Agenda item

1.

Question from Leckhampton Green Land Action Group (LEGLAG) to the Leader of the Council

Is the Joint Core Strategy team that is working on behalf of the Council aware of the merits of carrying out periodic reviews of the 20-year plan (perhaps every five years)?  That is to say, will they adopt a "plan, monitor and manage" approach that could take into account both the likely effects of the existing economic recession on its short-term housing requirement forecast and the possible effects of a long-continued recession on the longer-term requirement?

Response from the Leader of the Council, Councillor Jordan

Yes. The JCS will need to be periodically reviewed as part of a plan, monitor and manage approach. It will also need to ensure that a flexible approach is taken, which is capable of responding dynamically to changing economic circumstances.

2.

Question from Leckhampton Green Land Action Group (LEGLAG) to the Leader of the Council

Is the JCS team going to adopt a "Brownfield First" policy in line with the "core planning principle" in the new National Planning Policy Framework requiring planning authorities to "encourage the use of brownfield land"?  If not, how will they carry out this encouragement?

Response from the Leader of the Council, Councillor Jordan

The NPPF does require planning policies to encourage the effective use of land by re-using land that has been previously developed and the JCS authorities are supportive of this principle. Precisely what policy wording will be included in the Preferred Option version of the JCS will need to be considered by all three authorities prior to publishing the next stage of the document for consultation.     

The JCS will have phasing policies which consider the timing and release of sites over the 20 year plan period and which encourage the development of brownfield sites, but this approach needs to be sufficiently flexible to respond to changing circumstances.

Supplementary question

Is the Council aware that approximately ¾ of residents who responded to the JCS consultation preferred scenario A and the lowest number of new houses?

Supplementary response

Yes the Council is aware of the feedback from the consultation, welcomes such feedback and will look at it and listen to what residents said but it was important that people remember that this was not a referendum.

3.

Question from Save the Countryside to the Leader of the Council

Can the Leader confirm that in the Joint Core Strategy (JCS) public consultation, 3 out of 4 respondents preferred Scenario A instead of Scenario B,C or D.

Response from the Leader of the Council, Councillor Jordan

The public consultation does indicate that of those respondents who expressed a view relating to the four scenarios, Scenario A was the most popular. However it will be important to ensure that the JCS is found sound at the examination stage.  

Supplementary question

Considering your response in which you acknowledge that Scenario A was the most popular what other action is the JCS Team taking when choosing a preferred option and how will the public view be taken into account?

Supplementary response

Consideration would be given to feedback from the initial consultation but there was more consultation to come and all feedback would be taken into account when choosing a preferred option. 

4.

Question from Save the Countryside to the Leader of the Council

Are the housing figures consistent with the 2011 census results?

Response from the Leader of the Council

At the current time, not all of the Census 2011 information is available and until such time as this is available it will not be possible to compare this information. However, the JCS will be periodically reviewed and such information will be taken into account then.

Supplementary question

Can you confirm that the JCS Team will take information relating to household sizes from the Census 2011 into account when available?

Supplementary response

Yes they will be taken into account.

5.

Question from Mr Gerald Potter to the Leader of the Council

Has the JCS team taken account of Local Housing Requirements Assessment Working Group (LHRAWG) findings and their tool, called "What Households Where – if not, why?

Response from the Leader of the Council, Councillor Jordan

The consultants who have undertaken a review of the housing methodology have appraised the methodology that was used by both Gloucestershire County Council and the JCS team. In arriving at their recommendations they have employed robust, nationally-recognised methods and datasets. In making that judgement, the consultants have not felt it necessary to have regard to the online tool provided by the Local Housing Requirements Assessment Working Group approach. The JCS authorities are proposing further work to clarify likely trends in household size and the impact on housing numbers.

6.

Question from Dr Adrian Mears to the Leader of the Council

The UK is now in its longest recession for over 100 years and, contrary to previous expectations, there is no sign of any cyclical rebound. The situation is growing worse and parallels with Japan since 1990 show that a major recovery might not happen for a very long time. What impact does this new situation have for housing projections and timing of developments and for keeping the JCS up to date?

Response from the Leader of the Council, Councillor Jordan

Predicting likely economic growth over 20 years is clearly difficult which is why the  JCS will need to be periodically reviewed to ensure that a flexible approach is taken, which is capable of responding dynamically to changing economic circumstances.   

Supplementary question

Has the likely continuation of the recession been taken into account already or does it still need to be?

Supplementary response

The proposal is that this will be taken into account as part of continuous assessment of the JCS as to project economic circumstances 20 years in advance is difficult. 

7.

Question from Dr Adrian Mears to the Leader of the Council

In its response to the draft JCS last February, Leckhampton with Warden Hill Parish Council expressed great concern about the projected large inward migration of retired people into Cheltenham and the impossible load that such a large older population will place on the NHS and on public services and resources. Given that, in general, retired people moving into Cheltenham can out-compete younger residents financially for available housing, what suggestions does the JCS team have for tailoring the location, type, timing or other aspects of development to make it easier for younger people to compete?

Response from the Leader of the Council, Councillor Jordan

The retired population and the inward migration of this cohort to the area is recognised by the JCS authorities and their consultants as a key issue that must be taken into account in planning for housing and the economic well-being of the JCS area. Cheltenham Council has acknowledged the concerns raised by the questioner in previously asking for work to be done to assess the best way to provide housing that is affordable to younger residents. As part of this, it will be important to take proper account of economic considerations alongside demographic trends.  In this way, the housing requirements of the working age population (including working age migrants), together with other cohorts such as retirees, can be properly assessed and provided for in a holistic manner.

Supplementary question

Will the approach described by the Leader help to discourage inward migration of retirees?

Supplementary response

I don’t know to be honest but we are looking at how to deal with this issue.

8.

Question from Vivienne Matthews to the Leader of the Council

I understand that developers nationwide have at present 230,000+ agreed planning applications outstanding.  Could an answer be given on how many planning approvals are outstanding in this area and how this affects the demonstration of the five year supply?

Response from the Leader of the Council, Councillor Jordan

The calculation of the 5 year housing supply takes account of unimplemented planning permissions.  The current 5 year housing supply figure for Cheltenham is 4.5 years.  Unimplemented consents currently account for approximately 2.5 years' of this supply.

Specifically, at 1^st April, 2012, there were permissions relating to 1,101 dwellings in Cheltenham which were not yet started and there were a further 185 dwellings on sites under construction.