Agenda and minutes

Venue: Meeting will be held in accordance with SI 2020/392. Link to live stream will be found at https://www.tendringdc.gov.uk/livemeetings

Contact: Ian Ford Email:  democraticservices@tendringdc.gov.uk or telephone  01255 686584

Items
No. Item

29.

Apologies for Absence and Substitutions

The Committee is asked to note any apologies for absence and substitutions received from Members.

 

Minutes:

Apologies for absence were submitted on behalf of Councillors Chapman (with Councillor Talbot substituting) and G V Guglielmi (with no substitute).

30.

Minutes of the Last Meeting pdf icon PDF 108 KB

To confirm and sign as a correct record, the minutes of the meeting of the Committee, held on Wednesday 30 September 2020.

Minutes:

It was RESOLVED that the Minutes of the last meeting of the Committee held on 30 September 2020 be approved as a correct record.

31.

Declarations of Interest

Councillors are invited to declare any Disclosable Pecuniary Interests or Personal Interest, and the nature of it, in relation to any item on the agenda.

 

Minutes:

During the consideration of the matters set out in Minute 34 below Councillor Talbot declared a personal interest in the light of the fact that he was a life member of both the RSPB and the Essex Wildlife Trust.

32.

Questions on Notice pursuant to Council Procedure Rule 38

Subject to providing two working days’ notice, a Member of the Committee may ask the Chairman of the Committee a question on any matter in relation to which the Council has powers or duties which affect the Tendring District and which falls within the terms of reference of the Committee.

Minutes:

On this occasion no Councillor had submitted notice of a question.

33.

Public Speaking pdf icon PDF 143 KB

The Council’s Public Speaking Scheme for the Planning Policy & Local Plan Committee gives the opportunity for members of the public and other interested parties/stakeholders to speak to the Council’s elected members on the Planning Policy & Local Plan Committee on any specific agenda item to be considered at that public meeting.

Minutes:

There were no public speakers on this occasion.

34.

Report of Corporate Director (Economy and Place) - A.1 - Essex Coastal Recreational Avoidance and Mitigation Strategy (RAMS) Consultation Exercise, Final Supplementary Planning Document (SPD) and Partnership Agreement pdf icon PDF 163 KB

To update the Planning Policy and Local Plan Committee on the  outcome of the public consultation on the Essex Coastal Recreational Avoidance and Mitigation Strategy (RAMS)  Supplementary Planning Document (SPD) and to seek its agreement to forward the revised SPD and the associated RAMS Strategy document and Partnership Agreement to Cabinet for formal approval.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Further to Minute 26 (30.9.20) the Committee had before it a report (and appendices) of the Corporate Director (Place & Economy) (A.1) which updated it on the outcome of public consultation on the Essex Coastal Recreational Avoidance and Mitigation Strategy (RAMS) Supplementary Planning Document (SPD) and which also sought its agreement to forward the revised SPD and the associated RAMS Strategy document and Partnership Agreement to Cabinet for its formal approval.

 

The Committee was aware that the RAMS was a coordinated response, across Essex, to protect internationally important and legally protected wildlife sites from the direct and indirect impacts of recreational disturbance arising from housing development and population growth.

 

Members were also aware that under European Law and the associated Habitat Regulations, local planning authorities had a legal obligation to assess the impacts of new development on internationally important wildlife sites and, where necessary, put mitigation measures in place in order to minimise any harm.

 

The Committee was reminded that due to a number of internationally important wildlife sites around the coast (namely Hamford Water, the Colne Estuary and the Stour Estuary), the whole of the Tendring District fell within a ‘Zone of Influence’ whereby any new residential development and associated increase in population had the potential to lead, either directly or indirectly, to an increase in recreational disturbance to the important wildlife habitats in those designated areas.

 

It was reported that twelve Essex planning authorities, including Tendring District Council, had been working together on the RAMS which included a programme of measures for protecting the internationally designated wildlife habitats around the Essex Coast from the potential effects of increased recreational disturbance resulting from house building and population growth.

 

Members were informed that a SPD had also been prepared which set out guidance for Councils in determining planning applications in order to ensure compliance with the Habitat Regulations. It included a mechanism for seeking financial contributions from all new residential development towards delivering the mitigation measures – a tariff of £125.57 (April 2020) per dwelling secured through legal agreements on the grant of planning permission.

 

The Committee recalled that, at its meeting held on 16 July 2019, it had considered the draft SPD and had approved it for public consultation. That consultation had been undertaken by Essex Place Services across all of the Essex authorities in January and February 2020. 

 

It was reported that a significant number of comments, including many from Tendring residents, had been received during that consultation exercise and had resulted in a number of changes to the content of the SPD – although the general thrust of the RAMS Strategy remained unchanged. Officers had also submitted a written response to the consultation exercise to highlight some specific concerns raised by landowners around Hamford Water, urging that they be given careful consideration.

 

In addition, Essex Place Services had produced a ‘You Said, We Did’ document which had analysed the various comments received in response to the consultation exercise and explained how they had been taken into consideration in  ...  view the full minutes text for item 34.