Agenda item

Agenda item

Oxford Local Plan 2040 Preferred Options Regulation 18 Consultation Document

The Cabinet will, at its meeting on 14 September 2022, consider a report on the Oxford Local Plan 2040 Preferred Options Regulation 18 Consultation Document.  Cllr Alex Hollingsworth, Cabinet Member for Planning and Housing Delivery, Amanda Ford, Team Leader Planning Policy, Sarah Harrison, Senior Planner, and Rachel Williams, Principal Planner, have been invited to present the report and answer questions.

The Committee is asked to consider the report and agree any recommendations it wishes to make to Cabinet.

 

Minutes:

Cllr Alex Hollingsworth, Cabinet Member for Planning and Housing Delivery introduced the report which sought Cabinet approval for the Oxford Local Plan 2040 Preferred Options Document for consultation.

Cllr Hollingsworth provided an overview of what is incorporated within a local plan and outlined Regulation 18 for information.  Cllr Diggins requested that the Committee, in framing discussions, focus on the following areas from the report:

·         Consultation and engagement methodology and plan

·         Development sites and areas of focus

·         Net zero decarbonisation, biodiversity and climate change

Cllr Corais joined the meeting.

During discussions, the Committee noted the following:

·         The policies contained within the Local Plan will form the shape of future development in Oxford, and seek to protect historic buildings, whilst balanced against local housing needs.

·         The Local Plan was the most ambitious with regards to zero carbon policies and social housing compared to those produced nationally whilst ensuring that it remained deliverable within legislation.

·         Residents would be notified of the consultation via leaflet drop, however social media would be employed to ensure maximum exposure, and contact sought with community groups, including face to face engagement across the City.  It was noted that consideration should be given on ensuring engagement with residents for whom English is a second or other language, including the use of drop-in sessions.

·         Engagement of the consultation should be extended to vocational groups, e.g. trade unions, to enable those who do not live in the City to respond to the consultation.  Organisations that represent those with specific housing needs, such as Crisis, should also be considered.

·         Further explanation of the document and consultation could be delivered via use of podcasts and this would be explored.

·         Consideration would be given to how the reader could best engage with the consultation documents and see how it interacts with the current Local Plan and other policies, including a key to the document to ensure that navigation and integration are more accessible.

·         Due to the confines of site allocations, sites are determined on their own merits, and greater explanation should be included.

·         The new strategic policies contained within the document aimed to provide greater flexibility within the planning system in future planning decisions.

·         Car parking provision for new housing developments would continue to be determined via a criteria based approach.

·         The Local Plan could set general parameters on what the Council considered constitutes a good neighbourhood, additional detail could then be included on specific sites, ensuring that principles and intentions are evident.

·         An explanation was provided on the differences between ‘areas of focus’ and ‘site allocation policies’, and noted that this would be useful for inclusion within the document.

·         The Local Plan 2040 once adopted, will supersede the previous Plans, and all allocated sites in the 2036 Local Plan will be reviewed to determine if they are to remain as allocated sites within the Plan.

·         The Local Development Scheme available on the Council’s website, provided detail of the timetable for development for the new Local Plan, however highlighted that further consultation of the draft 2040 Plan was scheduled for autumn 2023.

·         Whilst there are policies on biodiversity, the new Urban Greening Factor policy would give greater focus on ‘green cover tests’ that would improve the proportion of green areas, and are intended as a supplement to the DEFRA biodiversity metric.

·         The inclusion of street trees was a requirement under Government planning legislation for climate mitigation, and therefore omitted from the Local Plan, however it was recognised that explicit reference should be made within the document.

Cllr Arshad left the meeting and did not return.

·         The document makes reference to international frameworks and the language referencing those, however considered that consistent language, such as ‘loss and damage’ be reflected throughout the narrative.

·         Whilst there would be appropriate retro fit solutions to the majority of heritage buildings, the planning authority could only encourage landowners to adopt holistic planning solutions to their property, and work on this would take place outside of the Local Plan.

·         Development builds have to be operationally fit, with mitigation of impact on the neighbourhood, however broader options could be considered but would not form part of this Local Plan.

The Committee resolved to make the following recommendations to Cabinet:

1.    That the Council inserts a key to the document to ensure that navigation and integration are more accessible.

2.    That the Council gives consideration to how to engage most effectively with residents for whom English is a second or other language during the consultation process, including the provision of drop-in sessions.

3.    That the Council explores options to produce basic podcasts summarising the document.

4.    That the Council seeks to engage specifically with vocational groups (such as trade unions and royal colleges) to ensure that the voice of those who work in Oxford but do not live in the City is heard.

5.    That the Council seeks to engage specifically with organisations representing those with specific housing needs, such as Crisis and Acorn.

6.    That the Council clarifies the definition of ‘good connectivity’ within the document.

7.    That the Council explains in the document that the National Model Design Code principles are applied when considering the location of car parking in relation to residential and shared amenity spaces.

8.    That the Council explains the distinction between ‘areas of focus’ and ‘site allocation policies’ and the interaction between them within the document.

9.    That the Council makes explicit reference to the importance of access to nature in housing developments within the document.

10. That the Council makes explicit reference to the importance of street trees within the document.

11. That the Council ensures in cases where explicit reference to a topic or area of policy is forbidden by legislation, or that topic or area of policy is covered in a separate document, that this is explained in the document introduction.

12. That the Council makes explicit reference to the Paris Agreement within the document and that the language of international frameworks, such as ‘loss and damage’, be reflected in the narrative section.


Supporting documents: