Agenda and draft minutes

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

Apologies for absence were submitted on behalf of Councillors Bush and Fowler (with no substitutions).

To confirm and sign as a correct record, the minutes of the meeting of the Committee, held on Tuesday 27 February 2024.

In relation to Minute 32 (Local Plan Review: Vision and Objectives Revisited), the Chairman thanked the Officers for producing and circulating to the Committee the additional proposed additions/alterations to the Vision and Objectives.

It was RESOLVED that the Minutes of the last meeting of the Committee, held on Tuesday 27 February 2024, be approved as a correct record and be signed by the Chairman.

Councillors are invited to declare any Disclosable Pecuniary Interests, Other Registerable Interests of Non-Registerable Interests, and the nature of it, in relation to any item on the agenda.

In relation to agenda item 6 (report A.1 – Local Plan Review: High Level Spatial Options for Long Term Housing and Employment Growth), Councillor Fairley declared a Disclosable Pecuniary Interest as her family owned and farmed land in and around Horsley Cross and land had been put forward for consideration within the call for sites process, both at Horsley Cross roundabout and along the B1035 towards Horsley Cross Street.  Horsley Cross was detailed within the options in the report. She also informed Members that she would withdraw from the meeting at the appropriate juncture and therefore take no part in the Committee’s deliberations on this matter.

In relation to agenda item 7 (report A.2 – The Essex Minerals Local Plan 2025 – 2040: Public Consultation at Regulation 18 Stage), Councillor Fairley declared for the public record that she was the Ward Member for Ardleigh.

Later on in the meeting, as detailed under Minute 39 below and in relation to report A.2:-

Councillor Guglielmi declared for the public record that, in his role as a County Councillor, he was Chairman of Essex County Council’s (ECC) Development and Regulation Committee and also Chairman of ECC’s Liaison with Parish Councils Committee. He also declared that the majority of the 13 ‘candidate’ sites located within the District of Tendring lay within his Division.

Councillors Guglielmi and Fairley declared that they had attended a public meeting on this matter at Ardleigh.

Councillor Scott declared that he had attended public meetings on this matter at Alresford, Brightlingsea, Great Bentley and Thorrington.

Councillor Chapman declared that she had attended a public meeting on this matter at Brightlingsea.

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.

No questions on notice pursuant to Council Procedure Rule 38 had been submitted on this occasion.

The Council’s Public Speaking Scheme for the 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 Local Plan Committee on any specific agenda item to be considered at that public meeting.

Pursuant to the provisions of the Council’s public speaking scheme for the Planning Policy & Local Plan Committee, no member of the public had registered to ask at this meeting a question or to make a statement regarding the matters contained in the reports of the Director (Planning).

To seek the Planning Policy and Local Plan Committee’s comments on, and agreement to a series of initial high-level ‘spatial options’ for delivering any additional housing, business and industrial development across the District that might (subject to further assessment) be required, as a result of extending the timeframe of the Local Plan to 2041.

Earlier on in the meeting, as recorded under Minute 35 above, Councillor Fairley had declared a Disclosable Pecuniary Interest in this matter. She thereupon withdrew from the meeting whilst the Committee deliberated and reached its decision on this item.

The Committee considered a comprehensive report of the Director (Planning) which sought its comments on, and agreement to, a series of initial high-level ‘spatial options’ for delivering any additional housing, business and industrial development across the District that might (subject to further assessment) be required, as a result of extending the timeframe of the Local Plan to 2041. Those options would form part of the ‘Issues and Options’ public consultation exercise and would be tested as part of the ‘Sustainability Appraisal’ that must be produced alongside the review of the Local Plan. The testing and consideration of options would assist the Council in coming to a decision on a preferred option in due course – and once the likely level of future growth had been properly established.

