Decision details

20.1     The Lead Member considered a report by the Director of Communities, Economy and Transport.

DECISIONS

20.2     The Lead Member RESOLVED (1) to note the reforms being proposed;

(2) to note the potential implications for ESCC; and;

(3) to endorse the key points that were set out in Section 4 of the report, which will be raised in the County Council’s consultation response and provide delegated authority to the Director of Communities, Economy & Transport to expand upon these points in a full written response to the consultation prior to the deadline of the 29 October 2020.  It was also agreed that the County Council’s consultation response should endorse the representation made by the High Weald AONB Unit, raise concern that the reforms so not seem to address the matter of landbanking and that that it is not clear how the White Paper reforms tie in with matters such as Climate Change targets and the emerging Environment Act.

Reasons

20.3     Some of the proposals set out could be welcomed by the County Council (e.g. abolition of the five year housing land supply requirement), although with the caveat that this is somewhat dependent on the detail that follows in legislation and policy.  Some of the proposed reforms do, on the face of it, present potential concerns and/or require some clarification.

20.4     The proposed response to the consultation set out in the report suggests what the County Council wishes to see from the planning reforms.  It includes a formal and statutory strategic level of plan-making, which could be used to determine and set binding targets for housing growth, as well as setting out a broad strategy for distribution and what strategic infrastructure will be necessary alongside this.  The reforms should also allow for increased scope around the use of planning conditions to secure site specific infrastructure (in the absence of S.106 agreements) and it is suggested that the provision of affordable housing is dealt through a separate funding stream to the Infrastructure Levy.