Agenda item

For Full Council to outline objections to the recommendation from Cabinet and refer back to Cabinet.

Councillor Jarman proposed an alteration to his motion which was duly seconded his amended motion was as follows:

 

THAT, having considered the present Draft Island Planning Strategy, the Leader of the Cabinet be informed that Full Council objects to Cabinet’s submitted recommendations (as per Cabinet decision of 08 September 2022). The objections are as follows:

 

1)

Item 1 – Housing Company and Council Owned Housing Sites

IPS to provide clear commitment to use IOW Council owned land, that is designated as suitable for housing, to being allocated to the IOW Council’s Housing Company (who can work with Housing Associations or others as partners if they wish) to provide social homes affordable to Islanders.

 

Item 2 – Affordable rented accommodation

For housing developments other than those receiving funding from Homes England (who have their own requirements for the balance of rented/shared ownership as a condition of loans or grants) the affordable housing delivered should be 80% affordable rented and 20% shared ownership.

 

Item 3 – Time limits on finalising legal agreements

To avoid developers delaying the signing off on legal agreements, a 6 month limit to be imposed on same. Failure to achieve sign-off within that period to result in planning permission being refused.

 

Item 4 – SHLAA Process

IPS to specify that the process for determining the SHLAA shall be transparent and open with the portfolio holder or their deputy attending all meetings with external parties and minutes to be taken. The respective Ward Member to be invited at attend all related internal meetings and external meetings with third parties.

The PPWG to define, for incorporation in the IPS, how recommendations by officers shall be progressed including member committee scrutiny and member committee scrutiny sign off.

 

Item 5 – Priority allocation of housing reductions

IPS to give special consideration to capitalising on reduced housing targets in order to relieve pressure on green field sites by retaining as hard the development boundaries in the current plan (ie not the extended boundaries in dIPS) and by considering those at Camp Hill, Freshwater and Bembridge as priorities.

 

Item 6 – IPS timescales

Revised IPS to be brought back to Full Council no later than April 2023 and in doing so to clarify the regulatory process forward and the legal implications should that revision not be progressed.

 

Item 7 – Local Energy Security

IPS to recognise the need for local energy security and to provide for a future feasibility study into the generation on IOW of geothermal energy.

 

Item 8 – Contemporary and accurate data.

IPS to include contemporary and accurate data regarding housing needs, population growth, age profile demographics and related trends including ONS and other sources such as DWP and Health sector analysis.

These key data points to inform the IPS calculations and in conjunction with recognising the exceptional circumstances of the IOW, to define a clear case for further reduced housing targets aligning with the IOW population growth and resident needs.

 

Item 9 - Affordability

IPS to define the definition of Affordable Housing based on not more than 5 times average local annual income, Affordable Rented Housing based on not more than 1/3 of the net average local monthly earnings and Affordable Social Rented Housing based on the DWP benefit levels.

 

Item 10 – Zero Carbon

IPS to clarify a consistent and comparable basis to be used for calculation of the carbon impact of delivery, lifetime and site restoration of developments.

 

2)  Full Council instructs the Leader of the Cabinet to require the Cabinet to reconsider, in the light of the above specified objections, the Draft Island Planning Strategy submitted to the Full Council, and that the specified period for such reconsideration is sixty working days (beginning on the day after the date on which the Leader of the Cabinet receives these instructions on behalf of the Cabinet) within which the Cabinet Leader may

(a)      submit a revision of the Draft Island Planning Strategy as amended by the Cabinet (the revised “Draft Island Planning Strategy”), with the Cabinet’s reasons for any amendments made to the Draft Island Planning Strategy, to the Full Council for the Full Council’s consideration; or

(b)      inform the Full Council of any disagreement that the Cabinet has with any of the Full Council’s objections and the Cabinet’s reasons for any such disagreement.

 

After some debate, Councillor Brodie proposed an amendment to Item 9which was duly seconded:

 

Item 9 - Affordability

IPS to define the definition of Affordable Rented Housing based on not more than 1/3 of the net average local earnings.

