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Published Delegated Executive Decisions

Welcome. This system contains information about published delegated executive decisions, including exemptions.

Decision Number: 0027 2019/20

Executive Portfolio:
Economic Regeneration & Housing
Decision Number:
0027 2019/20
Exempt / Confidential Item:
No
Ward(s) Affected:
All Wards
Declarations of Interest Received:
None
Title:
St Helens Local Plan: Authority Monitoring Report (AMR) 2018
Summary of Decision:
To approve the publication of the St Helens Local Plan: Authority Monitoring Report for 2018.
Proposed Decision:
To approve the publication of the St Helens Local Plan: Authority Monitoring Report for 2018.
Summary of Reason for Decision:
To ensure that the Council complies with national legislation
Reason for Decision:
Under Section 35 of the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004 (as amended) the Council must prepare an Authority Monitoring Report (AMR). The AMR should be prepared at regular intervals as set out in the legislation. The Town and Country Planning (Local Planning) (England) Regulations 2012 (as amended) set out in further detail what should be included within an AMR. The AMR is a mainly factual document and does not set Council policy. Its purposes include (for example): · reviewing the rate of progress in the preparation of new Local Plan documents; and · assessing the extent to which policies of existing adopted Local Plan documents are being implemented. In recent years, the role of the AMR has been altered to give Councils more freedom to decide what matters it covers. The role of the document has also been expanded to report on infrastructure and planning obligations including the Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) and neighbourhood planning (in areas where these are being implemented). The AMR for St Helens for the monitoring year 1 April 2017 until 31 March 2018 is attached to this report. Its contents are summarised below. Chapters 1,2 and 3 of the AMR are short chapters which set out (respectively): the role of the AMR; a brief description of the Borough; and the roles of existing adopted plans i.e. the St Helens Local Plan: Core Strategy 2012; Bold Forest Park Area Action Plan 2017; Merseyside and Halton Joint Waste Local Plan 2013; and the ‘saved policies’ of the St Helens Unitary Development Plan 1998. Chapter 4 of the AMR assesses the progress of the Council in preparing its emerging new Local Plan documents in the year up to 31 March 2018. This progress is measured against the target dates in the Council’s published ‘project plan’ which was in force at that time (the St Helens Local Development Scheme 2015). This chapter notes the success of the Council in adopting the Bold Forest Park Area Action Plan in July 2017, and that progress was made on the emerging new Borough-wide Local Plan. Whilst the AMR notes that progress on the new Local Plan was slower than anticipated, it sets out reasons for this, which include for example the need to address the large response to consultation at the ‘Preferred Options’ stage and the need to comply with changing national policy (for example in relation to housing numbers). Chapter 5 (“St Helens Local Plan Core Strategy 2012: Policy Monitoring”) of the AMR assesses the effectiveness of policies within the Borough’s Core Strategy (2012). Amongst the successes that the AMR notes are the development of some key sites (e.g. Waterside Village, employment land at Lea Green, and the Vulcan Village housing site) and delivery of a range of transport, community and green infrastructure projects, for example at Bold Forest Park. The document also notes however that some matters have not progressed as envisaged in the Core Strategy (e.g. the development of a Strategic Rail Freight Interchange at Parkside and of new housing at Moss Nook Urban Village) and the reasons for this. One key area of chapter 5 relates to housing delivery (see page 22 of the AMR document). This identifies that, between 1 April 2003 and 31 March 2018, a total of 7,271 new dwelling completions (net of losses) took place i.e. an average of 485 dwellings per annum. Whilst this is lower than the target of 570 dpa in the Core Strategy it is similar to more recent housing requirement figures including the 486 per annum target quoted in the emerging new Local Plan (2019). The Borough has also (in 2019) met the requirements of the new Housing Delivery Test introduced by the Government. Chapter 6 (“Bold Forest Park Action Area Plan: Policy Monitoring”) of the AMR sets out progress in delivering the policies of the Bold Forest Park Area Action Plan (adopted in July 2017). The data covered is limited by the fact that the Council only intended to monitor some aspects (e.g. visitor numbers and customer satisfaction) every 3 years (and not every year). However, the chapter notes for example that trees within the Bold Forest Park have now matured and form an important green asset. Chapter 7 (“Merseyside and Halton Joint Waste Local Plan: Policy Monitoring”) cross refers to the separate monitoring reports for the Waste Local Plan, which are published by the Merseyside Environmental Advisory Service. Chapter 8 (“Duty to Cooperate”) identifies the activities which St Helens Council has undertaken with neighbouring authorities and other public bodies under the ‘duty to cooperate’. These include (for example): the work that has been undertaken to prepare a Statement of Common Ground on spatial planning matters with other Liverpool City Region authorities; and to progress the M6 junction 23 study in partnership with Wigan Council and Highways England. Chapter 9 (“Neighbourhood planning”) confirms that there are no existing or emerging neighbourhood plans in St Helens. Chapter 10 (“Developer Contributions”) confirms that the Council has no current plans to introduce a Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) charging schedule. It also identifies contributions received from developers using legal agreements made under Section 106 of the Planning Act. Chapters 11 and 12 are short chapters which link to existing information on the Council website about the Brownfield Register and Self-Build and Custom Housebuilding Register. The 2018 AMR has been prepared in compliance with the relevant legislation. It is now recommended that it be published.
Risks Associated with this Decision:
Failure to publish an AMR for 2018 would result in a failure to comply with the legislative requirements set out above.
Measures to Redress Risk:
That the 2018 AMR be published as recommended.
Anti Poverty / Human Rights / Agenda 21 Implications:
None
Attachments:
Please Contact Jonathan Clarke - Ext 6198 for more details.