STRATEGIC PLANNING FORUM

4 DECEMBER 2018 – SOUTH WALKS HOUSE, DORCHESTER

The meeting commenced at 10.00am and concluded at 12.09pm.

Present:

Councillor David Walsh, North Dorset District Council (in the Chair) Councillor Graham Carr-Jones, North Dorset District Council Councillor Ian Gardner, West Dorset District Council Councillor David Smith, Bournemouth Borough Council Councillor D Kelsey, Bournemouth Borough Council Councillor Mike Dyer, East Dorset District Council Councillor Robin Cook, East Dorset District Council Councillor Margaret Phipps, Christchurch Borough Council Councillor Peter Webb, Purbeck District Council Councillor Ian Potter, Borough Council Councillor Mike Brooke, Poole Borough Council Councillor Trish Jamieson, Christchurch Borough Council Councillor Kevin Brookes, Weymouth and Portland Borough Council

Also attending Mark Axford, Bournemouth Borough Council Simon Trueick, Christchurch & East Dorset Councils Ken Bean, Purbeck District Council Hilary Jordan, Dorset Councils Partnership Michael Garrity, Stephen Hill, Dorset Councils Partnership Bill Gordon, Poole Borough Council Kate Tunks, Dorset County Council Julian McLaughlin, Poole Borough Council Andy Roberts, Highways England

The item on the agenda, ‘LEP presentation on MetroDynamics work’ had been deferred and would be presented at the next meeting.

1. Apologies

Cllr D Turner (DCC), Cllr P Wharf (PDC), Cllr E Heron (New Forest DC), Catherine Bonnett (LEP) and Simon Williams (Local Nature Partnership).

2. Notes of previous meeting.

The notes of the meeting held on 17 September 2018, having been circulated were agreed as a correct record. 3. Statement of Common Ground update

Hilary Jordan provided an update on work towards drafting a Statement of Common Ground. A draft of the document had been brought to the last meeting of the forum and as a result of the discussion, a number of changes had been made. It had been agreed that the draft document would be considered for approval by each of the councils and this was currently taking place. It would be necessary for the document to continue to be updated as necessary. In response to a question, officers would provide the relevant dates of each councils’ committee, at which the document would be considered.

4. Update on Gypsy and Traveller DPD

An update was provided in respect of work on the Gypsy and Traveller DPD and it was noted that the earliest this could be brought to the forum was the meeting on 24 January 2019. This would also need to go through the councils’ committee cycles which meant that it would be difficult to achieve by the end of March 2019. The report concluded that it was felt that consultation could not be undertaken before local government reorganisation. If consultation was to be undertaken afterwards, it would be necessary to review the document. In response to a question, it was noted that the evidence in the document could be relied upon moving forward and there was no need to undertake another assessment.

5. Highways infrastructure

Andy Roberts from Highways England provided a presentation for the forum which covered:

 The role of Highways England to manage the strategic road network in Dorset including operation, maintenance and modernisation. Capital funding from Government was received in 4 year blocks and was linked to the road investment strategy  An overview of Business Plan ambitions which included supporting economic growth, safe roads and working towards making roads more accessible and integrated with villages. Highways England needed to work with partners and customers and to ensure they were pro-active in order to understand the needs of the area and the relationship to the network  Invest and plan – working with stakeholders. Examples were provided in the presentation  Road Investment Strategy process  Major schemes relating to Dorset (RIS1) – detail of schemes were provided in the presentation  Stakeholder discussions on priorities for RIS2

Lisa McCaffrey from Highways England provided a presentation in respect of Highways Development Management, which covered:  The role of Highways Development Management which included a focus on safety and the efficient long distance movement of goods and people  They were a statutory consultee in the planning process  They had a role in the planning application process and would make recommendations to planning authorities  Involvement with consultation on local plans including current local plan processes in Dorset

Those present discussed the issues arising from the presentation and the following points were made:

