Agenda item

To approve the response to the Draft National Planning Policy Framework consultation, as set out at Appendix 2 to the report, to be submitted on behalf of Tewkesbury Borough Council; and to delegate authority to the Head of Development Services, in consultation with the Lead Member, to add further comments to the response prior to its submission on behalf of Tewkesbury Borough Council.

1.      That the response to the draft National Planning Policy Framework consultation, as attached to the report at Appendix 2, be submitted on behalf of Tewkesbury Borough Council.

2.      That authority be delegated to the Head of Development Services, in consultation with the Lead Member for Built Environment, to add further comments to the response prior to its submission on behalf of Tewkesbury Borough Council.

116.1         The report of the Head of Development Services, circulated at Pages No. 114-193, informed Members of the government’s consultation on a draft revised National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) and set out Tewkesbury Borough Council’s proposed response to the consultation. Members were asked to approve the response for submission on behalf of the Council and to delegate authority to the Head of Development Services, in consultation with the Lead Member for Built Environment, to add further comments to the response prior to its submission.

116.2         The Head of Development Services advised that, since its publication, the National Planning Policy Framework had been a material consideration in decisions and planning policy making. The consultation on the revised Framework sought to bring it up-to-date and in line with a number of other documents published by the government in respect of housing, along with other previous government announcements/proposals and new policy changes. A summary of the key changes was set out at Paragraph 2.0 of the report and indicated that the main areas included: presumption in favour of sustainable development; plan-making (including neighbourhood plans); housing requirements; affordable housing; housing supply; housing mix and density; and Green Belt. A proposed response to the consultation was attached to the report at Appendix 2 and covered the issues that Officers felt were pertinent to Tewkesbury Borough Council. It was intended that the response would form part of a joint response with the other Joint Core Strategy authorities.

116.3         During the discussion which ensued, a Member expressed concern about the Green Belt and the exceptional circumstances required for housing development. In response, the Head of Development Services explained that the National Planning Policy Framework review suggested that any new local development plans, as adopted, would have to adhere to a change of emphasis whereby, before concluding that exceptional circumstances existed, the authority should have examined fully all reasonable options for meeting its identified need for development, including whether the strategy optimised the density of development, and that it had been informed by discussions with neighbouring authorities about whether they could accommodate some of the identified need for development. It also detailed that amendments to Green Belt boundaries may be in neighbourhood plans as well as local plans where the need for changes had been demonstrated through a strategic plan. There was also particular provision for limited infilling in respect of affordable housing where it was under policies in the development plan but also on previously developed land where it would either not have a greater impact on the openness of the Green Belt than the existing development or it contributed to an identified local affordable housing need and would not cause substantial harm to the openness of the Green Belt. In respect of how any changes to the Framework would affect the Joint Core Strategy, the Head of Development Services explained that the Strategy had been adopted and, as such, the new Framework would not apply; however, if sites were not built out before the Joint Core Strategy review, the new Framework would need to be considered.

116.4         Accordingly, it was