Minutes:
"The Local Plan is now almost three years behind schedule according to the Council’s own timeline set out in 2012. The Council’s own figures show just under 3,500 responses were submitted to the 2012 consultation on the subject. The 2015 consultation later yielded almost 5,500 responses. But, you now state that the 2016 consultation attracted only 2,191 responses to the draft Local Plan, well under half the number for 2015. The figures speak for themselves, clearly not enough has been done to engage local residents in this process, as I've been saying for some years now. You also state there were only 1,245 individuals and groups submitting all those responses in 2016. This represents barely one percent of the Borough’s population. Does such a paltry figure demonstrate community involvement in the process?
Personally I don't think so. Your new appendices documents are also telling. In them you address every set of objections raised by that one per cent. Your written response to each objection ends with just two words: No Change. I counted 'No Change' repeated 811 times throughout the appendices, by comparison I saw not a single instance of 'will change' or 'change'. How can this be remotely described as listening to local communities? You achieve a very poor one per cent response rate, you then you go on to dismiss practically every one of those responses.
I would really like to hear how you justify all of this? No doubt you will vote tonight to carry on regardless, and agree to submit this flawed Local Plan to the Independent Inspector anyway. On the grounds that it's so overdue now, that you have to submit something, with collective fingers crossed. Is there anything you can say to stop me feeling that most of the Borough's residents have been shortchanged all along in this process? Ultimately it's us who will pay the price for this plan, long after most of the decision makers here have moved on or retired."
Answer
The question was answered by Councillor M.Perkins (Executive Member, Planning, Housing and Community).
“The Local Plan has over the course of its preparation been subject to a number of consultation events. Each of those consultations has demonstrated that there is a lack of consensus on what the plan should contain in particular with regard to the allocation of housing sites. The overriding requirement for the Local Plan is that it is sound. This means that it has to above all be justified by evidence, be effective in delivering a strategy, be consistent with national policy, and be ‘positively prepared’ and meet identified needs for development. Responses to each consultation have been carefully considered and changes have been made where possible as for example in response to the large numbers of people who wished to see a more even distribution of development around the Borough.
Consultation on the Local Plan is not a referendum. Nevertheless it is worth noting that the number of respondents to the latest consultation has in fact increased from the number in 2015 (1,964 vs 1,603). This compares to around 320 respondents to St Albans’ 2015 Local Plan consultation, 2,472 respondents to the East Herts 2016 Local Plan consultation and 330 respondents to Broxbourne Borough Council’s 2016 Local Plan consultation.
Finally, it is not correct to say that no changes are proposed following the most recent consultation. The schedule of modifications (Appendix B) recommends 148 minor amendments to the Local Plan, many of which have been suggested by respondents to the consultation.”