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MAIDSTONE BOROUGH COUNCIL
STRATEGIC PLANNING AND INFRASTRUCTURE COMMITTEE
Minutes of the ADJOUNRED meeting held on Tuesday 19 November 2019
Present: |
Councillor D Burton (Chairman), and Councillors Clark, Cox, English, Garten, McKay, Munford, Parfitt-Reid and Springett |
87. Apologies for Absence
Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Grigg and de Wiggondene Sheppard.
88. Notification of Substitute Members
It was noted that the following Substitute Members were present:
· Councillor Cox for Councillor Grigg; and
· Councillor Springett for Councillor de Wiggondene Sheppard.
89. Urgent Items
The Chairman informed the Committee that he had decided to accept a report on Marden Neighbourhood Plan Regulation 17A as an urgent item. The Chairman explained that the reason for urgency was that with no meeting on 3 December 2019 it was necessary to take the report now and the urgency had been agreed with the parish council.
90. Notification of Visiting Members
There were no Visiting Members but Councillors Purle and Spooner attended as observers.
91. Disclosures by Members and Officers
There were no disclosures by Members or Officers.
92. Disclosures of Lobbying
Councillor Munford stated that he had been lobbied on item 8 – Protection of Greensand Ridge Update; and
Councillors Burton, English, McKay and Parfitt-Reid stated that they had been lobbied on item 11 - Marden Neighbourhood Plan Regulation 17A.
93. To consider whether any items should be taken in private because of the possible disclosure of exempt information.
RESOLVED: That all items be taken in public as proposed.
94. Protection of Greensand Ridge Update
The Chairman informed the Committee that as the members in attendance had changed since the adjournment this item would be taken again from the beginning.
The Head of Planning and Development presented the report which updated the Committee on the Government’s ongoing review of designated landscape areas.
The Committee agreed that every opportunity should be taken to pursue AONB, or equivalent, status for the Greensand Ridge. However, there was debate over Landscapes of Local Value and the best way to approach those in responding to the review, that had not yet been adopted by the Government. It was felt that the review had reached a certain point and then ended before the work on local landscape designations had been done. The Committee agreed that the work to review Landscapes of Local Value needed to come first before pushing them forwards for national recognition.
RESOLVED: That
1. The report is welcomed and noted;
2. That should the Government adopt the reviews findings Maidstone Borough Council will continue to push for Greensand Ridge to get designation as an AONB, or latterly, “National Landscape”;
3. Officers prepare proposals and costs to advance the work of AONB status, or latterly, “National Landscape” for Greensand Ridge and to evaluate and take forward work on Landscapes of Local Value in readiness for national recognition.
95. CIL Regulation 123 List Review; 2019 IDP; and Annual CIL Monitoring Report
The Planning Projects and Delivery Manager presented the report outlining the response to the Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) 123 List review, setting out the 2019 Infrastructure Delivery Plan (IDP) and the Annual CIL Monitoring Report for approval.
The response to the CIL 123 List changes had over two thirds of respondents in support of the list and it was recommended for approval. Appendix 3 to the report set out the IDP schemes and RAG rated them. 10% were Red, 50% Amber, and 40% Green. The annual monitoring report was a requirement and had to be published by 31 December 2019. The receipts from April – September 2019 would show in next year’s report.
A question was raised over a potential democratic deficit in the process as to how members in non-parished areas could not get involved when in the process when Parishes could.
The Committee discussed ways that Kent County Council could feed their requirements for the provision of waste sites into the CIL process in order to get them funded. It was agreed that the best route was for this issue to be raised at the Kent Waste Partnership and agreed that the Chairman of Communities, Housing and Environment should be requested to raise this at the next meeting of the partnership as the Council’s representative.
RESOLVED: That
1. The outcome of the Regulation 123 List review consultation be noted;
2. The updated Regulation 123 List (Appendix 2) be agreed for publication;
3. The final 2019 Infrastructure Delivery Plan (Appendix 4) be approved for publication; and
4. The Community Infrastructure Levy monitoring report (Appendix 5) be approved for publication.
96. S106 Monitoring Report
The Head of Planning and Development presented the report which set out the monitoring data for S106 monies and was the result of the system being fully populated for the first time. The Committee had previously requested more time to consider the data and the RAG ratings.
Discussion focussed on the way in which S106 monies were collected and spent and the committee wanted to see infrastructure being delivered. GP surgeries were a particular area of concern and it was recognised that getting the Clinical Commissioning Group to deliver them, as they were private practices, was particularly difficult. Officers informed the committee that the nature of the S106 tests made it difficult to collect monies early in the development and this was why occupancy triggers were used.
The Committee asked for clarification on how often the report would be presented and asked if there were any resource requirements to deliver this. They were informed that the report would come back every 6 months and the CIL and S106 teams were being combined to provide additional resilience and it was noted that S106 funding was already being used for monitoring.
Officers took away a specific query relating to Hayle Park and the deadline for spending.
RESOLVED: That the report be noted and the committee look forward to further review of the document.
97. Marden Neighbourhood Plan Regulation 17A
The Strategic Planning Manager presented the report on the Marden Neighbourhood Plan Regulation 17A, which presented the findings of the Independent Examiner and asked the Committee to agree to the Marden Neighbourhood Plan moving on to referendum stage. The decision on whether to go to referendum needed to be made within 5 weeks of receipt of the Independent Examiner’s report.
The Committee commended Marden Parish Council for the work done to reach this stage and supported the document going forwards to referendum.
RESOLVED: That
1. The modifications to the Marden Neighbourhood Development Plan as set out in the examiner’s report be agreed;
2. The two minor modifications agreed with Marden Parish Council, as set out in paragraph 2.10 of the report be agreed; and
3. The Marden Neighbourhood Development Plan proceed to local referendum.
98. Duration of Meeting
6.30 p.m. to 7.51 p.m.