Agenda and minutes

Apologies were received from Councillor Goodheart and Councillor Huntley.

Members and Officers are invited to make any declaration of pecuniary, personal and/or prejudicial interests that they may have in relation to items on this agenda, and are reminded that they should re-declare their interest before consideration of the items or as soon as the interest becomes apparent.

Members and Officers should make their declaration by stating:

a)             the item they have the interest in

b)             whether it is a pecuniary/personal interest and/or prejudicial interest

c)             the nature of the interest

Councillor Elkins declared a Personal Interest in respect of Agenda Item 8 as a member of West Sussex County Council.

The Committee will be asked to approve as a correct record the Minutes of the Planning Policy Committee held on XX Month 2021.

The minutes of the previous meeting held on 28 November 2024 were approved by the Committee and signed by the Chair.

There were no urgent items presented at the meeting.

To receive questions from the public (for a period of up to 15 minutes).

There were no public questions.

This report sets out the 2025/26 revenue budget for this Committee to consider and recommend for submission to the Policy and Finance Committee on 13 February 2025.

The Group Head of Finance and Section 151 Officer was invited by the Chair to present the report.  The report recommended this Committee’s General Fund Revenue Budget for 2025/26 to the Policy and Finance Committee on 13 February 2025, as part of the Council’s overall revenue and capital budget.  He drew members attention to Appendix A and the explanatory information at paragraphs 3.4 and 3.5.  The net decrease in the 2024/25 budget had decreased by £210k mainly due to the anticipated increase in planning fee income. The Government had increased the Planning fee by £270.   It was anticipated the number of planning applications received by the Council during 2025/26 would increase.    It was also anticipated that the Council would be able to recover administration charges from Community Infrastructure Levy schemes resulting from additional activity in that area.    Referring to Appendix A, although the Employees budget had increased for 2025/26, this had been offset by Services and Supplies, due to permanent staff now being in place.  

The recommendations were proposed by Councillor Partridge and seconded by Councillor McAuliffe. 

The Chair then invited questions and comments from members.  In response to a question as to why the Premises budget had increased from zero to £3,000 in 2025/26.  The Group Head of Finance and Section 151 Officer undertook to provide a written response.   

The Committee

RESOLVED that it

a)    Agrees the 2025/26 Revenue Budget as set out in Appendix A; and

RECOMMENDS TO POLICY AND FINANCE COMMITTEE THAT

b)     the Revenue Budgets for this Committee be included in the Council’s overall 2025/26 Revenue Budget.

The HELAA is assessment of land availability identifies a future supply of land which is suitable, available and achievable for housing and economic development uses

The Chair drew members attention to the agenda supplement circulated before the meeting that provided a correction to Table 1: Summary of New Sites at paragraph 4.6 of the report.  The supplement also added for noting, information where no update was provided by the landowner, developer or promotor in response to the Council’s ‘call for sites’ and advised that the Interactive HELAA Map on the Council’s website would be updated in due course.

The Chair then invited the Interim Head of Planning Policy to present the updated Housing and Economic Land Availability Study (HELAA) report to the Committee.  He provided members with a synopsis of the HELAA, previously approved in 2021.  Its purpose was to identify the future supply of housing and economic land that was suitable, available and achievable during the Local Plan period.    Its evidence primarily informed Local Plan making and the identification of a Five-Year Housing Land Supply (5YHLS) of housing land.  However, it was important to note that the HELAA did not itself determine that a site would be allocated for development.  The inclusion of a site did not necessarily indicate it would be taken forward as an allocation or that planning permission would be granted.  It provided details of a range of sites that were potentially available for development to meet the Council’s housing need and was a living document that provided a snapshot of the current position.  Whilst it was not a statutory requirement to update the HELAA on an annual basis, officers considered that now was the right time following the approval of the Regulation 18 Document of Travel document and the start of the Local Plan process. 

