Issue - meetings

Purpose of the Report

(a)         To update the Executive on the Central Lincolnshire Local Plan (CLLP) Consultation Draft, which had been issued for public consultation on 30 June 2021, with a closing date of 24 August 2021.

(b)         To recommend a formal response on behalf of the City of Lincoln Council to the Central Lincolnshire Local Plan (CLLP) Consultation Draft.

Decision

(1)       That the City of Lincoln Council's broad support for the Central Lincolnshire Local Plan Consultation Draft be approved.

(2)       That authority be delegated to the Assistant Director for Planning to make any final technical comments on the Draft Central Lincolnshire Local Plan, prior to the submission deadline of 24 August 2021.

(3)       That the draft response be shared with the City of Lincoln Council’s representatives of the Central Lincolnshire Joint Strategic Planning Committee, prior to its submission by the Assistant Director for Planning.

Alternative Options Considered and Rejected

Not supporting the draft CLLP could result in the finalisation of the CLLP being delayed, or in a worst case scenario, not being adopted, which could weaken the council's ability to plan for the City's growth in a sustainable manner.  There were no key risks with the recommended approach. 

Reasons for the Decision

In January 2019, the Central Lincolnshire Joint Strategic Planning Committee decided to review the Central Lincolnshire Local Plan (CLLP), which had been adopted in April 2017.  This was as a result of changes to national planning policy; revisions to the calculation of housing need figures; and changes to the types of homes required in development plans.  This had led to significant elements of the CLLP not conforming with national policy, which in turn risked challenge, particularly on the issue of five years housing land supply.

The first public six week consultation, which had begun in June 2019, focused on the general principles and wider themes.  This second consultation period was providing an opportunity to test the proposals in the plan with the public; the development industry; and other interested bodies.  The draft CLLP was consulting on a number of new policies, some of which specifically related to Lincoln, which included the following:

• housing requirement;
• settlement hierarchy and site allocations;
• retail hierarchy;
• climate change;
• affordable housing, including first homes;
• employment;
• retail including Lincoln City Centre;
• accessibility and transport;
• parking standards;
• historic environment;
• national environment / biodiversity / trees;
• sustainable urban extensions and regeneration and opportunity areas in Lincoln; and
• Lincoln housing allocations.

There were a total of 83 policies contained within the draft CLLP.  Following the consultation, all comments would be considered; and a further draft of the CLLP would be submitted to the Central Lincolnshire Joint Strategic Planning Committee for approval, before it would be subject to a further statutory stage of consultation prior to the plan being submitted to the Secretary of State for examination.  This was estimated to take place in early 2022, with the plan adopted later in 2022. Once adopted, the revised CLLP would replace the current CLLP.

The Executive was pleased to  ...  view the full minutes text for item 15