Agenda item

Report of the City Planning Officer.

 

(A copy of the Local Plan has been separately circulated).

The Chairman introduced the report of the City Planning Officer, noting that the current draft of the Local Plan had been through several stages to date, including a round of public consultation and a meeting of the Sub Committee in July 2013. He therefore invited Members to discuss the key issues outlined within the report.

                     

The Planning and Performance Director (PPD) added that the finalised Local Plan would have to be submitted to the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government and therefore officers had taken the opportunity to review the processes and format that had been adopted for the proposed Plan with an advisory planning inspector on 24 September. The inspector had concluded that the relevant rules had been followed and that the City of London Corporation had a good evidence base for the Plan and therefore there was no obvious impediment to the Plan being adopted in good time.

 

The Sub Committee proceeded to discuss the following key issues:

 

Offices

The PPD noted that both the Core Strategic (CS) and Development Management (DM) policies on Offices had been amended to reflect the importance of the long term viability of office space in the City and further references to viability should be added to policy DM1.1. In response to a query from a Member the Sub Committee agreed that DM 1.1 should retain reference to ‘large office development sites’.

 

Licensing and Planning

The PPD outlined the main changes to DM 3.5 Night Time Entertainment, noting that it had been amended to focus on what the Corporation could do specifically to safeguard local amenity, in its role as a planning authority.

 

In response to an observation from a Member, the Chairman commented that the idea behind the amendment was to ensure that both the Planning and the Licensing Committees were focused on their particular areas of authority.

 

A Member considered that to the Plan should strengthen the requirement for developers to design out features which could be used in ways adversely affecting the amenity of the area. 

 

In response to a question from a Member, officers confirmed that ‘Night-time entertainment’ was a preferred definition to ‘Night-time economy’.

 

In response to a request from a Member it was agreed that the reference to the Late Night Levy on page 52 should be amended. Furthermore it was agreed to make explicit reference to the Licensing Code of Good Practice.

 

Thames and the Riverside

The PPD noted that the term ‘office gateway’ had been removed from CS9 in favour of text promoting office-led commercial development, and that the Thames Tideway Tunnel Safeguarding Area had been incorporated into the Plan. Furthermore he noted that the proposed Riverside Appraisal SPD would be published in spring 2014 alongside the review of the Riverside Public Realm Enhancement Strategy.

 

Visitors, Arts and Culture

The PPD noted the fact DM 11.3 Hotels had been amended to relate it more closely to DM 1.1 Protection of Office Accommodation.

 

 

 

Sustainable Development

The PPD informed the Sub Committee that the government’s intention to deal with carbon off-setting through building regulations rather than through the planning system meant that  there was now no longer a need for a specific Supplementary Planning Document (SPD). Instead mechanisms for dealing with off-setting would be included in the revised s106 Planning Obligations SPD. The Planning Services and Development Director noted that the implication of this new off-setting approach was that the City of London Corporation would be entering more planning agreements than had previously been the case.

 

Public Transport, Streets and Walkways

In response to a question from a Member regarding the cycle parking standard, the PPD indicated that it would be possible to review the standard at a later date if necessary, without reviewing the whole plan. Furthermore the CPO assured Members that at present the City Corporation was leading its peers in terms of the cycle parking provision it currently required from developers.

 

In response to a query from a Member over the lack of cycle parking at Cannon Street and Blackfriars Stations the CPO noted that provision was a relatively new requirement. He referenced the cycle parking provision at Liverpool Street as an example. Overall it was noted that the level of cycle parking provision at stations was the choice of either Transport for London (TfL), the station operators and the rail companies in question rather than that of the City of London Corporation.

 

In response to a request from a Member for cycle provision for workers within retail developments, the CPO replied that this issue was dealt with under the London Plan.

 

A Member felt it was inaccurate to describe the public car parks in the City as underused (e.g. page 145 in the Local Plan) as some car parks in her ward were always busy, compared to other car parks in the City. Moreover she felt that it would be appropriate to reference the Corporation’s aspiration for amended bus provision and bus routes within the City. The Chairman noted that this would be outside of the remit of the Local Plan as this was properly a matter for Transport for London (TfL). Officers agreed that this issue could be addressed in the new Transport Strategy.

 

Waste

The PPD noted that figures on tonnage of waste on page 149 had been updated to reflect recent research and that officers would be contacting other waste planning authorities to satisfy the Corporation’s Duty to Co-operate.

 

Housing

The PPD explained to the Sub Committee that the housing target set by the London Plan was likely to increase. He indicated that the City may technically be able to meet a higher figure, but this needed to be considered in the context of the City’s role as a business centre. Revised London Plan targets will be published for consultation in January 2014 and Members would be given the opportunity to consider them at this stage.  The Planning Services and Development Director concluded the introduction by noting that this was an issue that would only become pressing in ten to fifteen years’ time.

 

In response to a request from a Member, it was agreed that DM 21.1 Location of new housing third bullet point would be amended so that the Corporation would not be bound to considering only noise when seeking to ensure residential amenity.   

 

 

 

 

Other Amendments

In considering paragraph 12 on the covering report, the Chairman received confirmation from the PPD that the amendments referred to in the rest of the draft Local Plan were non-substantive.

 

Amended Maps

The PPD tabled three amended maps detailing policy areas and strategic planning areas within the City and noted that the City Fringe now ended at the border with the City itself.

 

Authorisation

The Chairman referred officers to paragraph 13 within their covering report and noted he was happy to grant them authority to make any necessary further non-substantive amends to the Local Plan provided they liaised with both himself or the Deputy Chairman. He noted however, that any changes both he or the Deputy Chairman deemed to be substantive would be referred to the Members of the Sub Committee.

 

Randall Anderson arrived at this point of the meeting.

 

Other Matters

Referring to the text on page 16 of the draft Local Plan, a Member suggested that officers avoid referring to specific years to describe the financial crisis.

 

A Member referred to DM 2.1 Infrastructure provision and connection and expressed concern that it was often the case that electricity supply on development sites was addressed by on-street generators that provoked noise complaints. The PPD confirmed that the policy had been amended to address this issue.

 

A Member remarked that explicit reference should be made, particularly in CS8 Aldgate on page 82, to health facilities given that the Corporation now had a Health and Wellbeing Board.

 

Jeremy Mayhew left at this point of the meeting.

 

Members requested that page numbers be provided for the Maps and Diagrams on the contents page.

 

In response to a request from a Member it was agreed to include the new green space by Artizan Street Library in the map on page 80 of the Local Plan.

 

Given the City was not a borough, officers agreed to look at an alternative to the term ‘Borough Distributor Road’.

 

RESOLVED, that:

 

·         The Local Plan be recommended to the Grand Committee for publication and public consultation, subject to amendments set out during the course of the meeting of the Sub Committee;

 

·         The City Planning Officer be authorised, if necessary, to agree further changes to the Local Plan in consultation with the Chairman and Deputy Chairman, before its presentation to the Grand Committee;

 

·         The City Planning Officer be authorised, following the close of public consultation on the Local Plan, in discussion with the Chairman and Deputy Chairman, to compile a list of further changes to the Local Plan in response to the public’s comments and to submit these to the Secretary of State.