The Head of Planning Services has submitted a report to present the updated programme for the preparation of documents that will form the Council’s statutory Development Plan for approval.

Recommendation: That Cabinet resolves to:

1.    Approve the Oxford Local Development Scheme 2020-25

Councillor Hayes joined the meeting during this item.

The Head of Planning Services had submitted a report to present the updated programme for the preparation of documents that will form the Council’s statutory Development Plan for approval.

Councillor Alex Hollingsworth, Cabinet Member for Planning & Housing Delivery, introduced the report which fulfilled a statutory requirement, setting out priorities for consultation on planning policy documents over the following three years. Among other things the report described initial steps towards development of the next Local Plan within the overall context of the 2050 plan for Oxfordshire and the development of the Technical Advice Notes which will flesh out elements of the new Local Plan.

Cabinet resolved to:

1.       Approve the Oxford Local Development Scheme 2020-25

Cabinet, at its meeting on 15 July,  will consider a report on the Local Development Scheme 2020-25. This item offers the Committee the opportunity to comment on the report and make recommendations to Cabinet if it wishes.

Councillor Alex Hollingsworth, Cabinet Member for Planning & Housing Delivery and Carolyn Ploszynski, Planning Policy and Place Manager have been invited to attend for this item.

Councillor Alex Hollingsworth, Cabinet Member for Planning & Housing Delivery, introduced the report which fulfilled a statutory requirement. The report detailed the many planning policy documents, which will supplement the 2036 Plan. The report also drew attention to the intention that the 2040 plan should align with neighbouring local authorities’ plans. This would, in turn, facilitate the broad alignment of plan end dates and the evidence base of the Oxfordshire Plan 2050 which is broadly being worked up in key 10 year tranches. This would save a considerable amount of time and effort on technical work necessitated by plans which were not in sync with one another at the time of examination. 

He noted that the report had been written in advance of an anticipated Government announcement about plans for significant changes to planning legislation, potentially the most profound changes since the introduction of the  Town and Country Planning Act 1947.

The Committee were concerned that some current policies, such as zero carbon housing, might be at risk through reviewing the Local Plan. Carolyn Ploszynski,  Planning Policy & Place Manager said that any  review of  a Local Plan  would always be underpinned by the intention to build on existing policies rather  than undermining them. The main risk would come from national changes introduced by the Government which might, for example, change the ability to set local targets for policies such as  carbon reduction. It wasn’t possible, therefore, to say that the Council’s current policies would necessarily be protected forever.

The Committee questioned whether the Technical Advice Notes (TANS) might be used to add further elements to the Oxford Local Plan 2036 policies, which the Council thought desirable. The Planning Policy & Place Manager said TANs could not be used to add requirements to adopted policies but, rather, to provide advice about how a policy requirement could be met. This can include drawing attention to best practice.

The report contained references to potential means of reviewing CIL arrangements   which would be driven, in due course, by the need to secure the most effective approach in securing developer contributions towards infrastructure costs in Oxford.

The Committee had no recommendations to make in relation to this report.