Planning Parish Forum

The next Planning Parish Forum meeting is proposed for: Monday 6 December 2010 with registration at 5.15pm for a 5.45pm prompt start, here at the Council's headquarters in Cambourne.

The last meeting was held on Monday 14 June 2010. Details are provided below for information:

14 June 2010 Planning Parish Agenda
14 June 2010 Planning Parish Briefing Note
Minutes of the meeting will be available shortly
Planning Service Disruption

Presentations

'Implications of the Government's intention to reform the planning system'

Government proposes radical changes to the planning system to give local communities a greater say in planning decisions, reduce the administrative burden of the system and enabling local communities to benefit from development proposals.

The changes have already begun with a number of announcements removing parts of the present system including:

Regional housing targets (to be replaced by local assessments of housing need)
Regional targets for travellers pitches (to be replaced by assessments of local need and historic demand)
National minimum housing densities (30dph)
Gardens no longer defines as 'previously developed land'
Withdrawal of Housing & Planning Delivery Grant (HPDG)

The outline of the new planning system is set out in 2 pre-election Conservative Party green papers. These propose replacing regional plans with a National Planning Framework (like Scotland and Wales) and radical changes to a zoning style of Local Plan which will contain sufficient detail that development in accordance with the Local Plan and national planning guidance will not require a planning application to be made.

Coupled with changes to the operation of the Use Classes Order to permit changes between as well as within use classes and to 'permitted development', the intention is to reduce the number of planning applications considered by LPAs.

Local communities will be much more involved in Local Plan preparation and are likely to have a greater say on what development will take place in their communities. Inspectors will not be able to change plans anymore, can only be referred back to Councils for re-consideration.

Local communities able to create Local Housing Trusts to bring forward small scale development on a limited basis outside the local planning process. Could be used to fund other services for the benefit of local people.

The green paper also includes proposals for financial incentives for local communities and local planning authorities which are intended to reward localities where development takes place:

Match council tax increase for 6 years
Keep business rates for 6 years
Neighbourhoods to collect a share of S106 developer contributions

On Thursday 10 June, the Government put on hold all major expenditure proposals pending the spending review in the Autumn. The A14 upgrade has been caught by this decision. Local politicians are likely to continue to press for this proposal which does not just have implications for traffic and safety on the A14 but is crucial to the delivery of the Northstowe and a number of other developments which will be needed in the Cambridge area as we recover from the recession.

'Sustainable Parish Energy Partnership (SPEP)'

The SPEP is a 3 year funded project, which is just entering year two. The SPEP team work closely with Parish Councils and local environment groups to help residents reduce their energy bills, tackle climate change and plan for a more sustainable future. There is a vast range of opportunities on offer. Once parishes have joined the partnership they are allocated energy monitors to loan to residents and local businesses or organisations, they have their own online car-sharing network, they receive one-to-one support for local action and have a wide range of workshops and events organised specifically for them as well as benefiting from the wealth of experience and knowledge from others in the partnership. The main focus is on supporting communities and residents to explore generating energy from renewable sources but the SPEP also covers energy in food and transport as well. Please contact the SPEP team for more information on: 01954 713395 (direct dial) / 03450 450 500 (contact centre).

Download Sustainable Parish Energy Partnership (SPEP) presentation

'Community Orchards'

SCDC shall be actively promoting the establishment of Community Orchards in 2010/2011 through its Wildlife Enhancement Scheme. Orchards were once an extensive landscape feature of South Cambridgeshire with many fruit varieties (such as the Cottenham Seedling) local to the area. As the orchards matured they provided habitats for birds and mammals. In recent times many of the old orchards have been lost, but where they survive they can be restored and potentially make excellent communities' projects. Similarly, new orchards can be planted on land with public access in order to provide community orchards for future generations. For further details about how SCDC can help, please contact the Conservation and Design team on: 01954 713402 (direct dial) / 03450 450 500 (contact centre).

Download Community Orchards presentation

Information from previous meetings can be found at the end of this page.

What is the Planning Parish Forum?

The Planning Parish Forum was set up to provide a forum for the Parish Councils, enabling them to raise their planning concerns, whilst providing an opportunity for training on various SPDs and planning matters.

The Forum has provided training in the following areas:

Delegation System
Biodiversity
Trees & Landscape
Changes in the Planning Appeal Process
Conservation SPD
Open Space SPD
Public Art SPD
Enforcement

There is also a Parish Forum called 'Legal and Planning Parish Forum'

The Legal and Planning Parish Forum has set up workshops in September and October 2009 from the responsibilities of the Council's Standards Committee to inform/train parish councils about the Code of Conduct. The aim with these two sessions is to attract more Parishes by giving them advice/training on other issues which concern them such as planning and freedom of information requests. All Parish Councils have been issued with a hard copy of the latest version of the Parish Council Toolkit (issued by NALC and AcSeS) and will be referring to this in the training. The invitations to these two events are being managed by CPALC on our behalf.

Contact:
Ian Dewar, County Executive Officer
CPALC - Cambridgeshire & Peterborough Association of Local Councils
33 Stephenson Road
St Ives
Cambridgeshire PE27 3WJ
Email: iandewar@cpalc.org.uk (This link will open in a new window) or via telephone: 01480 375629

This is a Parish Forum and should not be confused with the Planning Parish Forum noted above.

Previous Meetings

If you have any queries about the Planning Parish Forum, or would like to submit your feedback, please email cerise.bradford@scambs.gov.uk or complete our online feedback questionnaire.