Members were cognisant that, through the review of the Local Plan, the Council would be revisiting its policies and proposals to guide growth in the Tendring District over an extended period to 2041. It was the Council’s intention to update and improve the current Local Plan rather than re-write a new Plan completely from scratch, in line with the overarching principles previously agreed by the Planning Policy and Local Plan Committee in December 2023. However, there could still be a need to top up the supply of housing and employment land to meet longer-term needs over the extended plan period. This would require the Council to consider reasonable options and to carry out a ‘Sustainability Appraisal’ in line with legal requirements of the planning system.

Members were reminded that, at this point in time, the number of additional homes and/or sites for employment-related development over the extended period of the Local Plan to 2041 was still a matter for further consideration and analysis. However, to progress the review of the Local Plan in a timely manner and ensure the Council completed all the necessary stages of the plan-making process ready to submit an updated Local Plan to the Secretary of State before June 2025, it would have to proceed, initially, on the basis of some high-level assumptions and options.

The Committee was informed that for housing development, the working assumption at this point in time was that the Council might need to plan for somewhere between 1,000 and 4,000 additional homes up to 2041 – over and above the 10,000 already planned for through the current Local Plan and sites already under construction or with planning permission.

The Committee was made aware that for employment land, the working assumption was that, whilst it was possible the current supply of land in the Local Plan (some 32 hectares) might be sufficient in quantitative terms to meet projected needs, there could be a case for widening the range of strategically located employment sites for business and  ...  view the full minutes text for item 38.

To report, to the Planning Policy and Local Plan Committee, Essex County Council’s current Regulation 18 stage public consultation on its five-yearly review of the Essex Minerals Local Plan and to seek the Committee’s agreement to Tendring District Council’s response to that consultation

Earlier on in the meeting, as recorded under Minute 35 above, Councillor Fairley had declared for the public record, in relation to this item, that she was the Ward Member for Ardleigh.

Councillor Guglielmi declared for the public record that, in his role as a County Councillor, he was Chairman of Essex County Council’s (ECC) Development and Regulation Committee and also Chairman of ECC’s Liaison with Parish Councils Committee. He also declared that the majority of the 13 ‘candidate’ sites located within the District of Tendring lay within his Division.

Councillors Guglielmi and Fairley declared that they had attended a public meeting on this matter at Ardleigh.

Councillor Scott declared that he had attended public meetings on this matter at Alresford, Brightlingsea, Great Bentley and Thorrington.

Councillor Chapman declared that she had attended a public meeting on this matter at Brightlingsea.

Members were aware that ECC was the Authority responsible for producing and updating the Minerals Local Plan for the county and for determining planning applications relating to minerals extraction and waste. Minerals were the source of material for construction. However, minerals were a finite natural resource and could only be extracted from the ground where they were found.

The Committee recalled that the Minerals Local Plan set out how ECC would provide for the future of minerals needs through a series of policies and land allocations. The Minerals Local Plan sat alongside the Local Plans produced by District, City and Borough Councils as part of the overall statutory Development Plan.

Like this Council’s Local Plan, the County Council’s Minerals Local Plan had to be reviewed and kept up to date and that the review had to follow a series of stages, as set out in Government regulations. Public consultation was currently underway in line with Regulation 18 of the Town and Country Planning (Local Planning) (England) Regulations 2012, with a closing date for any comments of 9th April 2024. ECC was consulting on the entire Minerals Local Plan, its evidence base, and a series of ‘candidate sites’. Those sites would not all be carried forward for allocation in the Minerals Local Plan, but would be considered in greater detail alongside representations submitted as part of this consultation.

Members were cognisant that the District of Tendring had a rich supply of sand and gravel, and there were 13 candidate sites located within the District – 7 in Ardleigh, 2 in Alresford, 3 near Frating and Great Bentley, and 1 in Thorrington. Detail about each of those sites was set out in the main body of the report (A.2).

It was reported that Officers had prepared a draft response to the consultation that highlighted a number of technical points as well as concerns that had been raised by local residents and District Councillors. With the Planning Policy and Local Plan Committee’s agreement, this response would be submitted to Essex County Council for its consideration in progressing to the next stage of the plan-making process.

The Director (Planning) and Senior Planning Policy  ...  view the full minutes text for item 39.