Agenda and minutes

The Joint Executive Advisory Board (JEAB)

RESOLVED

that Councillor Ruth Brothwell be elected as Chairperson for this meeting.

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Phil Bellamy and Honor Brooker.  Councillor Bilal Akhtar was present as a substitute for Councillor Honor Brooker.

In accordance with the local Code of Conduct, a councillor is required to disclose at the meeting any Disclosable Pecuniary Interest (DPI) that they may have in respect of any matter for consideration on this agenda. Any councillor with a DPI must not participate in any discussion or vote regarding that matter and they must withdraw from the meeting immediately before consideration of the matter.

If that DPI has not been registered, the councillor must notify the Monitoring Officer of the details of the DPI within 28 days of the date of the meeting.

Councillors are further invited to disclose any non-pecuniary interest which may be relevant to any matter on this agenda, in the interests of transparency, and to confirm that it will not affect their objectivity in relation to that matter.

There were no declarations of disclosable pecuniary or non-pecuniary interests.

To confirm the minutes of the meeting of the Joint Executive Advisory Board (JEAB) held on 13 February 2023.

The minutes of the meeting of the Joint Executive Advisory Board (JEAB) held on 13 February 2023 were confirmed as a correct record, and would be signed by the Chairman at the earliest opportunity.

To receive a presentation in respect of the review of the Guildford Borough Local Plan.

The Lead Councillor for Planning, Environment and Climate Change introduced this presentation item and explained the Guildford Borough Local Plan: Part 1 Strategy and Sites (LPSS) 2019 review process.  It was emphasised that this five yearly statutory review process was a separate and distinct exercise from updating and changing a Local Plan.  There was a requirement for local planning authorities to review their Local Plans on a five yearly cycle and, in the event that the review found that the Local Plan required updating, that procedure would be pursued.  The Local Plan review was a technical exercise conducted by Council officers guided by the Planning Advisory Service (PAS) and followed a statutory approach.  The outcome of the review would be reported to the Executive and then to the Council to obtain a decision in respect of whether an update of the Local Plan was required.  In the event it was determined that an update was necessary, the Council would decide what form the update would take and which particular aspects of the Local Plan needed updating.  Such a decision was likely to be reached in mid to late Spring 2024 as the five year anniversary of the adoption of the Local Plan fell in April 2024.  The Lead Councillor and the Executive welcomed any questions and comments from councillors in respect of the Local Plan review process.

Members of the Planning Policy Team presented the item.  The presentation highlighted:

·           The context, scope and next steps of the Local Plan review.

·           The necessity for the Council to review the Local Plan by 25 April 2024.

·           Addressing the question of whether the Local Plan required updating with reference to the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF).

·           The stages of the review process, the outcome of which would not change the Local Plan.

·           Considering the changing context in a proportionate manner with regard to national policy and changing circumstances e.g. housing need / delivery, economic changes that may impact viability, and new social, environmental or economic priorities.

·           Officers’ use of the PAS matrix for the review which featured review factors and a Local Plan Toolkit review assessment.

·           The Local Plan remained part of the Council’s Development Plan giving primary consideration in determining development applications in the Borough and attaching due weight to relevant policies in existing plans consistently with the NPPF.

·           The possibility of new national legislation and policy weighing in favour of an update of the Local Plan, consisting of:

-         the New Levelling Up and Regeneration Act

-         new NPPF and National Development Management Policies to follow the Act

-         updates to National Guidance

·           Monitoring by officers of national developments in respect of Planning Reform.  Although these were unlikely to have any implications for the review, they presented a challenging uncertainty in terms of a firm view regarding the scope of a potential future Local Plan update.

·           The findings of the review would be reported to the Executive on 25 January 2024 and then to full Council on 21 February 2024.  The  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.