The updated HELAA followed the annual call for sites for consideration undertaken during 2023 and 2024.  Landowners and developers of sites previously proposed, existing larger planning permissions and strategic sites were also contacted directly requesting a progress update to help inform if the HELAA status should be changed.  The HELAA report was based on the best evidence and information available at the time of preparation.  Officers have been as consistent, objective, and even handed as possible in determining whether a site should be classified as deliverable, developable or not currently developable.    

He referred to paragraph 3.5 of the report, advising that the HELAA did not form part of the Development Plan.  The identification of a site as deliverable or developable did not mean that it became an allocated site nor did it preclude sites not identified from coming forward in the future through the planning application process at any time.Paragraph 4.2 provided an explanation of the National Planning Policy Framework classifications in the HELAA being ‘deliverable’, ‘developable’ and ‘not currently developable’. 

He advised that a total of 310 individual sites were assessed.  A report on each site had been made available on the Council’s website and officers were in the progress of updating the interactive map.  A total of 25 new sites were put forward for consideration, of which 24 were proposed for housing,  ...  view the full minutes text for item 477.

This report presents the Arun’s Annual Monitoring Report 2023/24.

[Councillor Elkins declared a Personal Interest during discussion of this item as a member of West Sussex County Council].

The Chair invited the Interim Head of Planning Policy to present the report to the Committee.  The report updated members on Arun’s Monitoring Report (AMR), which is updated for the monitoring year 1 April 2023 to 31 March 2024.  The AMR was a backwards looking document with two exceptions.  These being 1) information on the Duty to Cooperate and the inclusion of any data concerning engagement on local plans that took place after 31 March 2024 collectedup to 31 December 2024 and 2) the Council’s Five-year Housing Land Supply that had an element of looking forward at the housing projections.  The updated Local Development Scheme would be considered by this Committee for approval at its meeting on 18 March 2025.  He referred to the updated Gypsy and Traveller policy following a change to Government Policy that it should also include those who had ceased to travel, which would be done through the new Local Plan.  He referred to progress concerning Neighbourhood Plans and the Duty to Cooperate. 

A key issue was the Council’s 5YHLSfollowing an assessment carried out at the beginning of 2024, resulting in a 4.17-year supply, which had been challenged by developers.  The new standard methodology had been adopted following the introduction of the updated National Planning Policy Framework in December 2024 and it was therefore deemed appropriate to use the latest figure of 1,474 dwellings per annum with a 20% contingency buffer and a 10% optimism bias for the deliverability of strategic developments, which equated to a 3.41-year supply, as set out in Chapter 4, paragraph 4.5.2, of the AMR.  The housing delivery test was below the required 75%, which automatically triggered the requirement for a 20% buffer taking the 5-year total need to 8,856.  Officers had found it challenging to reach a supply of 1,000 dwellings required in the adopted Local Plan.  Therefore, the Council’s total expected supply was 6,035 against the total need.  As regards to the Housing Delivery test, whilst the Council was below the 75% requirement this was an improvement compared to the previous measurement, which was encouraging.  The number of net housing completions was the highest amount achieved in a number of years.  The provision of Affordable Housing remained consistent at 27% against the Council’s Policy target of 30%.  There had been a reduction in the amount of land for commercial floorspace coming forward.  There was a statutory requirement for adopted Infrastructure Funding Statement to be included in the AMR. 

The recommendation was proposed by Councillor McAuliffe and seconded by Councillor Partridge.

The Chair invited questions and comments from Members:

• Concern was raised that developers were not building at the rate required of them leading to the Council’s five-year housing land supply not being met.
• Councillor Lury referred to a letter he had written on behalf of the Planning Policy Committee setting out their concerns that the Council was being set  ...  view the full minutes text for item 478.

The report seeks approval to consult on the draft conservation area character appraisal which has been prepared for Bognor Regis Waterloo Square and The Steyne Conservation Area

The Chair invited the Interim Head of Planning Policy to present the report to the Committee, concerning the draft consultation character appraisal for Bognor Regis Waterloo Square and the Steyne Conservation Area.  The Council has a Statutory duty to update and review the evidence concerning the district’s special historic and architectural interest areas, including their boundaries.  Character appraisals formed part of the evidence base supporting the designation and management of conservation areas.  They were used to inform decision making when considering planning applications and fed into the preparation of the Council’s Local Plan policies.

