Agenda and minutes

An apology for absence was received from S Pointer and Councillor Harker.

(Copy Attached)

The notes of the above meeting were agreed.

There were none.

(To be tabled at the meeting)

C Thomas presented the report that had been circulated elaborating on the recommendations on the appointment of a Project Manager, changes in the Joint Planning Team arrangements and a review of the Governance arrangements.

It was noted that the Programme Board had discussed the attributes the Project Manager should have, which would ideally include excellent project management skills together with a sound knowledge of planning and the wider development process.  The key priority was the ability to successfully deliver the programme.

The Steering Group then discussed whether the Project Manager should primarily be a Planner or a Project Manager.  It was intended that the job description would be agreed by officers from all three Local Authorities who would also evaluate the post.  The Steering Group were advised who sat on the Programme Board and it was requested that Members of the Joint Steering Group be provided with the copies of the minutes of the Joint Programme Board Meetings.

The Steering Group then discussed the recruitment arrangements for the Project Manager and it was suggested that the title of the post be reconsidered to ensure that the planning element was adequately reflected.  The Steering Group requested clarification of how the post would be funded and it was noted that the intention was that cost would be met by the three plan making Local Authorities but if Northamptonshire County Council and West Northamptonshire Development Corporation wished to contribute their contribution would be welcome.  The Steering Group then requested more details in relation to the costs associated with funding the post. It was suggested that this information be collated by the Programme Board.

As detailed in the report it was recommended by the Project Board that the Joint Planning Team be located in a neutral location and it was noted that South Northants Council had offered accommodation space that was not within the Council offices.  The Steering Group then discussed the specific line management arrangements associated with the post and although the Project Manager would be accountable to the Programme Board, and in turn the Steering Group, it was proposed that the day to day line management arrangements be provided by Northampton Borough Council’s Corporate Director.

(To be tabled at the meeting)

C Berry presented the report circulated and confirmed that last week Daventry District, Northampton Borough and South Northamptonshire Councils’ Cabinets had all agreed to prepare one Joint Core Strategy covering the priority of the three Councils’ administrative areas (Option 1).  Work was continuing in preparing a detailed timetable for production of the Core Strategy ensuring that it was also robust and expeditious.

All of the tasks required to prepare the Core Strategy had been identified and the duration of each task had been estimated and dependencies identified having regard to the legal procedure requirements and experience of similar tasks.

The Joint Planning Team were now satisfied that the first two stages of the timetable were robust and work was already underway on the identified tasks.  The timetable for stages 1 and 2 was attached as Appendix 1 to the report.  The remaining stages of the Core Strategy Timetable were in the process of being finalised and would be subject to independent external challenge and further discussion with GOEM and the Planning Inspectorate.  In terms of external challenge a copy of the timetable had been sent to Andrew Langley, the Project Manager for North Northamptonshire, and also to a consultancy recommended by the Planning Advisory Service.  They would be considering the timetable to see if there was any way of making it more efficient therefore reducing the timescale, while at the same time ensuring that the process remained robust.

C Berry explained some individual tasks within the timetable and how it was intended that these particular issues would be progressed.  Some members of the Steering Group expressed concern about the timing of the Issues and Options consultation exercise and the Steering Group discussed whether this could be brought forward in the programme.

G Hughes suggested that consideration be given to moving forward the public consultation element of the timetable.

(Verbal Report)

R Boulton updated the Steering Group in relation to the draft report by EDAW which would be changed to correct any inaccuracies, include some caveats in relation to the examples used, and to make it clear that the report could only go so far along the process.  Once these changes were made to the report it would be considered as completed and would be used as a knowledge base from which to move forward.  The areas now to be progressed were the role of the Local Delivery Vehicles in driving the delivery plans and the further work that was required on the Planning Policy Framework to enable the delivery of what was required.

From a planning perspective S Bovey advised that the Chief Executives of the Local Authorities had requested the Chief Planning Officers Group to prepare a technical report which would be submitted to them at a meeting in October 2006.  Planners anticipated that the report could be used as an evidence base although there was further work to be done as to how the principles could be transferred to a Supplementary Planning Documents.

The Steering Group then discussed the need for a transparent mechanism between developers and Local Authorities and welcomed the move towards a single tariff.  The Chair requested an executive summary to identify the key issues with the report and D Brennan, on behalf of the County Council, offered to provide this if members of the Steering Group would find it useful. He stressed the importance of the “banker” role and explained several options that were currently being investigated.

There was none.

It was noted that the next meeting would be held on 17 October 2006.