Agenda item

The Chief Executive of South Northamptonshire Council called for nominations for the appointment of a Chairman.

Councillor Chris Millar proposed and Councillor Sandra Barnes seconded that Councillor Tony Woods be appointed Chairman of the Joint Planning Committee for the ensuing year.

RESOLVED: That Councillor Woods be appointed Chairman of the Joint Planning Committee.

The Chairman welcomed members of the public to the meeting and explained that the West Northamptonshire Joint Strategic Planning Committee had been established by statute to be the planning policy authority for West Northamptonshire.  The Councillors of the Committee had been appointed by their respective councils and there were three observers who had non-voting rights from Wellingborough Borough Council (as being affected by some of the potential growth), West Northamptonshire Development Corporation (as the delivery vehicle that would be making the development control decisions) and a representative of the Labour Party as the life of the strategy would be until 2026.  The Joint Planning Committee was supported by the Joint Planning Unit, which comprised professional planning officers, and it was also supported by a senior officer from each of the Councils sitting on the Programme Board.  The Joint Planning Committee would set the overall planning policy and each council would have its own policies within that framework, for example, Northampton Borough’s Central Area Action Plan.  Furthermore, each District Council and the West Northamptonshire Development Corporation would make development control decisions within that framework. 

The decision that the Joint Planning Committee would be making at this meeting was to approve the emergent Joint Core Strategy for public consultation.  In November a pre-submission draft would be published for consultation prior to being submitted to the Secretary of State in March 2010.  It was hoped that as many people as possible would contribute to the formal consultation period.  The Chairman explained that the headline figures of housing and jobs had been set by Government and the Regional Assembly and could not be reduced, however a higher number of homes and jobs could be planned for.  The Joint Planning Committee was attempting to do the best it could for West Northamptonshire; and jobs and infrastructure would be vital to the success of the Strategy. 

The Chairman explained that anyone wishing to object to any of the proposals contained in the emergent Joint Core Strategy would need to give reasons to support their objection, for example that the flood risk assessment for a particular area indicated that the land in question was not suitable for the proposed development or that a proper traffic assessment study had not been carried out.  Objections should make reference to and use the evidence base, which had been published on the Internet.  It would also be helpful if such objections also made suggestions as to where the development could go, equally referring to the evidence base, for example that in this location there was no flood risk and that the highways network was suitable to serve the proposed development.  The Chairman commented that these plans would have a life of up to thirty years and clearly not all the development would happen quickly.  The Joint Planning Committee felt that it was important to get the maximum benefit for the existing population and for new people coming into the area.