Duty to Cooperate Statement
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2016 – 2033 Duty to Cooperate Statement February 2020 1. Introduction ................................................................................................................................. 2 2. Legal Context .............................................................................................................................. 2 3. The importance of planning across boundaries ........................................................................... 3 4. Strategic Planning Context for Brentwood ................................................................................... 5 5. Self Contained Housing Market Area .......................................................................................... 7 6. Meeting Housing Need ................................................................................................................ 8 7. Policy Context ............................................................................................................................. 9 8. Organisational Involvement ....................................................................................................... 10 The Environment Agency ............................................................................................................. 10 Historic England ........................................................................................................................... 10 Natural England ............................................................................................................................ 10 Highways England ........................................................................................................................ 10 Mayor of London and Transport for London (TfL) ......................................................................... 10 The Office of Road and Rail ......................................................................................................... 11 Basildon and Brentwood Clinical Commissioning Group / NHS England ...................................... 11 Civil Aviation Authority .................................................................................................................. 11 Homes England (previously Homes and Communities Agency) ................................................... 11 Marine Management Organisation ................................................................................................ 11 South East Local Enterprise Partnership ...................................................................................... 11 Local Police Body (Police and Crime Commissioner) ................................................................... 12 Parish Councils ............................................................................................................................ 12 Essex-wide and sub-regional joint working ................................................................................... 12 Adjoining Boroughs ...................................................................................................................... 13 Essex Coastal RAMS ................................................................................................................... 14 Essex County Council (ECC) ........................................................................................................ 15 Working with Developers /Site Promoters ..................................................................................... 15 Statements of Common Ground ................................................................................................... 15 Strategic Issues ............................................................................................................................ 15 9. Brentwood Growth Areas .......................................................................................................... 17 Dunton Hills Garden Village .......................................................................................................... 18 10. Duty to Cooperated Record, Consultation Representations and the Councils Responses. .... 19 1 Brentwood Borough Draft Plan | February 2019 1. Introduction 1.1 Brentwood Borough Council understands the importance of cooperating with others on strategic planning matters. It has a history of working together with neighbouring authorities and stakeholders in plan-making and this continues today. With Brentwood Borough being geographically placed in the western area of Essex adjoining Greater London, the challenges of facilitating strategic planning has been exacerbated with differing needs and often differing priorities of its adjacent neighbours. 1.2 The Council is committed to cooperating with neighbouring authorities and key organisations on strategic planning issues. Since January 2018, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed between Basildon, Brentwood, Castle Point, Essex County, Rochford, Southend-on- Sea and Thurrock Councils, forming the Association of South Essex Local Authorities (ASELA), which agreed to jointly work on ‘place vision’ for the region. This venture continues to look across borough boundaries. This work is progressing with the frontloading of the evidence base and Brentwood Borough Council is committed to engaging with partners as discussions and evidence gathering progresses through the plan-making process. 1.3 The Council continue to have regards to other nearby Local Authorities plans, Essex County Council plans, and strategies of other relevant bodies. Joint working has also developed with 11 other Essex boroughs with regards to developing a Supplementary Planning Document for the mitigation of visitor impacts to coastal internationally designated biodiversity locations, identified by the Habitats Regulations Assessment process “Essex Coast RAMS”. 2. Legal Context 2.1 The Localism Act 2011 makes strategic planning the responsibility of local authorities, which are expected to address strategic issues in Local Plans and demonstrate how this has been managed through the 'Duty to Co-operate'. The 'Duty' is set out in Section 33A of the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004 (as amended by Section 110 of the Localism Act). 2.2 As well as applying to all local planning authorities and county councils in England, the Duty also applies to a number of other 'prescribed' bodies that Local Authorities should co- operate with in preparing Local Plans. Regulation 4 of the Town and Country Planning (Local Planning) (England) Regulations 2012 sets out who those 'prescribed' bodies are. These are set out below: a. Basildon and Brentwood Clinical Commissioning; b. Civil Aviation Authority; c. English Heritage (the Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission for England); d. Environment Agency; e. Essex County Council highway authority; 2 f. Homes England; g. Marine Management Organisation ; h. Mayor of London (GLA) i. Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government; j. National Health Service Commissioning Board; k. Natural England; l. Office of Rail Regulation; m. SE Local Enterprise Partnership; and n. Transport for London. 3. The importance of planning across boundaries 3.1 The Council recognises that planning across boundaries is an important aspect of the plan- making process. This relates to the management of development and infrastructure impacts that are likely to affect more than one local authority area. The Council is committed to the Duty to Co-operate and working effectively with neighbouring authorities and other bodies to make sure that it has dealt with issues that do not stop at administrative boundaries. 3.2 The Duty to Co-operate (hereafter: DtC) is embedded in the Localism Act 2011 and relates to sustainable development or use of land that would have a significant impact on at least two local planning areas, otherwise described as strategic matters and requires: a. Councils and public bodies to 'engage constructively, actively and on an ongoing basis' to develop strategic policies; b. Councils to set out planning policies to address such issues; and c. Councils to consider joint approaches to plan making. 3.3 All local planning authorities are expected to demonstrate evidence of having successfully co-operated to plan for issues with cross-boundary impacts when their local plans are submitted for examination. However, DtC is not a 'duty to agree'. The key requirement is therefore to demonstrate clear 'outcomes' emerging from the 'process' of cooperation that has taken place. 3.4 The Council is required to demonstrate evidence of having effectively co-operated with Duty- bodies to plan for issues with cross-boundary impacts throughout the preparation of the Local Plan. 3 Brentwood Borough Draft Plan | February 2019 3.5 Local Plans are assessed whether they are prepared in accordance with legal and procedural requirements and are found sound is they are: • Positively prepared – providing a strategy which, as a minimum, seeks to meet the area’s objectively assessed housing need; and is informed by agreements with other authorities, so that unmet need from neighbouring areas is accommodated where it is practical to do so and is consistent with achieving sustainable development; • Justified – an appropriate strategy, taking into account the reasonable alternatives, and based on proportionate evidence; • Effective – deliverable over the plan period, and based on effective joint working on cross- boundary strategic matters that have been dealt with rather than deferred,