and remit of Local Joint Committees (LJCs). 30. APOLOGIES Apologies for absence were received from Sergeant Claire Greenaway, West Mercia Police; and David Gilling, Neighbourhood Watch. 31. DISCLOSABLE PECUNIARY INTERESTS Members were reminded that they must not participate in the discussion or voting of any matter in which they have a Disclosable Pecuniary Interest and should leave the room prior to the commencement of the debate. Whitchurch Town Councillor Peter Lea disclosed that, as a Town Council he had a Diclosable Pecuniary Interest with regard to funding Application O – Whitchurch Town Council’s application for funding to purchase new cookers for the Civic Centre; as well as Application R, Whitchurch Research, Archive & Cataloguing Team’s application to safeguard heritage artefacts. Shropshire Councillors Peggy Mullock and Gerald Dakin disclosed that, as members of the Sir John Talbot’s Interim Education Board, they had Disclosable Pecuniary Interest in Application T – SJT’s application for new sports equipment. 32. NOTES It was RESOLVED that the notes of the previous meeting held on 24 October 2013 be approved and signed by the Chairman as a correct record 33. PACT MEETING; INCLUDING UPDATES FROM SHROPSHIRE FIRE & RESCUE CSO Nicola Parry, from Market Drayton Safer Neighbourhood Team, gave a report on behalf of the Whitchurch team. CSO Parry gave an update on crime in the area with statistics, reporting that there had been a reduction in Anti Social Behaviour (ASB), due to enforcement and prosecution. CSO Parry answered a question about litter from MacDonald’s and obstructions of the highway, requesting that people phone the Police on 101 with names and addresses and they will deal with it. Fire Officer Ian Johnson, Shropshire Fire & Rescue reported that the Whitchurch Fire station crews, as well as crews from Prees, Baschurch, Craven Arms and Clun, had been deployed to the south of the country to help with flooding. Local crews had been dealing with the loss of roofs due to high winds. Fire Officer Johnson also reported that of the 4 retained fire stations in the north of the County earmarked for closure, none were going to be closed during this round of Fire Service cuts and thanked everyone for campaigning to keep them open. He informed the meeting that although these retained stations were not closing in the near future they may well come up for scrutiny again. Shropshire Fire & Rescue continue to give fire safety advice to individuals as well as at events. 34. THE FUTURE OF LJCs Neil Willcox, Commissioning Manager, Shropshire Council gave a presentation on the future of Local Joint Committees in Shropshire, reporting that Shropshire Council were cutting out waste and looking at where they can add value, making best use of staff time to support the commissioning journey. Going on to ask the question; Can the Local Joint Committee have a role to help determine local priorities, regarding the Community Infrastructure Levy and Place Plan? Neil explained how LJCs support commissioning and devolution of decision making and that Shropshire Council were learning from other local authorities. A Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats (SWOT) consultation was then held during the meeting and the findings are attached to these meeting notes. 35. PLANNING – 5 YEAR PLAN FOR WHITCHURCH Edward West, Policy Planning Officer, Shropshire Council reported that the most significant material issues is a 5 year housing land supply and that community led plans were incorporated into the planning framework. Regarding the 5 year housing land supply, Edward West explained that this is developed to build more houses, that there were many years where houses built have not met growing population needs. Councils have had issues with supply of housing and have to demonstrate that they have a 5 year supply of housing land within the local plan – Site Allocations and Management of Development (SAMDev). At the moment Shropshire Council needs 9800 houses in the SAMDev 2013-2018 and they do not have enough, currently there is enough housing land identified for 4.95 years. When a 5 Year Plan need is not identified, the SAMDev does not have the same weight as it could if the 5 Year Planning need had been met and holds less weight in the decision making process. Adoption of SAMDev will provide Shropshire with a 5 year housing land supply. The SAMDev was approved by Shropshire Council on 27 February 2014, a consultation is taking place mid March and will last for 6 weeks. If everything goes to plan the SAMDev will be adopted in early 2015, approximately one year from the date of the meeting. Decisions on housing applications has changed recently, because there is no 5 year supply of housing land the presumption is in favour of sustainable development. Shropshire Council will refuse applications if the site is outside the planning boundary and receives no community support. If the site is outside the boundary this is not a reason to refuse the planning application. Presumption is in favour of sustainable development and Shropshire Council have to make the decision as to whether developments are sustainable. Planning applications will be assessed in the usual and critical way, Shropshire Council will be looking for all housing applications to be sustainable, with regard to access, flood zones, visual and landscape impact and ecological impact. Following the presentation a Question and Answer session took place: Question : Paul Gill, Prees Parish Council commented – the public had concerns, partly because they do not understand what has gone on, making it look as though decisions are not made locally. The Governments single aim is to get houses built, therefore allowing local people to set their own targets has ‘gone out of the window’. Once sites have been found and housing allocated, the problem has not been solved because builders sit on sites – what are Shropshire Council going to do? Answer : Edward West – how can Shropshire Council say that sites will be built. We are all reliant on the market and inevitably there will be challenges. Sites have not been build on in several years, therefore offering alternative sites gives a stronger position to argue that Shropshire Council have the 5 Year housing land supply. Looking at case law, Planning Inspectors are siding with applicants when they go to appeal if applications are refused. Shropshire will be in a better place to argue its case one the 5 Year Plan has been adopted. Question: Phoebe Ashton had read in The Guardian that many houses were empty, does Shropshire Council have empty homes officers? Answer: Gerald Dakin answered stating that it is a policy of Shropshire Council that empty properties will receive a 50% surcharge as long as they stay empty. Shropshire Council do have empty homes officers. Question : Simon Lyon commented that the Local Development Framework was adopted 2 years ago, whose fault is it that the SAMDev is not adopted? Answer : Edward West – the issue of a 5 year housing land supply is not new, but the implications behind it are new. Planning Law takes a while to catch up – implications have come through applicants going to appeal. Shropshire had a 5 year housing supply until recently. SAMDev has taken a while, in a county the size of Shropshire, with many settlements, officers have had to consult with the wider public, if there had been no consultations then Shropshire Council could have faced a backlash about not enough consultations. Question : Kath Priddy – Whitchurch has an ageing population who would like bungalows built, why are developers not addressing this? Answer : Edward West – Shropshire Council do talk to developers about housing need and have an input into the master plan of sites. Question : No name – how closely do Shropshire Council scrutinise the sustainability of each plan? Answer : Edward West - At pre-application stage a number of professional officers are involved in contributing to build a picture about the site, including infrastructure constraints, major access issues. When Shropshire Council say a development is sustainable, officers have thoroughly scrutinised the plan. Question : No name – is there a 5 year supply for Whitchurch? Answer : Edward West - No there is not one specifically for Whitchurch, there are 2 for Shropshire, one for Shrewsbury and one for the rest of Shropshire Question ; Julia Gallacher – will other appeals hold up the consultation and examination process elsewhere? Answer : Edward West - No it will not hold up other areas – 2015 examination is not set in stone. Question: What criteria do Shropshire Council have to say for consultation in planning applications? Answer : Edward West – Shropshire Council advise developers to consult with the community and Shropshire Council do what is required to meet regulations.