In order to allow members of the Liaison and members of the public to raise issues of local concern, a period of 20 minutes has been set aside.
A member of the public may speak for no more than 3 minutes. Members of the public are not required to give notice of the issue they intend to raise, although it is expected in the case of service issues that the appropriate mechanisms for resolving the issue have been explored.
Where a question is raised which cannot be answered at the meeting, a record will be kept by officers supporting the meeting and it will be responded to via the appropriate mechanism.
Minutes:
An item was raised by Whittle-le-Woods Parish Council before the meeting requesting an update on the Central Lancashire Local Plan.
The following update was given - the Head of Spatial Planning, Zoe Whiteside would attend the meeting in March to give a more comprehensive update and answer any questions.
Officers across the three Councils have been working together to develop a revised programme for the preparation of the new Local Plan, which was required to be submitted to the Government by no later than 30 June 2025.
The Secretary of State would then appoint a Planning Inspector to ‘test’ the local plan against key criteria which were published in national policy. This in part would include a public enquiry which will be around late 2025/early 2026.
The Local Plan was a development plan which sets out the locations where development was expected to take place over the next 15 years and was very important for providing certainty to local communities about where and how much development will happen.
It was also important for enabling investment and jobs to come to the borough whilst at the same time protecting greenbelt, our play and designated open spaces and enhancing biodiversity. It required a significant amount of supporting evidence and must include certain things prescribed in national policy including proposals for housing and employment allocations and policies which set out how planning applications will be assessed.
To meet the June 2025 deadline, the council must work hard to conclude the detailed site assessment work, develop policies and work with partners including LCC, National Highways and the Environment Agency, to ensure we have considered the Infrastructure that would be needed to support the future development of Chorley, Preston, and South Ribble, including looking at issues such as schools, transport, and flood defences.
A new programme or timetable called the Local Development Scheme would be presented to the Joint Advisory Committee in February and thereafter approved for publication by each of the three Councils. This set out key actions and dates for plan making including details of the next planned consultation of the Local Plan and an update would be provide this meeting with on this in March. The consultation as in previous rounds, will include a series of local drop in events to ensure people have a chance to have their say.
An item was raised by Anderton Parish Council relating to bus stops and accessibility. There were two pieces of work ongoing, one by LCC regarding the relocation of certain bus stops at the request of the operators and a second regarding the refurbishment of bus stops by Chorley Council. Councillor Kim Snape undertook to review the particular case raised by Parish Councillor Horsfield. Officers would investigate if the information could be circulated with the Town and Parish Councillors.
Members discussed a proposal from LCC to install parking meters in certain areas. The Leader of the Council, Councillor Bradley, advised that, in his view, these were not required in Chorley and noted this swas due to be considered at the meeting of Lancashire Leaders the following day.
An item was raised by Croston Parish Council regarding flooding on Grape Lane. It was suggested that United Utilities be invited to a future meeting to update on plans for flood water storage tanks in the Borough.
Another item was raised by Croston Parish Council regarding some garages. It was requested that further information be emailed to democratic services to enable further investigation.