Agenda item

Report of Director of Economic Development and Planning enclosed.

The Director of Economic Development and Planning submitted a report asking committee to consider the consultation report on Strategy Matters and agree to undertake consultation in line with Regulation 18 as part of the ongoing Ribble Valley Local Plan .

Committee were informed that work was progressing on the production of the new local plan for the borough, and one of the key stages the council was required to carry out was to promote the opportunity to discuss and debate the key issues and options to be considered in forming its plan.

The proposed consultation on the document would generate stakeholder input to the plan making process and was intended as a vehicle upon which to base the engagement giving an opportunity to raise issues the council had not identified that they considered important.

Members were asked to consider the issues raised in the document which included strategic issues that would need to be tested and developed in order to inform the plan. The key issues related to the level of housing requirement, affordable housing issues to be considered and the approach to planning for employment and growth together with optiona for the Development Strategy.

The Head of Regeneration and Housing reported that to date the analysis indicated that based on the government’s Standard Methodology approach there was a very limited need to plan for additional housing over and above what was currently committed within the short term. However, there were some factors that needed to be tested in relation to the reality that commitments were being used up which may  drive a need for an early review or an option to make some additional but phased allocations as part of this plan to help smooth the transition from high housing numbers to a lower level of housing.

The key issue to be tested in relation to Employment and Jobs growth was the approach to supporting the local economy and planning for new land.

The consultation and subsequent reporting of the outcomes would demonstrate that the Council had provided the opportunity to have input to the plan and how it had responded. The consultation would run over a 6-week period from publication and would include a range of statutory consultees, neighbouring authorities under the duty to cooperate, parish councils and the public. It would be a digital based consultation through the website, but paper copies would also be made available.

A focused meeting would be held for the parish councils to ensure they had an opportunity to discuss issues in a forum setting. The proposed date for this was 6 June 2022.

RESOLVED THAT COMMITTEE:

1.    Endorse the content of the Regulation 18 Strategic Matters Consultation Document and agree that the matters be published for 6 weeks statutory consultation and the Director of Economic Development and Planning be authorised to prepare the necessary consultation materials to satisfy the requirements for Regulation 18 of the Development Plan Regulations and to undertake appropriate stakeholder consultation, and

2.    Agree that the outcome of the consultation is considered by the Development Plan working group before reporting back to this committee.