Agenda and minutes

Decision: That Councillor Alistair Bradley be appointed as Chair for the meeting.

The Chair welcome everyone to the meeting.

Members are reminded of their responsibility to declare any pecuniary interest in respect of matters contained in this agenda.

If you have a pecuniary interest you must withdraw from the meeting. Normally you should leave the room before the business starts to be discussed. You do, however, have the same right to speak as a member of the public and may remain in the room to enable you to exercise that right and then leave immediately. In either case you must not seek to improperly influence a decision on the matter.

There were no declarations of any interests received.

Decision: That the minutes of the meeting held on 28 January 2020 be confirmed as a correct record.

Report of the Central Lancashire Planning Local Plan Coordinator (enclosed).

Carolyn Williams, Central Lancashire Local Plan Co-Ordinator, presented the report which provided Members with an update on the progress of the development of the Central Lancashire Local Plan.

The Central Lancashire Local Plan Issues and Options consultation received a total of 1606 stakeholder responses, equating to 25,000 individual responses. Within the responses there was support for the provision of more employment opportunities, concerns that the education provision at all levels was inadequate and local infrastructure was insufficient to cope with current levels of population and traffic.

A Youth Questionnaire was also prepared and received 593 responses. The issues of most concern to the younger generation were access to a good range of indoor and outdoor activities, safe environments for travelling around, less little (cleaner neighbourhoods) and good access to higher/further education. There was also general concern about the wider environment and how we protect this and make better use of it.

The Housing Study, prepared by Consultants Iceni, was updated following the consultation on the MOU. Further updates were planned this year to reflect the economic growth aspirations of the region and any changes proposed through the Planning White Paper and updates to the Standard Method.

Other issues discussed and detailed in the report related to the following;

·         Housing Needs Study

·         Strategic Flood Risk Assessment (SFRA)

·         Central Lancashire Transport Masterplan

·         Climate Change and Renewable Energy

·         Habitats Regulation Assessment (HRA)

·         Local Plan Viability

·         Local Development Scheme

Members welcomed the report, noting the positive response from young people but discussed how to address their concerns regarding lack of access to quality higher education, which included sharing this information with the local colleges and universities. Members also discussed the revised assessment under SHELAA and were advised that all sites will be considered at the same level. Following queries regarding the housing need, it was agreed that a copy of the housing needs of each borough would be shared in due course.

Decision: That the report be noted.

Report of the Central Lancashire Authorities (enclosed).

Chris Blackburn Planning Policy Team Leader (Preston City Council) presented the report which summarised the key changes to the system proposed in the White Paper (Planning for the Future) for consultation. All three councils had submitted a formal response to Government on the White Paper separately.

The White Paper emphasised the need for a ‘once in a generation’ reform to the planning system and proposed to revert to ‘top-down’ housing requirements for LPAs to plan for in their local plans. It also proposed reforms in three separate ‘pillars’ to the new planning system. If implemented, the reforms would have significant implications for plan making and joint working.

With that in mind, Members queried how much of the work already undertaken on the Central Lancashire Local Plan could still be used going forward if the proposals were implemented. Members were reassured that a lot of the work already undertaken was not abortive and following government guidance work was still continuing as normal. Members welcomed this and thanked officers for the great work carried out so far.

It was agreed that, if not already done so, each of the council’s responses be circulated amongst the three councils.

Decision: That the report be noted.

Report of the Deputy Chief Executive (enclosed).

Alison Marland, Principal Planning Officer (Chorley Borough Council) presented the report of the Deputy Chief Executive which updated Members on the Central and West Lancashire Rail Study.

South Ribble, Chorley and West Lancashire Borough Councils commissioned a high-level study to investigate potential rail improvements within the boroughs. This study was inspired by the possible funding available for new rail interventions via the Restoring Your Railway Fund, and the collective desire of the three authorities to improve rail connectivity on the Ormskirk-Preston line and to consider options for a new rail station at Coppull on the West Coast Mainline.

The recommended options shortlist focused on potentially extending the Merseyrail service from Ormskirk to Burscough Bridge (in West Lancashire), i.e. re-opening the Burscough Curves, and alongside that improving the service between Burscough and Preston, including potential new stations at Midge Hall and Coote Lane (both in South Ribble).

In the medium-term, the report also recommended considering further the proposal for a station at Coppull as capacity on the West Coast Mainline improves. Officers advised that option C (Coppull South) was likely to be the most feasible option presented.

Members welcomed the reports and the conclusions. Following discussion, it was recognised that a wider piece of work would need to be undertaken to look at connectivity to Preston and Preston City Council were keen to engage with LCC and consultants on this.

