Agenda item

The Cabinet considered a joint report of the Director of Environment and Transport, Chief Executive and Director of Law and Governance which provided an update on the issues associated with the emerging Charnwood Local Plan, including the outcome of the recent consultation exercise on the Charnwood Transport Contributions Strategy and the associated implications for the Local Highway Authority in its role as a statutory consultee in the planning process.  A copy of the report, marked ‘Agenda Item 5’, is filed with these minutes.

 

A supplementary report was also considered which further highlighted the concerns of the County Council following planning approvals by the Charnwood Borough Council Plans Committee on 17 October 2024.  A copy of the report is filed with these minutes.

 

A letter from the Head of Planning and Growth, Charnwood Borough Council to the Head of Planning, Historic and Natural Environment, and a letter from the Leader of Charnwood Borough Council to the Acting Leader of the County Council are also filed with these minutes.

 

Mr. O’Shea CC highlighted the concern of Leicestershire residents about the impact of growth on the highways and transport network and the fact that the Local Highway Authority was attempting to ensure that as growth occurred, the impacts were mitigated and the infrastructure was fit for purpose in the future.  He also stated that the County Council had worked hard to get the best results for the residents of Charnwood; this was an important part of the work of the Council and it was therefore not possible to ignore the issues raised in the report.

 

Mr. Pain CC also stressed the importance of working with local planning authorities at the beginning of any development process to ensure that the infrastructure was agreed and properly funded.

 

RESOLVED:

 

a)         That the latest position regarding the Charnwood Borough Council Local Plan Examination and Charnwood Transport Contributions Strategy (CTCS) consultation be noted, including:

 

i)           Charnwood Borough Council’s statement in relation to implementation of the CTCS, as summarised in paragraph 30 of the main report;

 

ii)          The Borough Council’s recent late submission to the Local Plan Inspectors explaining that the Borough Council ‘is now minded to prepare’ a Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) to secure contributions to mitigate the impact of growth in Charnwood, including transport contributions to mitigate cumulative transport growth.  The letter is attached as Appendix A to the main report;

 

iii)        The implications for the County Council as Local Highways Authority (LHA), in its role of statutory consultee, arising from the likely timetable for developing a CIL, as set out in paragraphs 39-42 of the main report, including the significant financial impact;

 

iv)        Recent communications between the County Council and the Borough Council included in Appendix C to the supplementary report and the regrettable apparent misrepresentation of the Local Highway Authority’s position at the recent Borough Council Plans Committee;

 

v)         The recent resolutions to approve planning applications relating to sites allocated in the emerging Local Plan by Charnwood Borough Council Plans Committee;

 

vi)        That these approvals were given despite the recommendations of the LHA, as a statutory consultee, to defer making the determinations at this time;

 

b)         That it be noted that the Borough Council is the authority responsible for making the Local Plan and ensuring its effective delivery.  As such, it is required to demonstrate that the identified highways and transport mitigation can be delivered and that the Local Plan objective to increase the use of sustainable travel modes can still be fulfilled;

 

c)          That arising from its recent actions and advice given by the Borough Council to the Plans Committee on 17 October 2024, the County Council is doubtful that the Local Plan is capable of being successfully delivered or can be considered sound, or that a CIL schedule can be successfully implemented at the necessary pace to make an impact;

 

d)     That in respect of the letter dated 21 October 2024 to the Acting Leader from the Leader of the Borough Council a) it is noted that the letter appears to have been prepared on the same basis as the officer advice given to the Borough Council’s Plans Committee, which was an apparent misrepresentation of the County Council’s position as LHA; b) its focus on the CTCS overlooks the fact that all the issues arising from the proposed Local Plan’s distribution strategy have been known by the Borough Council for a considerable time, that the LHA has been requesting a suitable mechanism for over two years, during which the Borough Council has not addressed the issues until October 2024, and that the recent Plans Committee approvals may have resulted in lost contributions of up to £3.3million to support infrastructure in Charnwood; and c) the County Council therefore does not accept that as LHA its observations on applications considered by the Plans Committee were “irresponsible and unnecessary”;

