Harlow Local Development Plan Examination 2019 List of Matters and Questions Matter 1: Duty to co‐operate and other legal requirements 1) This hearing statement sets out the Council’s response in relation to the Inspector’s Specific Matters and Questions in Matter 1: Duty to co‐operate and other legal requirements. Full details in respect of how the Council has accorded with the Duty to Cooperate, including the key organisations it has engaged with, is set out in the Duty to Cooperate Compliance Statement August 2018 (HSD14), that was submitted with the Harlow Local Development Plan (HLDP) in October 2018. 1.1 Duty to Co-operate: 2) The Localism Act 2011 placed a duty on Councils to co‐operate on strategic planning matters that cross administrative boundaries. The Government considered that strategic policy‐making authorities should collaborate to identify the relevant strategic matters which they need to address in their plans. As a former new town, with tight administrative boundaries, Harlow Council has, over the years worked collaboratively with a range of other bodies on strategic planning and related matters affecting the M11 corridor and west Essex and east Hertfordshire. This dates back to when Regional Spatial Planning Strategies provided an overarching strategic plan making framework for the wider area. 3) Specific bodies the Council has co‐operated with in the production of the Harlow Local Development Plan include the following: Neighbouring Local Planning and highway authorities, including East Hertfordshire, Epping Forest and Uttlesford District Councils together with Essex and Hertfordshire County Councils. The Environment Agency Historic England Natural England Homes and Communities Agency (known as Homes England from January 2018) Highways England NHS West Essex West Essex Clinical Commissioning Group and NHS East and North Hertfordshire CCG Thames Water Affinity Water 4) Since the enactment of the Localism Act 2011, the spirit of co‐operation has continued and gathered momentum, culminating in the establishment of the Co‐operation for Sustainable Development Board in October 20141. The aim of the Co‐operation for Sustainable Development Board (the Board) was to support Local Plan making to achieve the delivery 1 Cooperation for Sustainable Development Board | Harlow Council Page 1 of 94 of sustainable communities across the geographical and administrative boundaries in West Essex, East Hertfordshire and the adjoining London Boroughs. 5) The core membership of the Board comprises representatives from the following authorities: i) The East Herts/West Essex Housing Market Area partners (East Herts, Harlow, Uttlesford and Epping Forest District Councils); ii) Hertfordshire and Essex County Councils; iii) Broxbourne Borough Council; iv) Chelmsford City Council; v) Brentwood Borough Council vi) The London Borough of Redbridge; vii) The London Borough of Enfield; and viii) The London Borough of Waltham Forest. 6) In this context the Greater London Authority (GLA) has ‘observer status’. Other organisations who have been engaged through the Co‐operation Board include the Corporation of London (Conservators of Epping Forest), the Lee Valley Regional Park Authority and the London Stansted Cambridge Consortium (LSCC). Highways England, Natural England, Homes and Communities Agency, Princess Alexandra Hospital and the Environment Agency are invited to meetings and attend as appropriate. 7) At the heart of this process, and reflecting Harlow’s geographic position, the Council has been working closely with East Hertfordshire, Epping Forest and Uttlesford District Councils, together with Essex and Hertfordshire County Councils, to consider the key socio‐ economic and environmental characteristics that inform plan making across the wider Harlow area. What are the strategic matters dealt with by the plan to which the duty applies and which other authorities and organisations are affected by them? 8) It is the Council’s position that a number of strategic planning matters have been identified, following a process of continuous engagement with neighbouring planning authorities and other organisations, and these have been considered in the preparation of the Plan. These have been considered by the Board and the appropriate committees of the respective Councils and culminated in the adoption of a joint spatial approach, under the banner of the Harlow and Gilston Garden Town (HGGT), and includes the following: Housing need and the distribution of Objectively Assessed Housing Need across the West Essex/East Hertfordshire Housing Market Area (HMA). This involved collaboration between East Hertfordshire, Epping Forest, Harlow and Uttlesford District Councils ( the West Essex/East Hertfordshire Authorities), with support from