Issue - meetings

The report seeks the Planning Policy Committee’s agreement that the pause to the Arun Local Plan Update be lifted and that steps be taken to progress engagement on the plan preparation including the commissioning of evidence and initial consultation.

Upon the invitation of the Chair, the Planning Policy Team Leader presented the report which sought the Committee’s agreement that the pause to the Arun Local Plan Update be lifted and that steps be taken to progress engagement on the plan preparation including the commissioning of evidence and initial consultation. The Planning Policy Team Leader provided some background to the report, including the decision to update the Local Plan having been taken in January 2020 largely on the basis on housing delivery performance but that there were also a number of national policy indicators (5-year housing land supply, housing delivery test) Arun was not achieving. He then noted National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) paragraph 11d and its presumption in favour of sustainable development, and the tilted balance in favour of development as the housing policies in Arun’s Local Plan were effectively being deemed out of date due to national policy requirements.

He highlighted the consequences of this for decision-making and appeals, and that decisions may not accord fully with the Local Plan. Arun’s declaring of a climate emergency and a desire to see energy performance and carbon reduction policies amongst others within an updated Local Plan were also noted but that work was further paused following signals to changes to the planning system. He concluded that a new consultation on the NPPF indicated the direction of central Government with regards the planning system and that, given the tilted balance, there was therefore a need for Arun to begin a Local Plan update. The Group Head of Planning clarified that the scope of the decision for the Committee at this meeting was only whether to commence or not the process of beginning work on restarting the Local Plan update.

Before inviting discussion, the Chair brought particular paragraphs of the Officer report to Members’ attention - 4.5 (national policy requiring Local Plans are reviewed and updated within 5 years with Arun’s being nearly 5 years old), 4.9 (development being more easily delivered and to a higher design standard), 4.10 (safeguards against unplanned development only being triggered if there was an up-to-date Local Plan), and 4.11 (housing requirement over the plan period).

Most Members that spoke supported recommencing of the Local Plan Update. Many mentioned a danger in not acting putting greater control into the hands of developers and central government, and acknowledged that due to the tilted balance and presumption in favour of development Arun was already seeing the consequences of planning by appeal. One Member commented that this was getting worse. It was suggested that the need for a Local Plan update had been triggered previously and that Members had chosen to do nothing but that this was no longer an acceptable course of action. Being unable to challenge housing numbers without an up-to-date Local Plan was discussed, as was the limited control Members felt they had now. With fears that the tilted balance would evermore favour developers and planning inspectors, Members considered whether some control was better than none.

The  ...  view the full minutes text for item 43