Agenda item

In accordance with Council Procedure Rule 11, Councillor Ramsey Nagaty to propose, and Councillor Catherine Young to second, the following motion:

“In reference to the question previously asked please note that KC advice has been obtained confirming that sites taken out of the Green Belt by the adoption of the Local Plan 2019 that are yet to obtain planning permission may be returned to the Green Belt without any liability being incurred by GBC. Green Belt has been removed and then re-instated by GBC in the past.

In view of the considerable developments approved to date in the villages and countryside with GBC having a 5-year housing supply, the Council

RESOLVES:

(1)  That the Local Plan Panel shall commence its formal review of the Local Plan immediately.  

(2)  That progress with regard to such review be reported at each Full Council meeting”.

In accordance with Council Procedure Rule 11, Councillor Ramsey Nagaty proposed, and Councillor Catherine Young seconded the following motion:

“In reference to the question previously asked please note that KC advice has been obtained confirming that sites taken out of the Green Belt by the adoption of the Local Plan 2019 that are yet to obtain planning permission may be returned to the Green Belt without any liability being incurred by GBC.

Green Belt has been removed and then re-instated by GBC in the past. In view of the considerable developments approved to date in the villages and countryside with GBC having a 5-year housing supply, the Council

RESOLVES:

(1) That the Local Plan Panel shall commence its formal review of the Local Plan immediately.

(2) That progress with regard to such review be reported at each Full Council meeting”.

Under Council Procedure Rule 15 (o), Councillor Nagaty as the mover of the original motion, indicated that, with the consent of his seconder and of the meeting, he wished to alter his motion as follows:

Substitute the text of the original motion with the following:

“Guildford Borough Council is legally obliged to review the Local Plan 2019 by April 2024. Having taken Counsel’s advice, the Council previously debated and decided not to accelerate this review because of the risk of higher housing targets being imposed. This could have brought more pressure and threat to the Green Belt, not less, and therefore would have been counter-productive. Nevertheless, the Council also decided to put in hand some preparatory work to enable that 2024 review of the Local Plan. 

Since that decision was taken, there have been speeches by the government that suggest they are more protective of the Green Belt. There is considerable uncertainty in the planning system:  changes to the NPPF are being consulted on; there are proposed changes to the Standard Method (used to calculate the number of homes required); and there may be changes to the legislation as part of the Planning Reform Bill. All this is new compared to when Council last debated whether to conduct an early review or update of our Local Plan.

The Council therefore

RESOLVES:

(1) That as part of a Local Plan update 2024, Council will investigate:

(a)   whether there are exceptional circumstances that would enable the return of allocated, but as yet undeveloped, countryside sites to Green Belt status and how to effect this; and

(b)   the possibility of reducing the local housing need figure according to the Standard Method, as well as the housing allocation number for each allocated site not yet brought forward, in light of Guildford’s specific issues relating to high student numbers and significant environmental constraints.

(2) That consideration should then be given to whether this potentially reduced local housing need figure can be delivered sustainably in light of the increased priority of environmental factors”.

The Council agreed to accept the alteration to the original motion, as indicated above. The motion, as altered, therefore became the substantive motion for debate.

Having debated the substantive motion, the Council

RESOLVED:

(1) That as part of a Local Plan update 2024, Council will investigate:

(a)   whether there are exceptional circumstances that would enable the return of allocated, but as yet undeveloped, countryside sites to Green Belt status and how to effect this; and

(b)   the possibility of reducing the local housing need figure according to the Standard Method, as well as the housing allocation number for each allocated site not yet brought forward, in light of Guildford’s specific issues relating to high student numbers and significant environmental constraints.

(2) That consideration should then be given to whether this potentially reduced local housing need figure can be delivered sustainably in light of the increased priority of environmental factors.