Issue - meetings

To seek agreement for a six-week consultation with minor amendments delegated to Portfolio Holder and Assistant Director.

Decision

That Cabinet:

1.    Approve the public consultation of the Statement of Community Involvement (SCI) available at Appendix 2 of the report.

2.    To delegate authority to the Assistant Director for Planning & Growth, following consultation with the Portfolio Holder for Planning, to make any minor changes to the appearance, format and text of the SCI document, in the interests of clarify and accuracy prior to its publication for consultation.

Reasons for the decision

The Council was required to prepare a Statement of Community Involvement and to subsequently review that document every five years. Whilst it was not mandatory to consult on the draft document, it was good practice to do so.

Other options considered and rejected

To not review and update the SCI and continue to use the existing document was an option. However, the existing SCI did not reflect current requirements set out in legislation or regulations. The Council was also required to review the SCI every five years. The do-nothing option had therefore been discounted.

Purpose of report

To recommend that Cabinet reviewed the draft Statement of Community Involvement (SCI) and agrees to carry out a public consultation for a minimum of six weeks.

Decision

That Cabinet:

1.    Approves the public consultation of the Statement of Community Involvement (SCI) available at Appendix 2 of the report.

2.    Delegates authority to the Assistant Director for Planning & Growth, following consultation with the Portfolio Holder for Planning, to make any minor changes to the appearance, format and text of the SCI document, in the interests of clarify and accuracy prior to its publication for consultation.

Other options considered

To not review and update the SCI and continue to use the existing document was an option. However, the existing SCI did not reflect current requirements set out in legislation or regulations. The Council was also required to review the SCI every five years. The do-nothing option had therefore been discounted.

Reasons for the decision

The Council was required to prepare a SCI and to subsequently review that document every five years. Whilst it was not mandatory to consult on the draft document, it was good practice to do so.

The SCI sets out the Council’s commitment to business, residents and stakeholders and provided a framework on how it consulted with the community. The Council was legally required to consult on a range of planning matters.

The SCI sets out this legislative requirement along with additional steps the Council would take. The outgoing document was five years’ old.

The SCI provided transparency in the Council’s approach and ensured consultation was a two-way process between residents/stakeholders and the Council. The public consultation would start on 13 March 2026 for a period of six weeks and would be published on the Council’s website.