Agenda item

Report of Director of Development and Regeneration, with draft Guiding Principles (enclosed).

The Executive Cabinet received and considered a further report of the Director of Development and Regeneration in response to issues raised at the 24 May 2007 meeting when the Cabinet had been requested to endorse a Guiding Principles Document for the development of the Botany/Great Knowley site at Chorley.  The land was allocated in the adopted Chorley Borough Local Plan Review for Class B1 (Offices/Light Industry) and Class B2 (General Industry) use.

The Members had requested a further report on (i) the feasibility or otherwise of procedures to secure the release of the site’s allocation as employment land, and (ii) the likely implications of any re-allocation.  The supplementary report addressed these, and other, relevant issues.

At the outset of the debate, the Executive Leader welcomed three members of the public who had each requested the opportunity to ask a question on the agenda item.  The questions related to the costs and timescales of the re-allocation process, the necessity for the development given the over-supply of employment land and the impact of additional traffic on the area’s road networks.  The Executive Member for Economic Development and Regeneration (Councillor P Malpas) responded to both the original questions and the supplementary queries raised by two of the questioners.  In addition, Councillor D Edgerley presented a petition signed by approximately 1,040 Chorley residents objecting to the site’s allocation.

The Director’s report outlined the background to the identification of the site for employment purposes in the initial Chorley Borough Local Plan, after taking account of the need to provide a variety and mix of employment opportunities throughout the Borough.  The report also clarified that any revision of the Local Plan Review policies would entail long and complex processes within the Local Development Framework regime, highlighting the risk of substantial compensation claims arising from any move to pursue other routes.  The Guiding Principles document, which had taken account of relevant highways and ecological considerations, had been compiled as guidance and advice to potential developers in order to ensure the highest quality design and layout for any potential development of the Botany/Great Knowley site.

Decisions made:

(1)  That the Authority accepts that, owing to the fact that the Botany/Great Knowley site has been identified as employment land since 1991, being included in the Chorley Borough Local Plan (adopted in 1997) and the subsequent Review Plan (adopted in 2003), both of which were subject to a public inquiry, the existing Local Plan allocation of the site for employment purposes is, for all practical purposes, unchangeable in the short term.

(2)  That the Council uses all reasonable endeavours to seek a re-allocation of the site through the formal Local Development Framework process.

(3)  That, in the interim, subject to any necessary minor textual changes being delegated to the Director of Development and Regeneration, the Guiding Principles document be endorsed for further public consultation, including a workshop seminar with the local residents’ group.

Reasons for decisions:

Any move to re-allocate the land could not be quickly pursued, nor done without risk of financial compensation.  A considered approach through the Local Development Framework process would enable all factors and considerations to be assessed and judged.

Alternative option(s) considered and rejected:

Acceptance of the land allocation without further investigation and examination.