Agenda and minutes

45.1           Apologies for absence were received from Councillors J E Day, A J Evans, D T Foyle, J Greening, V D Smith, T A Spencer, P D Surman, R J E Vines and D J Waters. Members were advised that Councillor R E Garnham was unable to attend due to pecuniary interests in the items of business being considered.

46.1           The Committee’s attention was drawn to the Tewkesbury Borough Council Code of Conduct which was adopted by the Council on 26 June 2012 and took effect from 1 July 2012.

46.2           The following declarations were made:

46.3           There were no further declarations made on this occasion.

1.   When the continuous alarm sounds you must evacuate the building by the nearest available fire exit. Members and visitors should proceed to the visitors’ car park at the front of the building and await further instructions (during office hours staff should proceed to their usual assembly point; outside of office hours proceed to the visitors’ car park). Please do not re-enter the building unless instructed to do so.

      In the event of a fire any person with a disability should be assisted in leaving the building.  

2.   To receive any announcements from the Chair of the Meeting and/or the Chief Executive.

47.1           The evacuation procedure, as noted on the Agenda, was advised to those present.  

a)   To receive any questions, deputations or petitions submitted under Council Rule of Procedure.12.

(The deadline for public participation submissions for this meeting is Tuesday 9 October 2018).

b)   To receive any petitions submitted under the Council’s Petitions Scheme.

48.1           There were no items from members of the public on this occasion.  

To receive any questions submitted under Rule of Procedure 13. Any items received will be circulated on Monday 15 October 2018.

(Any questions must be submitted in writing to Democratic Services by, not later than, 10.00am on the working day immediately preceding the date of the meeting).

49.1           There were no Member questions on this occasion.  

To consider and approve the Joint Core Strategy Review Issues and Options consultation document for public consultation; to delegate authority to the Head of Development Services, in consultation with the Lead Member for Built Environment, to make any minor amendments to the text of the document and make appropriate changes to the design prior to its publication for consultation; and to endorse the broad vision for growth as set out in the concept masterplan for Ashchurch for public consultation. 

50.1           The report of the Head of Development Services, circulated at Pages No. 1-93, attached the Joint Core Strategy (JCS) Issues and Options consultation document which Members were asked to approve. In addition, Members were asked to delegate authority to the Head of Development Services, in consultation with the Lead Member for Built Environment, to make any minor amendments to the text of the document and appropriate changes to the design prior to publication for consultation, and to endorse the broad vision for the Ashchurch concept masterplan for public consultation.

50.2           In introducing the report, the Head of Development Services explained that the Joint Core Strategy had been adopted in December 2017 and, at that time, the Council had committed to undertake an immediate review of both housing and retail; housing supply in terms of Gloucester and Tewkesbury and retail policies for the whole area. The Issues and Options consultation document was an early stage of the plan-making process and sought to review and generate feedback on the key issues that were affecting the area, as well as setting out some of the options that were available to address them. It was made clear that the current document did not propose a strategy, new sites or policies; this would all be for the later stages of the review. In addition, work had been ongoing in respect of a masterplan for Ashchurch; this was not a detailed blueprint but instead looked at how development in the area could come forward to help meet the housing needs and to test requirements for infrastructure and community benefits. In addition, it could help increase the rail provision at Ashchurch and make the improvements required at Junction 9 of the M5 motorway. The masterplan was a concept at this stage and would be consulted upon on that basis; the consultation would give the Council the opportunity to have conversations with stakeholders and the community in terms of both housing and employment land in the area. The concept masterplan did not put forward a transport plan but Officers were aware of the need to improve road links in the area - the challenges regarding the A46 were being considered and it was felt the masterplan offered a great opportunity to have all of those conversations and look for solutions.

50.3           It was proposed and seconded, that the JCS Review Issues and Options consultation document be approved for public consultation under Regulation 18 of the Town and Country Planning (Local Planning) (England) Regulations 2012; that authority be delegated to the Head of Development Services, in consultation with the Lead Member for Built Environment, to make any minor amendments to the text of the document and make appropriate changes to the design prior to its publication for consultation; and that the broad vision for growth, as set out in the concept masterplan for Ashchurch, be endorsed for public consultation.

50.4           The Mayor invited questions from Members. A Member sought assurance that the consultation would be full and comprehensive,  ...  view the full minutes text for item 50.

To consider the adoption of a Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) Charging Schedule and supporting policies, alongside approval of a list of infrastructure that may be funded from CIL (Regulation 123 List) for publication and to set a commencement date for charging of 1 January 2019. 

51.1           The report of the Head of Development Services, circulated at Pages No. 94-142, sought adoption of a Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) Charging Schedule and supporting policies, alongside approval of a list of infrastructure that may be funded from CIL (Regulation 123 List) for publication and to set a commencement date for charging of 1 January 2019.

51.2              The Head of Development Services explained that CIL had been under consideration for a while now and various draft documents had been submitted to Council. In principle, CIL would replace the Section 106 tariff approach for strategic allocations whereas site specific infrastructure, including affordable housing, would continue to be funded by Section 106. The Joint Core Strategy (JCS) authorities had commissioned specialist advisers to advise on the CIL to ensure sites remained viable. The draft charging schedule had been through an examination in public in May 2018 and the subsequent Examiner’s report had been received in July. Further to the report being published with the Agenda for the current meeting, Members had been provided with an amended version of the Charging Schedule to replace Appendix A as previously circulated. The Modified Charging Schedule showed amendments as follows: the affordable housing requirements had been removed from the table of charges at Table 1.1; the “11 dwellings and over” charging category for Generic Sites within Table 1.1 had been changed to “between 11 and 449 dwellings”; and an additional Paragraph 5.4 had been added which made reference to the policy maps. In respect of (i), affordable housing requirements had been included in consultation versions of the document, but should not have been included in the final version.  As regards (ii), the correction was as the Examiner’s recommendations to reflect the insertion of additional category for 450 dwellings or over within Table 1.1.  As regards (iii), policy maps identifying the location and boundaries of the strategic sites had been included within the papers previously issued as an Appendix B, but this would need to become an appendix of the Charging Schedule on adoption to satisfy regulatory requirements. Also attached was an amended version of the Payments by Instalments Policy, which replaced the previously issued Appendix D.  The Reviewed Payment by Instalments was the document being recommended in recognition of concerns about developer cash-flow. In the reviewed policy, for CIL liability of £100,000 or less – 100% would now be due in one instalment within 18 months of commencement of development, rather than 50% within 60 days of commencement of development and 50% within 6 months of commencement of development; for CIL liability between £100,001 to £1,000,000 – 10% would now be due within 60 days of commencement of development and two further instalments of 45% would be due at six and 12 months from commencement of development,rather than 33% within 60 days, six months and 12 months of commencement of development; and for CIL liability of £1,000,001 and above – 10% would now be due within 60 days of development and three  ...  view the full minutes text for item 51.