He drew attention to Figure 26 on page 326 that set out the proposed amendments to the boundary. Following a thorough appraisal of the conservation area the Hothampton Sunken Gardens, Bognor Regis (Area 1) had been included within the area as officers considered there was merit its inclusion as it provided a valuable part of the setting of the conservation area.  He referred to the map on page 326 where it was proposed to remove Inner Court, Norfolk Square, Bognor Regis (Area 2), which was a modern building with the boundary running through its garden that incorporated two features and were viewed as not making a position contribution.               

The recommendation was proposed by Councillor McAuliffe and seconded by Councillor Hamilton.

The Chair invited questions and comments from Members.  A number of members thanked officers for the report, which they were pleased to see, as a number of buildings had been lost in the surrounding area.  They considered that it was appropriate to include the Sunken Gardens and to remove the anomaly concerning Inner Court, Norfolk Square.

A correction was made to Page 314, Figure 21:  Amend ‘Some of the existing building sin…’ to read ‘Some of the existing buildings in…’.

Discussion took place surrounding Figure 25 on Page 324, an empty plot of land at the junction of Norfolk Road and the Esplanade, Bognor Regis.  A member provided an update on progress advising that the Council was in discussions with the owner to deal with the unkemptness of the site and to provide hoarding around the perimeter of the site.  The Interim Head of Planning Policy advised that if required the Council could serve a Section 215 untidy site notice on the owner.

Responding to questions concerning Figure 24: an unkept building, the Interim Head of Planning Policy advised that the Council’s Building Control Team were investigating and had issued enforcement notices on the land.

          The Committee       

RESOLVED to agree

i)        The draft conservation area character appraisal for Bognor Regis Waterloo Square and The Steyne, which includes proposed boundary changes, is published for the purpose of public consultation for a minimum period of 4 weeks;

ii)      That the Group Head of Planning, in consultation with the Chair and Vice Chair of the committee, be given delegated authority to agree minor editorial changes prior to publication; and

iii)     That following public consultation, should only minor changes be necessary, authority be delegated to the Group Head of Planning  ...  view the full minutes text for item 479.

This report updates the Committee on the outcome of the competitive tender process to appoint a consultancy to lead on the preparation of a new Local Plan covering the period 2023 to 2041

The Chair informed the Committee that there was an amendment to the recommendation to appoint a lead consultant for the preparation of the new Local Plan. 

The Chair then invited the Group Head of Planning to provide a verbal update to the Committee.  He referred to an email he had sent to the Committee dated 16 January 2025 concerning the situation following the Government’s proposals for Devolution and local government reorganisation.  Following the work undertaken by the Interim Head of Planning Policy, who had spent a lot of time processing the tender through a rigorous assessment process, and in light of the Government’s recent Devolution and Local Government reorganisation announcement, officers have evaluated whether continuing the process at this time provided value for money.  There was therefore currently too much uncertainty to proceed with the recommendation in the report to appoint a Lead Consultant.  A deferral of the item would hopefully provide officers with more information and more detail on the proposed reorganisation.

Officers had therefore amended the recommendation in the report to: That the Committee defers this agenda item to its next meeting on 18 March 2025.

The recommendation was proposed by Councillor Partridge and seconded by Councillor Bower.

          RESOLVED

That the Committee defers this agenda item to its next meeting on 18 March 2025.

          The Interim Head of Planning Policy provided details of the reports due for consideration at the next meeting and responded to questions:

·       Local Plan Consultancy Appointment

·       Local Development Scheme update

·       The Council’s response to the South Downs National Park Regulation 18 consultation.

The Ford Neighbourhood Plan 2 would be considered by Full Council on 19 March 2025

The Committee noted the Work Programme for 2025-2026.