 The Government would be making a decision on the content of RIS2. It was noted that there were a high number of expectations for schemes around the country and the Government would need to decide on the priorities. There was now a cyclical process for the consideration of potential investment  Reference was made to the current improvement scheme on the A338 which had been causing a level of disruption in the east of the conurbation. Dorset County Council was managing the project and Highways England had been involved from the beginning and was liaising closely with the county council. It was noted that the work was part of a LEP project and would bring benefits to the area long term  A question was raised with regard to a map showing major schemes proposed for Dorset and a comment made about the logistics of moving between the north and south of the area. In response it was noted that Highways England undertook engagement with key stakeholders in the county in order to understand the aspirations for growth in the area. Examples of stakeholder consultation was provided  Discussion was held in respect of Highways England involvement in the formation of local plans  Reference was made to the road network in the Canford Bottom area and various issues and concerns were raised with regard to the traffic implications in this area. In response Andy Roberts noted that the relationship between local traffic and the trunk road was an issue. Designated funding was available which could be used to support local developments  The team at Highways England linked in to local plan processes and would provide comments from the initial modelling phase all the way through. Comments would be provided on infrastructure delivery plans, although it was noted that not all aspects would be required from day 1  Engagement also took place with developers in order to understand local impact and how this could be mitigated  In response to a question with regard to the issues at Canford Bottom, Andy Roberts noted that he would take the comments made, back to Highways England. Moving forward he hoped that relationships and partnerships with other bodies would continue to improve.

Julian McClauglin from Borough of Poole and Kate Tunks from Dorset County Council attended to provide a presentation in respect of Dorset infrastructure. The presentation covered:  Dorset Infrastructure Planning – one voice  Strategic Connectivity – routes north-south connectivity and Western Gateway Sub-national Transport Body  Single Dorset response – national consultation. There was a history of joint working in the county. This was likely to simplify further following LGR  Maps showing the proposed major road network for Dorset and the Poole/Bournemouth conurbation. There was a need for sustainable solutions and evidence was being gathered in order to build a case for Government funding  Reference was made to connectivity to the M4 and M5 and also the need to link to airports and ports  The county had a strategic road network but this may not have as high a priority need compared to other areas in the country. Previous network planned had not all been completed which was an issue and constraint. Detail of investment in Dorset was provided, including investment through the LEP  2019 onwards – bodies in Dorset had been good at working together and this needed to continue in order to get schemes delivered and submit bids for future solutions. Longer term links into the sub-regional body were noted  Dorset housing and employment growth – existing and emerging local plans  In response to comments that had been made about the position with Canford Bottom, there was recognition that action was required. It was noted that liaison with Highways England had improved  There was a need to consider sustainable transport solutions and discussion was held in respect of bus and rail travel  LGR was seen as an opportunity to think strategically with a joined up approach for dialogue with Government. In future there would be two local plans for Dorset and one local transport plan

The Chair noted that the situation was encouraging, with proactive work being undertaken moving forward. He made reference to a PAS bulletin and events around strategic planning. PAS may be able to offer support moving forward.

6. Local Plan Updates

Officers advised on the status of their local plans, as follows:

West & Weymouth: Preferred Options Consultation had been undertaken and would be reported to members in the New Year. Work would go no further until after LGR. North Dorset: It had been hoped to get the Preferred Options out for consultation but due to the timescales before LGR this would now not be undertaken until the new Council had been formed. East Dorset: 3500 comments from the Preferred Options consultation were to be input into the system. A report had been taken to Cabinet in October to report a delay to the timetable as a result of some transport issues. The estimate for pre-submission was September/October 2019. Christchurch: The timetable remained as previously reported. A lead member meeting was to be held to discuss the implications on transport modelling work. Purbeck: Consultation on the pre-submission plan had been finished and responses needed to be analysed. The plan was to submit to the Inspector before LGR although there was a need to look at the key issues raised and whether any changes were required to the evidence document in light of this. Dorset County: Waste Plan – currently waiting for the Inspector report before proceeding to adoption; Minerals Site Plan – there were currently issues with a particular site which would be subject to consultation and a hearing for the one particular site before a decision was taken by the Inspector. There may be a need to ask the new authorities to approve one or both plans. Poole: The revised plan had been adopted in November 2018. Bournemouth: Issues consultation was currently taking place and it was noted that Government consultation on housing allocation was having an impact on the process. Various evidence bases were ongoing. No further consultation would be undertaken before LGR and following this, work would be undertaken on a new plan for Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole.

7. Forward Plan

Those present discussed items for future meetings of the forum. It was noted that PAS would be invited to the next meeting of the forum in January 2019.

A request was made for Historic England to be invited to a forum meeting at a relevant time in the future.

Stephen Hill noted that in light of local government reorganisation, the terms of reference of the Strategic Planning Forum would need to be revised and approved by the relevant body. A review of the terms of reference would be undertaken by officers and a draft produced for consultation with the forum. Consideration would also need to be given to how the revised terms of reference were approved.

8. Date of next meeting

Thursday 24 January 2019, 10.00am at South Walks House.

The meeting closed at 12.09pm.