STRATEGIC PLANNING, SUSTAINABILITY AND TRANSPORTATION COMMITTEE

MEETING 19 January 2016

URGENT ITEM: Maidstone Borough Local Plan – Publication (Regulation 19)

The meeting of this Committee on 13 January 2016 resolved to refer the Maidstone Borough Local Plan Publication (Regulation 19) to Council on 25 January 2016, subject to the reclassification of Coxheath as a Larger Village in the local plan settlement hierarchy (Policies SS1 Spatial Strategy, SP6 Coxheath and SP12 Larger Villages).

The Committee also resolved that the words “community and” be inserted before the word “strategic” in line 1 of paragraph 2 of Policy H1 Housing Site Allocations, and further resolved to reintroduce site specific criteria in policies which are not covered by paragraph 2 of Policy H1.  These amendments will be made to the Local Plan Publication document, which will be presented to Council on 25 January 2016 as amended Appendix B to Council Agenda Item 11: Report of the Strategic Planning, Sustainability and Transportation Committee held on 13 January 2016 – Maidstone Borough Local Plan Publication (Regulation 19).

Since 13 January 2016, officers have scrutinised every single development allocation policy (attached schedule) and many of the amendments are the subject of approved S106 agreements, either fully signed and sealed or in a draft negotiated form following Heads of Terms agreed by way of a clear resolution of the Planning Committee and therefore have superseded the applicable site specific policy criteria.

Proposed Recommendation (to replace those made on 13 January)

1.   That subject to the reclassification of Coxheath as a larger village and the insertion of the Indicative Housing Trajectory, the Council approves the Maidstone Borough Local Plan 2016 (attached as Appendix A of the report to the Strategic Planning, Sustainability and Transportation Committee dated 13 January 2016, revised to reflect (i) insertion of the words ‘community and’ at line 1 of Policy H1 paragraph 2 on page 78, before the word ‘strategic’; and (ii) any previously agreed site-specific infrastructure criterion not covered by (i) which were agreed by the Strategic Planning, Sustainability and Transportation Committee or its decision-making predecessor and, (iii), except where decisions of the Planning Committee already supersede (i) and (ii)) for Publication (Regulation 19) and Submission to the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (Regulation 22) for examination under section 20 of the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004.