1.  That, having regard to the views of the Local Development Document Task and Finish Scrutiny Panel, the Local Development Scheme 2011 (attached at Appendix A to the report of the Director of Change, Planning and the Environment) be adopted and approved for submission to the Secretary of State. 

2.  That the Local Development Scheme 2011 will come into effect formally on the date of receipt of notification that the Secretary of State will not be issuing a Direction Notice.

3.  That the responses to the Scrutiny Committee Recommendation Action and Implementation Plan (SCRAIP), as attached at Appendix A and Appendix B (Diagram), be agreed.

The Council is required to produce a Local Development Scheme, which sets out the range of development plan documents it is proposing to prepare together with a work programme over a minimum three year period.  Although there is no duty to include a programme for the production of Supplementary Planning Documents (SPDs), the identification of key SPDs that are a priority to deliver Core Strategy policies provides clarity for the public.

On 8 June 2011 Cabinet approved the Development Plan Documents (DPDs) and Area Action Plans (AAPs) that would form the basis for preparing an amended Local Development Scheme (LDS) for Maidstone.  At the same meeting Cabinet prioritised the Supplementary Planning Documents (SPDs) required to provide the necessary detail to implement Core Strategy policies.  These documents are listed below.

·  Core Strategy DPD

·  Development Delivery DPD

·  Central Maidstone AAP

·  Parking Standards SPD

·  Landscape Character Guidelines SPD

·  Affordable Housing SPD.

The amended LDS (2011) is attached at Appendix A to the report of the Director of Change, Planning and the Environment.  It contains a brief introduction to explain the Local Development Framework (LDF), identify the documents that comprise the development plan, and a summary of the purpose of an LDS.  A synopsis of the challenges for Maidstone sets the context within which the LDS documents are being prepared.  In accordance with regulations, progress on the currently adopted LDS (2009) is reviewed, which includes an explanation of why the scheme must now be amended.  It sets out amended LDS timetables the various stages of plan production and identifies key target dates or “milestones”.  Risks to completing the LDS programme are identified, together with the steps that have been taken to minimise those risks.  Document project plans set out the subject matter and general content of each DPD/AAP, and explain the arrangements for the production of documents.  A glossary of terms is included to assist the reader with terms commonly used throughout the document.

The LDS documents are programmed to be delivered over 3½ years.  The detailed timetable for the production of DPDs/AAPs is set out in the LDS programme and document project plans.  The table below summarises proposed adoption dates.

The Core Strategy DPD, which sets the Council’s spatial vision and objectives for future development in the borough, is the lynchpin of Maidstone’s Local Development Framework (LDF) and its adoption is a priority for the Council.  The Central Maidstone AAP will provide for regeneration of defined areas within and adjacent to the town centre, and will set out a policy framework to determine planning applications.  The AAP will identify different land use “quarters” and will include site specific land allocations.  The Development Delivery DPD will designate areas of protection, make site specific land allocations, and include Development Management policies that will assist in the determination of planning applications.

A Parking Standards SPD will set local parking standards for new commercial and residential development.  The Landscape Character Guidelines SPD is required to develop a toolkit to assist with determining planning applications within the landscape areas identified in the emerging Landscape Character Assessment.  An Affordable Housing SPD will deliver the detail of the Core Strategy affordable housing policy, which will supersede the currently adopted Affordable Housing DPD.  These documents will be delivered within the lifespan of the LDS (2011).

Following submission, the Secretary of State has 4 weeks to decide whether to issue a Regulation 15(4) Direction, directing the local authority to make amendments to the LDS.  If a Direction is issued, a further report will be presented to Cabinet.

Regulations state that local authorities must determine when a new or revised LDS will come into effect.  It is therefore agreed that the Local Development Scheme 2011 formally comes into effect on the date of receipt of notification that the Secretary of State will not be issuing a Direction Notice.

The LDF must contain a Core Strategy DPD and a Proposals Map, and the Council has a duty to maintain an up-to-date LDS.  The Council could confine its LDS programme to the production of a Core Strategy.  Although the Core Strategy will set a policy framework, it will not deliver the level of detail necessary to implement all of its policies and strategies.  The alternative approach would exacerbate a growing policy framework vacuum for development management processes, and would impact on the Council’s ability to plan for its growth in a sustainable manner.