It was resolved that:

a)    The Cabinet Member for Planning Transport and Development would champion the transport needs of rural communities with KCC, in particular:

·         Bus Services and improved use of Community transport;  and

·         Maintenance of access to rural transport links i.e. footpaths;

Councillor Paine

Noted – to feedback at Committee meeting

N/A

b)    The Cabinet Member for Planning Transport and Development ensuring that a process is put in place that ensures all ward Councillors have an early opportunity to feed into the pre planning discussions on strategic site allocations, including commercial sites.

Councillor Paine

Noted – to feedback at Committee meeting

N/A

RESOLVED that:

a)    With regards to the consultation methods in the Council’s Consultation Plan: Meetings with Parish councils – at meetings with designated Parish Councillors, these meetings should also include the relevant Borough and County Councillor(s) to ensure a comprehensive viewpoint is sought and provided;

Cllr Stephen Paine

Recommendation accepted. Where meetings with parish councils are proposed, the consultation plan is to be amended to extend the invitation to the relevant borough and county councillor(s).

6 September 2013

Emma Boshell

b)    With regards to the consultation methods in the Council’s Consultation Plan: Meetings with designated neighbourhood areas - at meetings in non-parished areas with representatives from designated neighbourhood areas,

these meetings should also include representatives from relevant residents and amenity groups, as well as the relevant Borough and County Councillor(s) to ensure a comprehensive viewpoint is sought and provided;

Cllr Stephen Paine

Recommendation accepted. Where meetings in the non-parished areas are proposed, the consultation plan is to be amended to extend the invitation to representatives of relevant residents and amenity groups, as well as the relevant borough and county councillor(s).

6 September 2013

Emma Boshell

c)    Where appropriate, officers find opportunities to link wards and parishes together at meetings as part of its consultation process;

Cllr Stephen Paine

Recommendation accepted. There is a large number of meetings proposed in the consultation plan, so where appropriate, and particularly in the non-parished areas, wards and parishes will be linked together and joint meetings will be held. The consultation plan is to be amended to make this clear.

6 September 2013

Emma Boshell

d)    In order to overcome the perceived perception that developers representations are listened to ahead of those of residents; when the findings of the consultation are presented, the representations should be presented in a similar way to a planning application committee report i.e. clearly stating the number of representations made ‘for’ and ‘against’ with a comment from the developer;

Cllr Stephen Paine

Recommendation accepted. Whilst this is not an issue for the consultation plan itself, the report to Cabinet Member is to be amended to explain how the results of the consultation are to be presented.

6 September 2013

Emma Boshell

e)    It be communicated on the website and all forms of council communications that all representations will be considered but the council cannot guarantee that it will agree or disagree with individual representations;

Cllr Stephen Paine

Recommendation accepted. Managing the expectations of the public is important, so the message that all representations will be considered but the council cannot guarantee that it will agree or disagree with individual representations is to be communicated on the council’s website, on acknowledgement letters and on other consultation material.

6 September 2013

Emma Boshell

f)    That the public notice in relation to the Maidstone Borough Local Plan is placed in the Downs Mail as well as the Kent Messenger; and

Cllr Stephen Paine

Recommendation accepted. The consultation plan is to be amended to include the placing of advertisements in the Downs Mail and the Kent and Sussex Courier as well as the Kent Messenger, to ensure that the consultation is advertised as widely as possible.

6 September 2013

Emma Boshell

g)    The following information requests be provided:

                      i.        The number/percentage of people who attended meetings during the public consultation in 2011 be provided to the Committee; and

                     ii.        Copies of the consultation documents be circulated to ALL members of the Council.

Cllr Stephen Paine

i.              Recommendation accepted. The council keeps records of all consultation events and this information is to be provided to the committee.

ii.             Recommendation accepted. The report to Cabinet Member is to make clear that all members of the council will receive copies of the consultation documents.

6 September 2013

Emma Boshell

Recommendation

Cabinet

Member

Response

Timetable

Lead Officer

It was resolved that the Cabinet Member for Planning, Transport and Development adopts the Landscape Character Assessment 2012 (2013 amended version).

Councillor Paine

Rob Jarman/Deanne Cunningham

Recommendation

Cabinet

Member

Response

Timetable

Lead Officer

a)    Further thought be given to the environmental net gain of Development Management Policies;

Councillor Paine

Rob Jarman

b)    Further thought and investigation be given to ways in which to incentivise the development of brownfield sites for regeneration in the borough;

Councillor Paine

Rob Jarman

c)    The appropriate Development Management Policies be explored and developed to include explicit reference to, and criteria for, the following:

·         Windfarms

·         Live work units and the expansion of existing units in rural areas; and

·         Car Parking Standards.

Councillor Paine

Rob Jarman

RESOLVED

That the Committee agree the recommendations, as set out at 1.2.2 and 1.2.3 of the report, subject to the following amended rewording of recommendation 2:  ‘That the PTD OSC recommends that the Cabinet Member for Planning, Transport and Development approves the methodology for guidelines for determining which infrastructure is included on the list of relevant infrastructure as follows:

• If it is strategic infrastructure;
• If the cost of the infrastructure is significant;
• If the number of development sites that should contribute to specific infrastructure exceeds the s106 pooling limit;
• If infrastructure contributions are determined by set standards;
• If the delivery of infrastructure is necessary before development proceeds; and

If applications are being submitted that require infrastructure based mitigation before the adoption of CIL.

Councillor Paine

Rob Jarman/Darren Bridgett

The Committee requests that further information be provided to it on the percentage distribution of CILs payments across the borough and how this will be managed equitably and fairly, especially with regards the relationship between those areas covered by ward councillors, parishes and/or residents associations and those areas where the only representation is through ward councillors

Furthermore, the Committee recommends the dissemination of accurate information on the Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL), by the Council, particularly in areas of the borough where there is no parish council, neighbourhood, resident or community group representation.

Councillor Paine

Rob Jarman/Darren Bridgett

That a progress update on CIL be provided to the Committee at its meeting on 21 January 2014.  This should include further information on what the CIL rate may be and comparable rates from other areas.

Councillor Paine

Rob Jarman/Darren Bridgett

That a training session on CIL be provided to the Committee in preparation of its January meeting

Councillor Paine

Rob Jarman/Darren Bridgett