Agenda item

A report of the Five Year Housing Supply Scrutiny Panel setting out its findings and recommendations.

Considered a report of the Five Year Housing Supply Scrutiny Panel setting out its findings and recommendations (item 7 on the agenda filed with these minutes).

The Chair of the Panel (Councillor Seaton) introduced the report and the Chief Executive and the Democratic Services Manager assisted with consideration of the report.

RESOLVED

1.            that the report be noted;

2.            that the conclusions, recommendations and reasons of the Panel be amended and confirmed as follows:

(i)        Recommendation to the Cabinet 1: That the Council’s Business Plan be amended to include the five year housing supply figure as one of the Council’s Key Performance Indicators (KPIs).  REASON: To ensure the figures are reported and monitored corporately and by the Performance Scrutiny Panel on a regular basis;

(ii)       Recommendation to the Cabinet 2: That the Council’s Business Plan be amended to include the various deadlines by which planning applications of different types should be determined as KPIs. REASON: To ensure that the figures are reported and monitored corporately and by the Performance Scrutiny Panel on a regular basis;

(iii)      Recommendation to the Cabinet 3: That the Chair of the Panel and the Lead Member for Planning to write a letter to Government reinforcing the need for enforcement sanctions for non-completion of developments. REASON: To reiterate the need for more powerful sanctions for non-completion and delayed developments;

(iv)      Recommendation to the Cabinet 4: That a best practice review of the Council’s processes for dealing with section 106 agreements, reserved matters applications and pre-commencement conditions be completed to identify any areas of improvement. REASON: To ensure that those processes are streamlined and speeded up, therefore enabling permitted developments to begin more quickly, and to reassure Members that the Council is following best practice in relation to its processes;

(v)       Recommendation to the Cabinet 5: That the current review of the Core Strategy be completed in accordance with the timetable set out in the Local Development Scheme agreed by the Cabinet most recently on 15th March 2018. REASON: To ensure that it remains the most relevant for the residents of Charnwood and that the review is completed in a timely manner;

(vi)      Recommendation to the Scrutiny Management Board 1: That, if the Council’s housing land supply falls below 5.5 years, a quarterly report is provided to the Performance Scrutiny Panel and the Lead Member attend Performance Scrutiny Panel to explain what actions are in place to return the five year housing supply to a satisfactory level. REASON: To ensure that the figures are scrutinised by the Panel on a regular basis and any action can be taken if required;

(vii)    Conclusion not requiring further action 1: That the Panel believes a robust exit strategy should be in place to alleviate confusion and minimise delays when a member of staff leaves. This refers to project handover and IT tasks such as deleting email accounts and communicating any staff changes to Members as well as officers.  The Head of Planning and Regeneration has been asked to consider this as an operational management matter;

(viii)   Conclusion not requiring further action 2: Due to the differing viewpoints between the Council officers and local developers it was felt that communication on both sides could be improved, mostly at the pre-application stage where the development could be talked through and agreed.  The Head of Planning and Regeneration has been asked to consider this as an operational management matter;

(ix)      Conclusion not requiring further action 3: The Panel was reassured to hear that the Council was using the Government’s preferred model for calculating the five year housing supply;

(x)       Conclusion not requiring further action 4: The Panel welcomed the changes to the revised National Planning Policy Framework as it has improved the Council’s position regarding its five year housing supply;

3.            that, in response to the Panel’s recommendation to the Board, set out in resolution 2(iv) above, if the Council’s housing land supply falls below 5.5 years, a quarterly report be provided to the Performance Scrutiny Panel and the Lead Member attend Performance Scrutiny Panel to explain what actions are in place to return the five year housing supply to a satisfactory level;

4.            that, subject to the amendments to the conclusions, recommendations and reasons set out in resolution 2 above, the report be submitted to the Cabinet.

Reasons

1.            To acknowledge the information received and the work, findings and recommendations of the Panel.

2.            In order to clarify the conclusions, recommendations and reasons of the Panel.

3.            To ensure that, when necessary, the figures are scrutinised by the Performance Scrutiny Panel on a regular basis and any actions can be identified if required.

4.            To enable the report, findings and recommendations to be considered by the Cabinet in accordance with Scrutiny Procedure 11.12.