Agenda item

Report PLA899 from Economic Development Portfolio Holder

(Enclosure)

Please note that due to the size of this report’s appendices they are available electronically via the Council’s website at www.southkesteven.gov.uk – click the ‘Your Council and Democracy’ link, then ‘Agendas, Minutes and Reports’.

Decision:

The Cabinet:

1.   Notes the comments and issues raised by the representations made to the Site Consultation (October 2009) and Additional Site consultation (August 2010), as set out in Appendix 1 to report number PLA899

2.   Notes the site assessment summaries included at Appendix 2 to report PLA899

3.   Allocate those sites recommended throughout report number PLA899 and listed in appendix 4, subject to the following amendments:

·         Page 9 paragraph 6.12 delete bullet point 4 relating to site ADD41 

·         In relation to the recommendation in paragraph 7.6 bullet point 3 on page 10 of the report (to allocate site ref ADD44) the proposed policy DE3 in Appendix 5 should be amended to clarify the access requirements for the development of the site. Therefore the first bullet point of the policy which establishes the requirements of development should be amended to read:

“Provides appropriate access the site from Peterborough Road and/or Towngate East as required by a detailed Traffic Assessment, and makes appropriate arrangements to increase the capacity of the A15/A16 Roundabout” 

For housing, employment and mixed use development in the Site Allocation and Policies Development Plan Document

4.   Approve the proposed draft Policies as set out in Appendix 5 to report PLA899, for inclusion in the submission version of the Site Allocation and Policies Development Plan document

Considerations/Reasons for decision:

1)   Report number PLA889 by the Economic Development Portfolio Holder and appendices to the report.

2)   Comments made about suggested development sites during public consultation.

3)   Development needs of the district established in the adopted Core Strategy.

4)   Background evidence and reports gathered to support the preparation of the Local Development Framework (LDF).

5)   The Inspector finding that the Development Plan Document did not meet the sustainability requirements would render the plan ‘unsound’.

6)   Comments from English Heritage who confirmed that the site ADD41 was still a scheduled Monument and there had been no application to de-schedule this site. There was also concern about the impact of development on the setting of the Scheduled Monument and the Listed buildings in this location.

7)   Clarifications to recommendations made at the meeting.

Other options considered:

The Adopted Core Strategy provides the overarching policy framework which requires sites to be identified and allocated for development. The Core Strategy specifically sets out that sites will be allocated in the Site Allocations and Policies DPD to meet the housing and employment needs of the district. If it does not do this it will not be in conformity with the Core Strategy and could fail to be found sound at examination. More importantly, however if insufficient appropriate, suitable and deliverable sites are allocated to meet the development needs identified in the Core Strategy, there is a high risk that inappropriate sites and forms of development will be permitted via planning application and appeal. This will be costly and time consuming to the council and does not give any measure of certainty to the general public, developers and organisations about where or how the district should develop. This will be detrimental to the growth and stability of the local economy.