Decision: That the report be noted.

A verbal update will be provided at the meeting. City Deal latest quarterly monitoring update (enclosed).

Marcus Hudson, Head of Planning (Lancashire County Council) provided Members with a City Deal Monitoring update. There were four sections to the update:

·         Current City Deal Projects: including the Preston Western Distributor & East West Link Road and Cottam Parkway station

·         Projects awaiting approval to proceed to the next stage, pending City Deal mid-term review; including the Guild Wheel Upgrade Link

·         Future Pipeline Projects

·         Update on completed projects – post construction phase.

Members noted that work had progressed well and effectively, however recognised that unseasonal rainfall challenged progress at the Preston Western Distributor site and therefore officers were looking at ways to catch up on the programme.

Decision: That the update be noted.

A verbal update will be given at the meeting from Alison Marland and officers from LCC.

Mel Ormesher and Lynn Macdonald from Lancashire County Council provided Members with a presentation on school place planning which outlined the primary and secondary education requirements in Preston, South Ribble and Chorley, the funding available for additional places, challenges faced when securing contributions and plans looking forward.

Members were informed that, as the education authority, LCC were undertaking a new School Place Provision Strategy which was due to be published in the New Year.

Officers reported that there 143 primary schools within Preston, South Ribble and Chorley, with over half of these being responsible for their own admissions arrangements. Members were advised that at present, there was a net surplus of primary school places available across the three areas.

Following a fall in birthrates in primary schools, the higher numbers have now moved into secondary schools. There were 27 secondary schools in Central Lancashire, meaning less schools to approach to find additional spaces. In addition to this there were more secondary schools who have their own admissions policy (including all six high schools in Chorley) which reduced the amount of influence LCC could have.

Members were advised that overall there was a sufficient number of high school places across the three areas, with significant surplus in South Ribble. It was suggested that students will travel across borders to access good schools which reflected the current situation as numbers rise meaning less children will get their first preference.

Available funding came from the Department for Education Basic Needs Grants, S106 and CIL from developers, and school contributions. There was a mixed picture across Central Lancashire with developer contributions coming forward to meet the requirements.

Hotspot areas were outlined in the presentation where additional school places may be required, these were being monitored and would be included in the new strategy in the New Year. In Chorley, it was estimated that another 400 high school places would be required in the next five years and at present existing high schools were not willing to expand. Following queries, Members were advised that a minimum of 600 new school places were required for a new school to be financially viable, therefore LCC would be working collaboratively with schools in the area to provide opportunities to increase capacity following pressure to seek additional numbers.

Members discussed the update and suggested that the demographic of the population and distance to travel in rural areas also needed to be considered, as well as looking at travel patterns and travel availability. It was agreed that Members would be sent a copy of the slides be taken back to the three local authorities for information and it was proposed that the LCC School Place Planning Team be invited to a future meeting.

Decision – That the update be noted.

To consider the exclusion of the press and public for the following items of business on the ground that it involves the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Paragraph 3 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A to the Local Government Act 1972.

By Virtue of Paragraph 3: Information relating to the financial or business affairs of any particular person (including the authority holding that information)

Condition:

Information is not exempt if it is required to be registered under-

The Companies Act 1985

The Friendly Societies Act 1974

The Friendly Societies Act 1992

The Industrial and Provident Societies Acts 1965 to 1978

The Building Societies Act 1986 (recorded in the public file of any building society, within the meaning of the Act)

The Charities Act 1993

Information is exempt to the extent that, in all the circumstances of the case, the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information.

Information is not exempt if it relates to proposed development for which the local planning authority may grant itself planning permission pursuant to Regulation 3 of the Town & Country Planning General Regulations 1992(a).

Decision: To exclude the press and public for the following item of business on the grounds that it involves the likely disclosure of exempt informaiton as defined in Paragraph 3 of Part 1 Schedule 12a of the Local Government Act 1972.

JBA Flood Consultants will provide a presentation at the meeting.

Mike Williamson from JBA Flood Consultants, provided Members with a presentation on the Central Lancashire Level 1 Strategic Flood Risk Assessment.

The presentation outlined the process undertaken, the key areas of flood risk, strategic recommendations for each of the site suggestions put forward during the Call for Sites, the impact of climate change, and general recommendations.

Decision: That the presentation be noted.

To note that next meeting of the Joint Advisory Committee is to be held at ** on ** at **.

The next meeting of the Joint Advisory Committee will be hosted by Preston City Council on Monday, 25 January 2020 at 6.30pm.