Agenda and draft minutes

To receive the notes of the meetings held on 30 September and 14 October 2019

The notes of the previous meetings held on 30 September and 14 October were received.

To update the Group on progress in delivering the key strategic sites allocated in the adopted Horsham District Planning Framework (i.e. Novartis, North of Horsham, East of Billingshurst and at Southwater)

The Director of Planning advised that there were no significant updates on the strategic sites since the last PDAG.

The Head of Development will brief the Group on the proposed arrangements for overseeing the collection, auditing and spending of Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) monies, which are raised from developers to pay for infrastructure that is needed to support growth.   As many of you will know, Horsham became a CIL Authority in late 2017. To ensure we effectively manage and authorise CIL payments regarding District wide infrastructure we are required to establish CIL Governance which will set out the framework of how CIL payments will be prioritised and made. A draft document seeks to establish this. NB this does not affect payments to Parish Councils, which have been ongoing since CIL was adopted.

The Director of Place advised the Group that following adoption of the Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL), it was appropriate for the Council to establish governance arrangements to help prioritise how the money that is collected will be spent. 

At the current time, only a small number of other local authorities have established CIL governance arrangements. However, officers have liaised with those authorities in order to establish a process that had proven successful elsewhere. 

The Group noted the proposed arrangements, which would include a team of officers to analyse the Infrastructure Delivery Plan using a set of criteria to score infrastructure projects. Decisions would be delegated to the Director of Place, in consultation with a group of Councillors. 

The Group were broadly supportive of the proposal. In response to comments from the Group, the Cabinet Member agreed to look into including relevant Local Members as part of the consultation process.  

To update the Group upon the Horsham District Local Plan Review process

The Strategic Planning & Sustainability Policy Team Leader gave a presentation updating the group on the evidence base work that ongoing to inform the revised Local Plan.  This includes work on the Strategic Housing Market Assessment (SHMA) to help understand the numbers and types of housing required, including affordable housing and specialist homes for older people. In addition, an Economic Growth Assessment will establish whether the Council has sufficient land for office, manufacturing and warehouse use.

The Head of Strategic Planning briefed the Group on the outline structure and timetable of the Local Plan Review.  The Cabinet Member reminded the Group that the public consultation on this first stage of the review that would take place in February / March 2020.

To note the Forward Plan extract for the Planning and Development Portfolio

The extract from the Forward Plan was noted.