Essex and Hertfordshire County Councils and Highways England. Page 2 of 94 Employment and the distribution of the objectively assessed employment needs of the Functional Economic Market Area (FEMA), again comprising East Hertfordshire, Epping Forest, Harlow and Uttlesford District Councils. Highways and transportation infrastructure provision to support growth across the West Essex/East Hertfordshire Housing Market Area (HMA). This involved East Hertfordshire, Epping Forest, Harlow and Uttlesford District Councils together with Essex and Hertfordshire County Councils. The consideration of the impacts of growth within the West Essex/East Hertfordshire Housing Market Area (HMA) on Epping Forest Special Area of Conservation (SAC). This involved collaboration with East Hertfordshire, Epping Forest, Harlow and Uttlesford District Councils, together with Essex and Hertfordshire County Councils, the City of London Corporation (Conservators of Epping Forest) and Natural England. The identification and provision of key infrastructure across the Harlow and Gilston Garden Town through the preparation of a joint Infrastructure Delivery Plan. For each strategic matter, how has the engagement been carried out, what has been the outcome and how has this addressed the strategic matter? 9) Consideration of the various strategic matters identified through the Duty to Co‐operate has reflected a process of continuous engagement with neighbouring planning authorities and other organisations through joint officer level discussions, commencing in 2010, in order to determine the geography of appropriate spatial planning areas within west Essex and east Hertfordshire, which reflected local socio‐economic and environmental characteristics. These were then considered at member level through discussions and subsequent resolutions at meetings of the Co‐operation for Sustainable Development Board and endorsed by the formal decision making bodies of the respective councils. Housing need 10) As previously stated East Hertfordshire, Epping Forest, Harlow and Uttlesford District Councils have a substantial history of co‐ordinated working on strategic planning issues, not least on assessing housing need and planning for future growth. Having regard to the Duty to Co‐operate in section 33A of the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004, and the advice in the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF), and arising from on‐going officer discussions, consultants ORS were appointed on behalf of the West Essex/East Hertfordshire Authorities to undertake the preparation of three Strategic Housing Market Assessments (SHMAs). These were published in 2010, 2012 and 2015 for the combined area of East Hertfordshire, Epping Forest, Harlow and Uttlesford Districts. The SHMA’s have served as key technical evidence to inform the preparation of the local development plans prepared by the respective local planning authorities. Page 3 of 94 11) Following on from the preparation of the SHMA’s, the West Essex/East Hertfordshire Authorities commissioned work from consultants AECOM, through the Co‐op Member Board, to assess the sustainability of strategic spatial options for meeting the overall OAHN within the HMA. Consequently housing need and the distribution of Objectively Assessed Housing Need across the West Essex/East Hertfordshire Housing Market Area (HMA) was considered at a series of meetings of the Board. 12) This process of engagement resulted in a positive outcome, through the signing of a joint Memorandum of Understanding on the Distribution of Objectively Assessed Housing Need across the West Essex/East Hertfordshire Housing Market Area, in March 20172. The key signatories of this were East Hertfordshire, Epping Forest, Harlow and Uttlesford District Councils, with support from Essex and Hertfordshire County Councils and Highways England. 13) The joint Memorandum of Understanding provided a coordinated approach to the identification of strategic housing needs and its distribution across the of West Essex/East Hertfordshire and which has been set out in the adopted, submitted and emerging local development plans of the four constituent local planning authorities. This is reflected in Policies HS1 Housing Delivery, HS2 Housing Allocations and HS 3 Strategic Housing Site East of Harlow, as set out in the Harlow Local Development Plan. Employment matters 14) In parallel with the joint work being undertaken on housing matters East Hertfordshire, Epping Forest, Harlow and Uttlesford District Councils, together with support from Essex and Hertfordshire County Councils, have collaborated on the consideration of employment needs across West Essex / East Hertfordshire Functional Economic Market Area (FEMA). This was because employment matters