Issue - meetings

(a)       That Members approve the Asset Management Strategy (2015/16 – 2017/ 2018).

(b)       That Officers take the necessary steps to explore the development potential of the sites listed in Appendices 2 and 3 at the earliest opportunity.

(c)        That Officers report back the outcome of recommendation (b) to Cabinet at the earliest appropriate time.

d)         That the NDP seven sites are not brought back into the strategy.

The chair invited a question from a member of the public who had submitted the question in line with the Council’s constitution.

The Portfolio Holder for Economic Development, Business, Town Centres and Customer Services outlined the processes that the Council was currently undertaking. At the moment the Council was calling for all sites to be included in the final strategy and that the land mentioned in the submitted question would be included. If, following this process the land was identified for development that the planning process would commence and residents would have the opportunity to engage with the process then. Nothing would be able to happen to the land in question until at least 2019 and were it to be reclassified then this would again lengthen the process.

The Portfolio Holder for Safer Communities requested clarification regarding where and what obliged us to hold a list and whether being included on the list automatically meant that it would be made available for housing in the future. The Executive Director confirmed that some of the land listed in the site would have to be categorised as open space and that the list had to be maintained to show that the Council had a robust development plan which identified all available sites in order for the Council to then identify and use the best sites for the right purposes and to their full potential.

The Leader further clarified that there were only four remaining brownfield sites in the Borough that were owned by the Council and that these had all been earmarked for development. The Leader stated that a housing and employment housing supply had to be met alongside green and open spaces for residents. The Council had no power to compel other land owners to provide their brown field sites for development.

The Portfolio Holder for Economic Development, Business, Town Centres and Customer Services outlined the information detailed within the report. The Portfolio Holder drew Members attention to the questions submitted by the Joint Scrutiny Committee listed on page 71 of the agenda and outlined his response. 

The Portfolio Holder for Finance and Resources outlined the financial implications that were

Resolved:

(a)       That Members approve the Asset Management Strategy (2015/16 – 2017/ 2018).

(b)       That Officers take the necessary steps to explore the development potential of the sites listed in Appendices 2 and 3 at the earliest opportunity.

(c)        That Officers report back the outcome of recommendation (b) to Cabinet at the earliest appropriate time.

d)         That the NDP seven sites are not brought back into the strategy.