The Head of Planning Services has submitted a report seeking Cabinet  approval for the Annual Monitoring Report and Infrastructure Funding Statement for publication.

Recommendation: That Cabinet resolves to:

1.    Approve the Annual Monitoring Report and Infrastructure Funding Statement 2019/20 for publication; and

2.    Authorise the Head of Planning Services to make any necessary minor corrections not materially affecting the document prior to publication.

The Head of Planning Services had submitted a report seeking Cabinet  approval for the Annual Monitoring Report and Infrastructure Funding Statement for publication.

Councillor Alex Hollingsworth, Cabinet Member for Planning & Housing Delivery, introduced the report which looked at performance against the Council’s previous   Local Plan (the new one having been introduced earlier in the year). Worthy of note was the fact that the Council’s housing delivery target had been met for the first time in several years (having been previously impacted by the financial crisis). The report also commented on the two universities’ positions in relation to their targets for students accommodated outside their own premises: Oxford University was under its target and Oxford Brookes over. Planning proposals were however being prepared which were likely to bring the latter into line with its new target.

Cabinet resolved to:

1.Approve the Annual Monitoring Report and Infrastructure Funding Statement 2019/20 for publication; and

2.Authorise the Head of Planning Services to make any necessary minor corrections not materially affecting the document prior to publication.

Cabinet, at its meeting on 09 December, will consider a report on the Annual Monitoring Report and Infrastructure Funding Statement 2019/20.  The Committee is asked to consider the report and agree any recommendations thereon.

Councillor Alex Hollingsworth, Cabinet Member for Planning & Housing Delivery, Rachel Nixon, Senior Planner and Lan Nguyen, Data Analyst and Reporting Officer have been invited to attend for this item.

Councillor Alex Hollingsworth, Cabinet Member for Planning & Housing Delivery, introduced the report. This was an annual report showing progress against a number of targets relating to the planning function. It was worthy of note that for the first time in several years it had been possible to report that the Council was ahead of its target for house building. This was a retrospective report and with a new Local Plan now in place, this would be the last report in relation to targets flowing from the previous Local Plan.

Where the report referred to  the “..Council involved in  bringing forward 26% of all major housing schemes anticipated over the next 5 years”  it was clarified that a  “scheme” meant the development of a number of house (rather than individual houses). The percentage as a proportion of houses was likely to be well in excess of 26%.

With a new Local Plan  (and the need to measure performance against it)  future reports would be in a revised format. There would be a focus on those indicators within the Council’s control and or considered to be particularly important of which housing delivery was a critical one.

 At the time of the inspection of the new plan the inspector had made it clear that while the current pandemic might have an impact on deliverability of policies in the short term, it shouldn’t change those policies in the long term. The Plan was a legally binding document and couldn’t  be deviated from without going through a local plan making process.

It was nonetheless suggested that some means should be found of being able justify deviation from the Local Plan as a result of the consequences of the pandemic. 

The challenge of meeting housing targets was fuelled to some extent by a skills shortage and a short term supply shortage. A bigger issue was the challenge of bringing sites forward but this was now being addressed with owners/promoters of sited  identified in the Local Plan as suitable for development being contacted more proactively than before.

The report made brief mention of “2 bedrooms at the Former Gent’s Public Conveniences St Giles (19/00084/FUL)”. Rachel Nixon, Senior Planner advised that this change of use for short term accommodation had been approved in April 2019, further details were available on the Council’s planning portal.

Oxford University was below its target for the number of students accommodated outside its own premises whereas Oxford Brookes University had exceeded its target, albeit by less than the previous year. As part of the negotiation for new Local Plan the targets for both had been re-calibrated, the former target decreased and the latter increased. Oxford Brookes revised plans for new accommodation on the Headington Hill site would    be coming forward and, if agreed, would take it close to or within the compliance threshold for its target.

The Committee had no recommendations in relation to this report.