Issue - meetings

Councillor Tom Hunt’s areas of responsibility are Development Control and Enforcement.

The Chair welcomed the Lead Councillor for Development Management and reminded the meeting that Councillor Hunt’s areas of responsibility were Development Control and Enforcement.  The Chair advised the meeting that Councillor Hunt had requested to make an opening statement.

The Lead Councillor for Development Management referred to the high number of planning applications facing Local Planning Authorities, including Guildford.  He indicated that when he had taken on his executive portfolio in March 2021, he had been warned by officers that the backlog in applications would not be remedied quickly.  He advised the meeting that recruitment of planners was challenging and the Council’s team of 18 planners was supplemented by contract resources.  He announced that the pre-application service suspended in April 2021 would be reinstated for all categories of applications from 1 March 2022. 

The Lead Councillor for Development Management advised the meeting of the introduction of significant management information concerning planning applications, although he stated that such information was not yet in report form.  He advised that the monthly average of applications received each month over the previous year was 228, with an average of 217 validated and 175 determined each month.  The Lead Councillor for Development Management indicated that in January 2022 the backlog of planning applications was 918, compared with 514 in January 2021.  He suggested the Council should consider increasing the size of the planning team.  In addition, the Lead Councillor for Development Management indicated that resourcing challenges had affected the planning application validation process and the publishing of applications on the Council’s planning portal.

The Lead Councillor for Development Management advised the meeting of the increase in the planning enforcement team because of the Future Guildford transformation programme.  He stated that the number of new planning enforcement cases had increased from an average of 35 each month in 2020 to 43 each month in 2021.

During the following discussion a number of points were made and clarifications offered:

·        In response to a request from a Committee member, the Lead Councillor for Development Management indicated he would see if he could prepare an update summarising his opening statement to share with Councillors and members of the public. 

·        In reply to a question, the Lead Councillor for Development Management stated that non-determination appeals were not recorded specifically within the overall numbers of appeals.  The Chair suggested the value of obtaining such information.

·        A member of the Committee asked for details of the availability and sharing of information on section 106 agreements and monies.  In reply, the Lead Councillor for Development Management advised that a report on section 106 contributions was scheduled for consideration by the Corporate Governance and Standards Committee in April 2022.  He agreed to consider the cadence and content of reporting section 106 information.

·        With reference to planning enforcement, the Regulatory Services Manager advised of actions to lessen the caseloads of officers, including a review of older cases.

·        A member of the Committee noted that the monthly summary reports of planning enforcement cases had limited information  ...  view the full minutes text for item 64

Councillor John Rigg’s areas of responsibility include: Town Centre MasterPlan; Infrastructure; Major Projects; and Strategic Asset Management.

The Chair introduced the Lead Councillor for Regeneration and reminded the meeting of Councillor Rigg’s areas of responsibility: the Town Centre Master Plan; infrastructure; major projects; and strategic asset management.

The following information, clarifications, and responses were provided during the ensuing discussion with the Lead Councillor for Regeneration.

·        A member of the Committee asked for a summary of the current projects that the Lead Councillor for Regeneration was most worried about and those he was most pleased with.  In response, the Lead Councillor for Regeneration indicated he was worried about several major projects: Ash Road Bridge at £37.7million; Weyside Urban Village Development at £350 million; Guildford Park Road at £100 million; Guildford West and Guildford East railway stations; North Street redevelopment at £250 million; and Walnut Bridge at £5 million.  He stated that his worries related to outside agencies, internal resources, budgets, construction cost inflation, planning policies, and opposition to change.  In addition, he advised the meeting he was concerned about the St Mary’s Wharf Development.

·        With reference to Ash Road Bridge, the Lead Councillor for Regeneration informed the meeting of concerns and cost price inflation due to a delay in Network Rail approving a bridge design.  The Lead Councillor for Regeneration stated that delivery of the Weyside Urban Village project was being affected by Surrey County Council’s delay in approving road improvements.  With reference to the Guildford Park Road project as an example, he advised of difficulties in recruiting and retaining staff to project manage the Council’s major projects and questioned whether the Council should be acting as the housing developer of the site.

·        The Lead Councillor for Regeneration advised that the current two-week delay to the Walnut Bridge project would increase, and he expected the project to be over-budget at £5.5 million and completed in July 2022.  North Street development was put forward by the Lead Councillor for Regeneration as an example of a project he was pleased with.

·        In reply to a question, the Lead Councillor for Regeneration updated the meeting on the flood alleviation scheme in Guildford town centre.  He emphasized the importance of flood alleviation to Guildford town centre to protect existing homes and businesses and to release for development land that was currently used for surface car parking.  The Lead Councillor for Regeneration praised the assistance of the Environment Agency and advised the Committee of a grant application to Surrey County Council for £480,000 from the empty homes fund towards modelling options.  He indicated that the scheme would consist of upstream storage and flood defence walls, implemented in a zoned approach. 

·        A member of the Committee referred to the flooding responsibilities of Surrey County Council and asked which resources the County Council was targeting to Guildford.  The Lead Councillor for Regeneration indicated that the Council was funding the flood alleviation plan in anticipation that Surrey County Council would contribute to its implementation costs. 

·        In reply to a question, the Lead Councillor for Regeneration undertook to provide Committee members with the Council’s expenditure on the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 63