The Cabinet considered a report of the Deputy Chief Executive and Executive Director (Growth and Housing) seeking approval to publish the ‘Refining the Plan Options’ for public consultation as part of the next stage in preparing the Southend New Local Plan.

The Minutes of the Environment, Culture, Tourism and Planning Working Party held on 8^th June 2021 were considered in conjunction with this matter.

On consideration of the report, members of the Cabinet requested that officers redouble their efforts to investigate any potential available land for housing development outwith the green belt.

Resolved:

1. That the ‘Refining the Plan Options’ document set out at Appendix 1 to the submitted report be approved as the second stage of the preparation of the Southend New Local Plan to be published for public consultation under Regulation 18 of the Town and Country Planning (Local Planning) (England) Regulations 2012.

2. That the feedback received during the previous stage of consultation, the Southend New Local Plan Issues and Options Document 2019, as set out in the accompanying Consultation Statement set out in Appendix 2 to the report, be noted.

3. That authority be delegated to the Deputy Chief Executive and Executive Director (Growth and Housing), in consultation with the Executive Councillor for Environment, Culture, Tourism and Planning to:

·       Make minor amendments to the Southend New Local Plan prior to consultation; and

·       Take all necessary steps to ensure compliance with the relevant statutory processes and procedures to undertake the consultation.

4. That, in view of the constraints within the Borough and given the potential effects on the Green Belt of meeting our housing needs in full, being consulted upon in Options 2 and 3 of the Local Plan Consultation Document, that the Council seek the assistance of the local Members of Parliament to effect a meeting with the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government in order to lay before him the difficulties which the Council finds itself in meeting the housing figures imposed by the Government without impinging on substantial green belt land or over-densification of the urban area and the consequent detrimental effect on the health and wellbeing of residents of the Borough.

Reasons for decision:

To expedite production of a new Local Plan for Southend.

Other options:

The failure to prepare a new Local Plan for Southend would result in its current plans becoming progressively out of date and the Council becoming increasingly unable to positively influence the scale, nature and location of development within the Borough.

Note: This is an Executive Function

Eligible for call-in to: Place Scrutiny Committee

Cabinet Member: Cllr Mulroney