Minutes:
Question
Re Agenda item 90. Council site for local plan. Wheatsheaf Close SW1011 is the only Council owned land promoted for residential albeit self-build. Has the Council not missed a trick by not promoting more of its land for housing which could be developed by their own companies to meet local affordable housing need and in doing so help its own companies to develop and prosper, as this would benefit all?
Answer
There is quite a complicated answer to this really. Yes you are right. The Council has an ongoing mechanism for reviewing its landholdings, declaring assets surplus and finding potential alternative uses for them through its Asset Review Programme Board, which I am part of.
When a surplus site is identified, we consider whether the principle of development is supported by the Core Strategy Local Plan, for example, which you would know quite well, because they are within our towns and villages where development is planned, or the site is already developed. Where development is supported in principle, we progress the project and submit a planning application. There is no need to promote such sites into the Local Plan Update process; we can simply get on with them. This has been the case with most of the sites we have developed for affordable housing, which of course you should also know, e.g. Fosters and Phoenix Avenue.
Where the principle of development is not supported by the Core Strategy Local Plan, for example, because it is outside where development is planned, we carefully consider whether development can be justified as an exception now, or whether the land should be promoted into the Local Plan Update. The sites and uses promoted into the Local Plan Update process are those that the Council has identified as the most suitable options to date that require consideration via this route. That is not to say that other sites could not be put forward in the future.
A map of all the Council’s landholdings has been made available at all Local Plan Update consultations, as you may have seen last night, being held around the Borough, and residents and indeed our housing companies are able to suggest further sites for development should they so wish.
Supplementary question
I found at the Forum that some of the elements of the presentation e.g. the crematorium in Barkham were not on the plans and were not discussed with residents. It is difficult to understand why the Council wants to use its own land to support private developers rather than allowing its own limited companies the opportunity to develop affordable housing on its own land.
In line with my question the LPU document has a reference to a deal with a neighbouring council which allows for the removal of small sites in a one size fits all policy, which I find very strange. My question therefore is this: Is the one size fits all policy acceptable when it was an opportunity for our limited companies to be able to evolve right and proper?
Supplementary answer
I can confirm that they are definitely doing that.