Agenda item

Report of the Assistant Director (Planning)

The Planning and Policy Implementation Manager introduced the report and took the meeting through a presentation. The Welwyn Hatfield Local Plan had been adopted by Council in October 2023. Policy SP2 committed the Council to undertake a review of the Plan that would start no later than a year after its adoption ie October 2024, and for an updated or replacement Plan to be submitted for examination no later than three years after the date of adoption ie October 2026. It was for the Council to determine whether the review would be partial or for a new Plan to be prepared. Officers’ view was that many of the policies needed updating and so their preferred option was for a full review. The plan making system was subject to change: the Levelling Up and Regeneration Act received royal assent last year and the government intended to implement the new plan making system as set out in the Act from summer or autumn 2025. The government’s consultation on proposed reforms to the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) set out that plans not subject to transitional arrangements would need to be submitted for examination no later than December 2026. A timetable had been prepared that set out plan making stages that led to the submission of a new Local Plan in October 2026, which was set out in the report. Key dates were as follows: a formal plan preparation consultation (Regulation 18 stage) in summer 2025, publication and inviting representations on a submission plan (Regulation 19 plan) in spring 2026 and submission of a plan in October 2026. It was proposed there be a precursor to a formal consultation on the new plan which would be a high level engagement exercise to allow the community to set out opportunities and challenges facing the borough; this would not include discussions about numbers of new homes or development locations. Engagement would instead be around broad themes such as living, working, environment and movement, and stakeholders and the wider community would be invited to contribute under each theme. Engagement would have a digital focus using a new engagement portal, it would be clear that inputs would inform the Council’s thinking ahead of detailed work on the plan, and the outcomes of the engagement would be reported back to the Panel and to Cabinet.          

Responding to a query, officers said the preparation of a local plan would be in line with the latest version of the NPPF. The Council would look at matters relating to the borough’s housing need and the starting point would be from the standard calculation method which effectively told the Council what its housing need was; this was slightly different from previously when the plan had been progressed under transitional arrangements for a much older NPPF. The proposal under the new government was quite different from the old standard method which was based on population projections with an affordability calculator which had a cap; the new standard method would no longer use population projections and would start from the basis of the number of dwellings in the borough – the affordability cap had been removed and draft figures that had been seen for Welwyn Hatfield had slightly reduced although they were still higher than the ones used for the last local plan when the Council had been working to the 2012 NPPF. The examination was likely to have a different inspector than previously.

A member sought clarity as to whether a replacement plan would be submitted as the report stated the requirement for an updated or replacement plan. Officers advised that the Council had a choice and the report recommended a new plan as it allowed scope for things the Council might want to do, for example, going further on climate change. A new plan would have a different housing needs number, principally because of the length of the plan as it would last longer than the adopted local plan. Replying to a question about whether the Council was confident the plan could be submitted for examination within three years, officers noted the previous examination had been particularly long; it was within the Council's gift to progress matters through the key stages up to the submission of the plan.

A member asked whether if the current plan was to be updated then the Council could potentially have lower housing numbers. Officers said this was not the case as a partial or fundamental review would need to take place in line with the NPPF of the day and so would mean looking at housing need again.

The Chair reflected that officers would be reviewing a number of policies as well as the plan and asked whether sufficient resources were available; the Assistant Director (Planning) confirmed this was the case.

A member noted the report identified some policies would not necessarily be reviewed such as SADM 12 (car parking standards). Officers said they were recommending a full review of the plan; the policies to be looked at would be informed by the direction in which the plan needed to go, which was why they wanted early engagement with broad themes that would help set a vision and objectives through a series of policies. The policies the report identified as not in need of review were not a fait accompli and there was scope to review them. 

A member asked about potential hold-ups to a full review being held within timescale. Officers said this came down to key stages, particularly formal stages which were set out in the report, eg the Regulation 18 stage which would come back to the Panel, go to Cabinet and then on to formal consultation. While the work was ambitious, officers were confident in the proposed timetable. 

RESOLVED

(Unanimous)

The Panel recommended to Cabinet that:

1. A local plan (full review) is prepared; and
2. As part of the scoping of the new local plan, public engagement take place inviting reflections regarding the current opportunities and challenges facing the borough. The arrangements for this engagement will be agreed by the Assistant Director (Planning) in consultation with the Executive Member.