Agenda item

1.

Question from Mary Nelson to the Leader

At the 16^th December Full Council Meeting Cllr. Smith questioned the Leader regarding the LEP’s Strategic Economic Plan and was informed that the Final SEP was not due to be completed until 31^st March 2014, but would no doubt be subject to widespread discussion by then.

A draft version of the SEP was submitted to central government in December 2013, but not subject to consideration by elected members.   A revised draft version of the SEP was due to be published by the 16^th March, just two days before the 18^th March Cabinet meeting,  and the Final SEP has to be submitted to the Government by the 31^st March. 

At the 18^th March Cabinet meeting Cllr. Jordan stated that due to the short time-scale now involved  it was necessary for the Leader to sign off the final version of the SEP in consultation with appropriate Cabinet members and Group Leaders.

Question

Given CBC’s stated requirement for the SEP to be in harmony with the JCS, thereby making the SEP an  important “Evidence Base” JCS document, does Cllr. Jordan consider that the final SEP, only just published and now to be hurriedly signed off, by only Cabinet and leaders, has had the stated “widespread discussion” he said it would have, and does he not think that this will raise suspicions by the public and by some elected members?

Response from the Leader

To avoid any confusion, drawing up and submitting the Strategic Economic Plan (SEP) is the responsibility of the Gloucestershire Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP). Hence while Cheltenham Borough Council (CBC) would wish harmony between the SEP and JCS it could not be a ‘stated requirement’. While the LEP has been working to a very tight timetable set by Government they have consulted widely and CBC has already given feedback on the draft SEP.

The CBC ‘sign-off’ process referred to is now underway. So far there has been a presentation to council members and the SEP has now been circulated so that members can give their feedback. While I would anticipate that the council will give general support for the proposals, there will no doubt be some areas of concern that we wish to raise.

In addition, the council will today be debating the proposal to set up the Gloucestershire Economic Growth Joint Committee (GEGJC) where all the local authorities in Gloucestershire will be represented and which will coordinate their future input to the SEP. There are also proposals for a scrutiny process to  cover both the LEP and GEGJC.    

2.

Question from Mary Nelson to the Leader

The mid March draft SEP on the LEP website stated that the LEP were exploring the contribution that could be made from “the New Home Bonus generated from the new large developments including the possibility of using it as an income stream to repay the cost of borrowing to fund upfront capital investments”.

However the government's own website states very clearly that:

"Local Councils can decide how to spend the New Homes Bonus.   However, we expect local councils to consult communities about how they will spend the money, especially communities where housing stock has increased."

Question

Will the Leader guarantee that all New Homes Bonus money received from development of JCS Strategic housing sites, is first consulted upon with the local communities affected by new development, especially as concern over inadequate infrastructure has been mentioned in so many JCS Public Consultation Responses, and that the LEP will not be given any priority allocation of this money?

Response from the Leader

Cheltenham Borough Council has only committed spending of New Homes Bonus money based on houses already built. This has been agreed via the Council’s budget setting process which is already subject to public consultation.

Most new homes proposed in the JCS are not in the Cheltenham Borough area so I can not give any guarantees as to how other councils spend their New Homes Bonus.  

Future New Homes Bonus could be one source of funding to help meet infrastructure needs identified in the JCS. However, no mechanism to achieve this has been agreed yet and the issue will be subject of further discussion. In any case, I would expect that any proposals will undergo public consultation before New Homes Bonus money is spent.        

3.

Question from Ken Pollock to the Leader

Does the Leader agree that it is not acceptable for the SEP, appearing now at the last minute of the drafting of the JCS Pre-Submission plan, to seek to grab very much more of the land available at Cheltenham's North West (extending inward from M5 Junction10) to be a major 'Employment Growth Zone', thereby displacing planned housing, considering that this is the direction allocated for the principal Urban Extension to this town, which is overall so very constrained by hills and by coalescence-preventing GreenBelt ?

Response from the Leader

The timetable for the SEP is set by Government so is something we have to work with. It is important that both the SEP and JCS continue to progress.

The JCS is a statutory process which will determine where development is permitted and where it is not. The JCS has a close inter-relationship with the emerging Strategic Economic Plan (SEP) for Gloucestershire being prepared by Gloucestershire Local Enterprise Partnership.  The SEP is an aspirational plan for economic growth and one which promotes the JCS area as the key driver for delivering new jobs and increased Gross Value Added (GVA). It will trigger discussion with government over future funding to enable economic growth in Gloucestershire which will form part of a potential Growth Deal. 

However, in supporting the SEP the JCS needs to plan for the population that will support economic growth.  The JCS Pre Submission has sought to plan taking account of the evidence provided by consultants Nathaniel Lichfield and Partners.  The SEP embodies the view that the economy will recover much more rapidly; the top end of the Objectively Assessed Need reflects a situation of full economic recovery.  The economic projections now supporting the JCS Pre Submission are indicating that the economy is improving at a faster rate than previously projected, but this does not lead to the conclusion that a full economic recovery will be achieved within the plan period. The SEP will not be able to ‘grab’ sites not agreed via the JCS.  

The particular issue at M5 Junction 10 is that while there is strong local support to make this junction 4 way, it is unlikely that there will be funding to enable this unless it can be demonstrated that it supports future economic growth. While this could involve some employment land near J10, the further work undertaken by Nathaniel Lichfield and Partners is not showing current evidence that the 150 Ha at J10 suggested in the SEP is needed in the JCS plan period.  

4.

Question from Ken Pollock to the Leader

Does the Leader agree that as the SEP and all its cited but unpublished "Appendices" have not been shown to any councillors for information/approval, then the accompanying JCS Pre-Submission Draft cannot reasonably be cemented in place by Full Council on quite so hasty a timetable as next week, (especially when the crucial JCS traffic assessments are also still delayed and unpublished) ?

Response from the Leader

As mentioned in my answer to question 1, the full SEP has been circulated to all members as part of the ‘sign-off’ process.

Agreeing the JCS is a statutory process which will determine the core strategy for our area. While the council meeting on 9^th April is an important part of that process is does not mean anything is ‘cemented in place’. There will be further public consultation on the soundness of the JCS Pre Submission before the 3 councils consider submitting a final version to the Secretary of State. There will then be a public inspection leading to potential adoption of the JCS in mid 2015.

Delay to the JCS increases the risk of speculative planning applications being received and possibly being approved on appeal before a plan is in place. Hence my view is that it is sensible for this Council to proceed to debate the JCS on 9^th April.