 

A vote was taken on the above, the result of which was:

 

RESOLVED:

 

THAT the below amendment was carried

 

Item 9 - Affordability

IPS to define the definition of Affordable Rented Housing based on not more than 1/3 of the net average local earnings.

 

A further amendment by Councillor Brodie was proposed and duly seconded

 

Item 5 – Priority allocation of housing reductions

IPS to give special consideration to capitalising on reduced housing targets in order to relieve pressure on green field sites by retaining some existing development boundaries.

 

A vote was taken the result of which was:

 

RESOLVED:

 

Item 5 – Priority allocation of housing reductions

IPS to give special consideration to capitalising on reduced housing targets in order to relieve pressure on green field sites by retaining some existing development boundaries.

 

The two agreed amendments were carried and became part of the substantive motion. A vote was taken on that motion the result of which was:

 

RESOLVED

 

THAT, having considered the present Draft Island Planning Strategy, the Leader of the Cabinet be informed that Full Council objects to Cabinet’s submitted recommendations (as per Cabinet decision of 08 September 2022). The objections are as follows:

 

1)

Item 1 – Housing Company and Council Owned Housing Sites

IPS to provide clear commitment to use IOW Council owned land, that is designated as suitable for housing, to being allocated to the IOW Council’s Housing Company (who can work with Housing Associations or others as partners if they wish) to provide social homes affordable to Islanders.

 

Item 2 – Affordable rented accommodation

For housing developments other than those receiving funding from Homes England (who have their own requirements for the balance of rented/shared ownership as a condition of loans or grants) the affordable housing delivered should be 80% affordable rented and 20% shared ownership.

 

Item 3 – Time limits on finalising legal agreements

To avoid developers delaying the signing off on legal agreements, a 6 month limit to be imposed on same. Failure to achieve sign-off within that period to result in planning permission being refused.

 

Item 4 – SHLAA Process

IPS to specify that the process for determining the SHLAA shall be transparent and open with the portfolio holder or their deputy attending all meetings with external parties and minutes to be taken. The respective Ward Member to be invited at attend all related internal meetings and external meetings with third parties.

The PPWG to define, for incorporation in the IPS, how recommendations by officers shall be progressed including member committee scrutiny and member committee scrutiny sign off.

 

Item 5 – Priority allocation of housing reductions

IPS to give special consideration to capitalising on reduced housing targets in order to relieve pressure on green field sites by retaining some existing development boundaries.

 

Item 6 – IPS timescales

Revised IPS to be brought back to Full Council no later than April 2023 and in doing so to clarify the regulatory process forward and the legal implications should that revision not be progressed.

 

Item 7 – Local Energy Security

IPS to recognise the need for local energy security and to provide for a future feasibility study into the generation on IOW of geothermal energy.

 

Item 8 – Contemporary and accurate data.

IPS to include contemporary and accurate data regarding housing needs, population growth, age profile demographics and related trends including ONS and other sources such as DWP and Health sector analysis.

These key data points to inform the IPS calculations and in conjunction with recognising the exceptional circumstances of the IOW, to define a clear case for further reduced housing targets aligning with the IOW population growth and resident needs.

 

Item 9 - Affordability

IPS to define the definition of Affordable Rented Housing based on not more than 1/3 of the net average local earnings

 

Item 10 – Zero Carbon

IPS to clarify a consistent and comparable basis to be used for calculation of the carbon impact of delivery, lifetime and site restoration of developments.

 

2)  Full Council instructs the Leader of the Cabinet to require the Cabinet to reconsider, in the light of the above specified objections, the Draft Island Planning Strategy submitted to the Full Council, and that the specified period for such reconsideration is sixty working days (beginning on the day after the date on which the Leader of the Cabinet receives these instructions on behalf of the Cabinet) within which the Cabinet Leader may

(a)      submit a revision of the Draft Island Planning Strategy as amended by the Cabinet (the revised “Draft Island Planning Strategy”), with the Cabinet’s reasons for any amendments made to the Draft Island Planning Strategy, to the Full Council for the Full Council’s consideration; or

(b)      inform the Full Council of any disagreement that the Cabinet has with any of the Full Council’s objections and the Cabinet’s reasons for any such disagreement.