Agenda item

To enable the Council to consider recommendations of the Planning Policy & Local Plan Committee in relation to the formal adoption of Section 2 of the Local Plan.

It was reported that the Planning Policy & Local Plan Committee (“the Committee”), at its meeting held on 11 January 2022 (Minute 30 referred), had considered a comprehensive report of the Acting Director (Planning) which:-

a)     reported the Local Plan Inspectors’ final conclusions on the legal compliance and ‘soundness’ of Section 2 of the Council’s new Local Plan following consultation on their recommended ‘Main Modifications’ and the subsequent receipt of their final report on 24^th November 2021; 

b)     reported that, by incorporating the Inspectors’ recommended Main Modifications, the Section 2 Local Plan met the tests for legal compliance and soundness - as required for a plan to proceed to formal adoption; and

c)      sought the Committee’s agreement that the modified Section 2 Local Plan be now recommended to Full Council for formal adoption.

Having considered all of the information and advice contained in the Officer report and its appendices the Planning Policy and Local Plan Committee had unanimously resolved that it:-

1)     “notes the findings of the Planning Inspectors’ ‘Report on the Examination of the Tendring District Local Plan 2013-2033 and Beyond Section 2’ received on 24^th November 2021 (attached as Appendix 1 to the Acting Director (Planning)’s report) and their final ‘Schedule of Main Modifications’ (attached as Appendix 2 thereto); and

2)     recommends, subject to the agreement of the Leader of the Council, to Full Council:

(i)     the formal adoption of the ‘modified’ Tendring District Local Plan 2013-2033 and Beyond Section 2 (attached as Appendix 3 to the aforesaid report) i.e. incorporating the Inspectors’ final Main Modifications, as well as the other ‘Additional Modifications’ and ‘Modifications to Local Plan Maps, in accordance with Section 23(3) of the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004; and

(ii)     that authority be delegated to the Acting Director (Planning), in consultation with the Leader of the Council and the Chairman of the Planning Policy and Local Plan Committee, to:

(a)    make administrative corrections, if necessary, to address any minor typographical, grammatical or factual errors within the documents or maps contained within the adopted Tendring District Local Plan 2013-2033 and Beyond Section 2 (in Appendix 3), in the event that any are discovered before its final publication;

(b)    agree the insertion of an appropriate ‘foreword’ into the opening pages of the final published version of the Tendring District Local Plan 2013-2033 Section 2; and

(c)    agree an appropriate and up-to-date set of photographs of the District for insertion into the final published version of the Tendring District  Local Plan 2013-2033 Section 2 to refresh and update those previously included in the versionof the Local Plan published for consultation in 2017.”

A copy of the published report (and its appendices) of the Acting Director (Planning) to the meeting of the Planning Policy & Local Plan Committee held on 11 January 2022, were attached as appendices to item A.2 of the Reference from the Planning Policy & Local Plan Committee.

Councillors I J Henderson, Baker, Scott, Land, G V Guglielmi, Barry, Steady, M E Stephenson, Stock OBE and Turner each, in turn, addressed the Council on the subject matter of this item.

It was moved by Councillor Turner, seconded by Councillor Stock OBE and:-

RESOLVED unanimously that Council approves:-

(i)      the formal adoption of the ‘modified’ Tendring District Local Plan 2013-2033 and Beyond Section 2 (attached as Appendix 4 to this reference report) i.e. incorporating the Inspectors’ final Main Modifications, as well as the other ‘Additional Modifications’ and ‘Modifications to Local Plan Maps, in accordance with Section 23(3) of the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004; and

(ii)      that authority be delegated to the Acting Director (Planning), in consultation with the Leader of the Council and the Chairman of the Planning Policy and Local Plan Committee, to:

(a)     make administrative corrections, if necessary, to address any minor typographical, grammatical or factual errors within the documents or maps contained within the adopted Tendring District Local Plan 2013-2033 and Beyond Section 2 (in the aforesaid Appendix 4), in the event that any are discovered before its final publication;

(b)     agree the insertion of an appropriate ‘foreword’ into the opening pages of the final published version of the Tendring District Local Plan 2013-2033 Section 2; and

(c)       agree an appropriate and up-to-date set of photographs of the District for insertion into the final published version of the Tendring District  Local Plan 2013-2033 Section 2 to refresh and update those previously included in the version of the Local Plan published for consultation in 2017.

With the permission of the Chairman (Councillor Bray), Councillor Turner, in his capacity as Chairman of the Planning Policy & Local Plan Committee (PPLPC), then made the following statement:-

“Thank you Chairman. Thank you Council. To get this level of/unanimous support is humbling. The PPLPC has over the period of this Council met 12 times. Read, studied and debated reports amounting to over 3000 pages, none of them easy reading. All requiring thought and study. May I thank all present and past Members for their contributions, ideas and due diligence.  Thank you to my deputy, Councillor Zoe Fairley for her support and advice, always there when needed and for bringing the farming and rural voice to the table.

I must thank Mr Guiver, our acting Director for Planning and his team of 3 plus 2 advisors, for their work, attitude and expertise. A fine example of this was our frustration at not getting the final letter from the Inspector for the major and minor modifications needed to make our Plan sound, legally compliant, in time for the November Full Council. The Authority was given 3 weeks in which to respond. Mr Guiver and his team turned it around within 24 hours.

Mrs Lisa Hastings our Deputy CEO and Monitoring Officer has given the Committee excellent advice, reminding me of the processes and keeping us timely and most importantly legal.

Mr Ian Ford has taken our minutes accurately and served the Committee quietly, efficiently and very well. Thank you to you all for your support.

We did it!

“Why is your Authority so late in getting this plan adopted?”

We started work on a new Plan around 2009 some 13 years ago. With changes in Government, this Council and changes of National Planning Policy strategy and add to that planning dictates we became hamstrung by the Planning Inspectorate. The processes, the hurdles we have had to comply with and jump over are many and numerous. I have forgotten how many Public Consultations we have made from 2011 until now. This means that we were effectively controlled by the Planning Inspectorate, or as I call them the ‘Jackboots of the State’. I am sure every Member can attest to that. Planning permission refused only to find that the Planning Inspectorate grant the permission on appeal. That goes against the wishes and more often than not is detrimental to the Ward. We have seen long established communities radically changed and without recourse: No right of reply.

Well no longer! This plan is robust and is already showing its worth in the latest appeal decisions. It is a living document; we review every 5 years. 2028 that is the time to make changes and fine tune. Once agreed, the plan is extended until 2038, etc.

This Plan will serve all of us and most importantly the Residents of Tendring well.”