Agenda item

Paul Stimpson, Planning Policy Lead Officer, outlined a report to update Members on the progress made in reviewing the Local Plan in the last year and to advise what the next stages would be, beginning with the public consultation exercise on the “Call for Sites”.

The Committee was advised that the first phase of the Review of the Local Plan (RLP) for Slough had involved gathering the evidence needed to meet  regulations, the National Planning Policy Framework and other Government requirements to be able to make informed decisions about how the Council should proceed. The Officer discussed the key elements of the work that had been carried out so far which included a Regulation 18 Consultation that had taken place between 4^th December, 2015 and 18^th January, 2016. It was noted that 27 responses were received to the consultation, and the key point was that it may be necessary to carry out more work on Gypsy and Travellers and Minerals & Waste than previously envisaged.

Work had also been completed on the production of a Strategic Housing Market Assessment which had concluded that Slough Borough Council was in a Housing Market Area with Windsor and Maidenhead and South Bucks and that Slough had an “objectively assessed” housing need of 927 a year.

The Officer advised that a Functional Economic Market Assessment (FEMA) had been jointly commissioned from a firm of Planning Consultants, together with the Local Enterprise Partnership and the other Berkshire Authorities. The assessment had identified that there was a strong economic relationship with Heathrow, west London, and parts of Buckinghamshire as well as Berkshire. For planning purposes it was concluded that Slough fell within an Eastern Berkshire FEMA which included Windsor and Maidenhead and South Bucks. The same consultants were carrying out an Economic Development Needs Assessment which would determine what the objectively assessed need for employment land would be and a draft report would be the subject of technical consultation in April/May.

The Committee was advised that a Retail Floorspace Needs Assessment had been undertaken through a jointly commissioned Household Shopping survey withWindsor and Maidenhead. This had confirmed that the catchment area of Slough town centre had reduced and a  ‘Centre of Slough Strategy’  was approved by Cabinet in September 2015. This suggested that the regeneration of the centre was unlikely to be retail led. 

The Officer advised that there was an apparent shortage of land within Slough to accommodate all of its future needs and the RLP would address this emerging problem.  The Committee noted that all plans required a Sustainability Appraisal which assessed the potentially significant social, economic and environmental impacts that may arise as a consequence of the policies and proposals proposed in the Development Plan.  Also work had been done to ensure that adjoining authorities such as Windsor and Maidenhead and South Bucks were planning to meet housing needs in their area so that the pressure on Slough was not increased. It had been agreed that representations should be made to suggest that the Chiltern/South Bucks Local Plan should consider having a northern expansion of Slough in the form of a “garden suburb” in order to meet the housing needs arising in the area.  Windsor and Maidenhead would produce its Preferred Option for their Local Plan later in the year and it was  important that Slough BC met its obligations under the Duty to Cooperate and engage fully in the consultation process.

The Officer also summarised the implications that the proposal for a third runway at Heathrow could have on the RLP and the public consultation on the Call for Sites which was due to begin in June. Members were advised that it was unclear what the exact timetable would be for the RLP for Slough but the Government had stated that all authorities should have submitted their Local Plans by April 2017, subject to some exceptions. It was envisaged that an “Issues and Options” consultation could be undertaken by the end of the year

Members asked a number of points of clarification as follows:

·  How would the consultation commence? The Officer advised that there would be a press release and an article in the Citizen Magazine.

Resolved-  That the progress report on the Review of the Local Plan for Slough be noted.