 

e)         That whilst the County Council will continue to work with the Borough Council to seek to have a sound Local Plan in place, the Chief Executive, the Director of Environment and Transport, and the Director of Law and Governance, following consultation with the appropriate Cabinet Lead Members, be authorised to withdraw the proposed CTCS and take appropriate actions necessary to:

 

i)           Mitigate the impacts arising from the interim period between likely Local Plan adoption and the adoption of CIL, estimated to be at least 12-18 months;

 

ii)          Participate appropriately in the development and implementation of a CIL charging schedule in line with national guidance and seek to influence the adoption of a CIL as quickly as possible;

 

iii)        Address the concerns set out in paragraphs 18-26 of the supplementary report, including continuing to bring these concerns to the attention of the Borough Council;

 

f)           That approval be given to the principles for future engagement of the LHA in other local plan processes, set out in paragraph 46 of the main report, in light of the County Council’s experience of the development of the Local Plan for Charnwood by the Borough Council.

 

REASONS FOR DECISION

 

Until 13 September 2024, the County Council understood it had the support of the Borough Council in implementing the CTCS.  This position was reflected in the formal observations of the LHA submitted in respect of planning applications being considered by the Borough Council’s Plans Committee over the summer of 2024.  However, the statement made to applicants by the Borough Council, summarised in paragraph 30 of the report, substantially alters this position and negates the need to undertake a detailed analysis of responses to the CTCS consultation.  This is because the CTCS could only be implemented with the support of the Borough Council in its capacity as the LPA.

 

The substantial number of sites allocated in the emerging Local Plan that have been (or could be in the near future) granted planning permission, without contributing to the delivery of the identified highways and transport measures, due to the lack of an agreed mechanism to secure strategic contributions, have the potential to undermine the delivery of the necessary infrastructure over the life of the Local Plan.

 

The County Council understood that it had the support of the Borough Council in addressing this issue in advance of adoption of the Local Plan, following the concerns raised by the LHA over recent years.  However, in practice, this issue is yet to be addressed by the Borough Council, with no previous consideration of the benefits of introducing a CIL.  The implications flowing from this omission were recently highlighted by the recommendations made to the Charnwood Plans Committee on 17 October 2024, where a significant number of dwellings allocated in the emerging Local Plan were recommended for approval, equating to a potential £3.3m of highways and transport contributions, subject to viability assessments.

 

Whilst the Plans Committee was provided with the LHA’s advice, the additional information, supplied via a supplementary Extras report to the Plans Committee in response to further questions on the matter, gave rise to several concerns from the LHA’s perspective.  Details of these concerns are set out in the supplementary report.  The approach to managing planning applications is critical to the future operation of the highway and transport network and so a shared commitment between the LPA and the LHA is vital to mitigate the impacts of growth.  Therefore, the County Council will continue to seek to ensure that the issues are properly understood by the LPA, with the aim of addressing the risks associated with this issue.

 

The need for a mechanism to allow effective mitigation of the cumulative impacts of planned growth has been a stated position of the County Council throughout the development of the Local Plan.  As has previously been reported to the Cabinet, the Borough Council had not proposed a suitable way of achieving this and, in the absence of a proposal from the LPA, the LHA had sought to develop the CTCS to provide that mechanism.  The delay to achieving this mechanism has caused a loss of developer contributions and could impact the extent to which the Local Plan is effectively delivered, as set out in the emerging Local Plan.

 

Whilst it is acknowledged that CIL is an appropriate mechanism and the County Council will be required to collaborate with the Borough Council on its development, the position of the County Council is that this has come too late in the process, despite the consistent and known position of the LHA that a mechanism was required not only for the Local Plan but also for those allocated sites coming forward ahead of the Local Plan that have been granted permission by the Borough Council.

 

There are a number of lessons to be learned flowing from the County Council’s experience of the development of the Charnwood Local Plan as set out in the report.  The proposed principles, set out in paragraph 46 of the report, have been developed in consultation with external experts to support the County Council in taking all available steps to ensure that clear and effective strategies for managing highways and transport impacts arising from planned growth are included in future local plans in Leicestershire going forward.