Issue - meetings

It was proposed by the Leader, seconded by Councillor Robert Bayford and Members agreed the recommendation as shown in the report, namely:

“That Council adopt and publish the revised Statement of Community Involvement”

The report explained that the SCI sets out how the Council would consult on planning policy issues, planning applications and neighbourhood plans. The SCI was originally adopted by Council in 2007. A reviewed and updated SCI was adopted by Council in 2012.

The SCI should be reviewed now in line with the forthcoming Local Plan review, and to reflect changes in methods of communication and engagement. There was a requirement under the Town and Country Planning Regulations that SCIs be reviewed every five years. The Council carried out a public consultation on the SCI Review from 25 February to 9 April 2021 and the main issues raised by residents in response to that consultation and any resulting changes to be made to the SCI were now being reported to cabinet for recommendation to Full Council for final approval.

Concerns were raised regarding the proposal to charge an administrative fee for processing lengthy and complex representations to the Local Plan.  It was not the intention that this should affect the ability of local people to make representations, and following the consultation, it was recommended that this proposal be not included in the SCI.

The report was also considered by the Overview & Scrutiny Panel on 26 August, and they recommended without further amendments the SCI to Cabinet for onward submission to Full Council.

Councillor Ashbee proposed, Councillor Bob Bayford seconded and Members agreed that the reviewed Statement of Community Involvement be reported to Full Council for adoption.

Mr Adrian Verrall, Strategic Planning Manager introduced the report and said that the report was being presented to the Panel for Members to recommend it to Cabinet for onward submission to Full Council. Mr Verrall said that his team had received support from the Comms team to advertise and publicise the public forums using a number of outlets that including the social media platform.

Members noted and welcomed the decision not to charge for detailed responses. They further noted the improved and closer working relations between the district council and parish/town councils. The Panel also welcomed the use of plain English in the public consultation document.

Councillor Fellows proposed, Councillor Coleman-Cooke seconded and the Panel agreed that Cabinet recommends the reviewed SCI should be reported to the Full Council for adoption.

Cabinet considered the results of the Statement of Community Involvement review that was conducted from 25 February to 9 April 2021. The Statement of Community Involvement (SCI) sets out how the Council will consult on planning policy issues, planning applications and neighbourhood plans. The SCI was originally adopted by Council in 2007. A reviewed and updated SCI was adopted by Council in 2012. The results of the review reported included the main issues raised in response to that consultation and the resulting changes to be made to the SCI.

The issues raised in relation to the SCI had been considered leading to some changes being recommended as reflected in Annex 1 to the Cabinet report.  Members were advised that the concerns that had been raised by residents regarding the proposal to charge an administrative fee for processing lengthy and complex representations to the Local Plan had been listened to and were no longer going to be in the updated SCI.

Councillor Everitt and Councillor Austin spoke under council Procedure Rule 20.1.

Councillor Ashbee proposed, Councillor Bob Bayford seconded and Cabinet agreed that the reviewed SCI be reported to Full Council on 9 September 2021 for adoption.