Agenda and minutes

RESOLVED – That Councillor Peter Malpas of Chorley Council be appointed to act as Chair of the meeting.

The Chair welcomed everyone to the meeting of the Central Lancashire LDF Joint Advisory Committee.

Apologies for absence were submitted on behalf of Councillor John Swindells (Preston Council) and Mike Kirby (Director of Strategic Planning and Transport, Lancashire County Council).

The minutes of the last meeting of the Central Lancashire LDF Joint Advisory Committee held on 21 October 2009 were confirmed as a correct record for signature by the Chair.

To receive and consider the enclosed report of the Joint LDF Officer Team.

An appendix to the report outlines the scope of the tasks contained in the Project Plan and the Officers will display at the meeting a chart indicating the envisaged timing and duration of the tasks.

(a)               Project Plan

The Joint Advisory Committee received and considered a report of the Joint LDF Officer Team on the key components of the Project Plan leading to the production of the Publication Version of the Core Strategy and the associated Site Allocations documents. A flow chart, illustrating the envisaged timescales for the various stages of the LDF process was also circulated at the meeting.

The Project Plan comprised a table and chart that outlined the scope of the tasks that would need to be undertaken in relation to the content of the Core Strategy; the collation of the evidence; and the preparation of the Site Allocation documents. The Project Plan envisaged the issue of the Publication Version of the Core Strategy in mid-June 2010, following joint approval by the three authorities, prior to its submission to the Government Inspector in September 2010 with the representations made during the deposit stage. The Project Plan also anticipated the publication of the Issues and Options paper for the Site Allocations Document in September 2010.

(b)              Core Strategy Key Tasks

The Central Lancashire LDF Team Co-ordinator gave a short presentation and overview of the key processes leading to the issue of the Publication Version of the revised Central Lancashire LDF Core Strategy as a logical evolution from the 2008 version.

The revised Core Strategy would be a shorter, more strategic document that would be supported by the topic papers on the major issues addressed by the strategy, with greater emphasis on high quality design and place shaping.

The strategy would, in particular, need to:

• be flexible in its planning for short term trends and longer term requirements, having regard to likely risks;
• be clear in its identification of local needs, strategic development sites and the overall distribution and phasing of developments throughout the sub-region;
• establish the viability of the delivery of affordable housing, employment and town centre retail developments;
• be capable of delivering sufficient infrastructure to support the essential development schemes, taking account of the imminent introduction of the Community Infrastructure Levy and the concurrent review of Section 106 contributions.

(c)               Member comments

The Joint Advisory Committee noted and endorsed the LDF Project Plan as now submitted.

The Members commented, in particular, on the dependence of the delivery of the key development proposals on the concurrent provision of satisfactory infrastructure and the Councillors hoped that the Government would allow access to adequate capital resources to fund the infrastructure programme.

To note that the next meeting of the Joint Advisory Committee is to be held at Preston City Council on Thursday, 28 January 2010 at 5.30pm.

The Joint Advisory Committee noted that the next meeting of the Central Lancashire LDF Joint Advisory Committee was scheduled to be held on Thursday, 28 January 2010 at Preston City Council at 5.30pm.

The Central Lancashire LDF Team Co-ordinator made a short presentation and invited Member comments on the Lancashire Transport event held on 9 November 2009. The event had explained the national and regional perspective of Local Transport Plans and had concentrated on the recent Atkins Consultants’ study and findings on a proposed Transport Framework for Lancashire.

During the discussion, South Ribble Council’s Head of Planning and Housing advised the Local Advisory Committee of an approach that had been made by an Officer from Tram Power at the Transport Conference to attend a future meeting of the Joint Advisory Committee as an opportunity to put forward the company’s proposals for the introduction of a tram system in Central Lancashire. The company claimed to have access to a private funding source to finance the provision of an exploratory tram system in Preston.

The Members agreed to allocate 30 minutes at the beginning of the next Joint Advisory Committee on 28 January 2010 for a short presentation and discussion on the Tram Power company proposals.