Apologies were received from Councillors Sid Dennis, Daniel McNally  and Paul Rickett. 

It was noted that, in accordance with Regulation 13 of the Local Government (Committees and Political Groups) Regulations 1990, notice had been given that Councillor Terry Taylor had been appointed to the Committee in place of Councillor Sid Dennis for this Meeting only.

At this point in the Meeting, Members were invited to declare any relevant interests.  None were received.

To confirm the Minutes of the Meeting held on 14 December 2023.

The Minutes of the Meeting held on 14 December 2023 were agreed as a correct record.

Actions from the previous Meeting(s).

The actions were noted as complete or in hand.

To receive a verbal update from the Housing Development Manager.

The Chairman welcomed Andrew Sweeney, Housing Development Manager who was in attendance to provide Members with an update on the Council’s Development Company.

Members received a presentation ‘Invest East Lindsey Limited – Housing Development Programme’, a copy is attached at Appendix A to the Minutes.

The key areas were highlighted as follows:

·       Key Housing Drivers

·       Targeted Activities

·       Council Assets and Constraints Identified

·       Other land

·       Current Development Activity, including sales, challenges along the way, successful outcomes and potential pipeline.

Members were invited to put their comments and questions forward.

·       A Member commented that it was reassuring to see a 16% profit had been achieved during difficult times and the social benefit of bringing forward stalled sites was encouraging.

·       A Member asked whether the calculation for 16% profit could be explained.  The Housing Development Manager explained that the figure was based on capital outlay and the sales income generated that took into account land cost, fees, construction costs and any sundry costs in comparison with the sales income and this was a gross profit.  The net profit would be approximately 13% to 14% if corporation tax had to be paid, however this would depend on the trading figures for the caravan activities that was part of the company.  Currently there were no trading accounts within the company available at present.  It was further highlighted that Invest East Lindsey (IEL) can make a much lower percentage in profit than a traditional developer due to the constraints that IEL worked within.

·       A Member queried whether the development company insisted on solar panels being installed on new properties.  The Housing Development Manager confirmed that on the current scheme it had not as it was the first project and he was conscious of the expenditure and the need to generate a profit, however for future schemes it was likely to be mandatory in terms of the renewables on properties.

·       The Chairman stated that during a discussion, the subject of ‘lifetime homes’ which were pre-engineered to be easily adaptable had been highlighted and queried whether this type of build was being incorporated in future development.  In response, the Housing Development Manager advised Members that these homes were originally designed in the early 2000s or earlier, and a Section 73 application was submitted whereby some modifications were made within that to bring the properties up to a more contemporary design.  It was highlighted that the space standards in those properties was quite generous, however nowadays the lifetime home standards were adopted as part of the building regulations so would have to comply with most of the requirements.  It was highlighted that the properties were not for wheelchair standard design houses, but they would be lifetime homes.

·       At the discretion of the Chairman, Councillor David Hall queried the biodiversity net gain on these sites, particularly in relation to the Council’s commitment to zero carbon.

In response, the Housing Development Manager informed Members that because of the historic nature of the site, this had not been calculated for these properties,  ...  view the full minutes text for item 37.

To receive a report from the Planning Policy and Research Service Manager.

The Senior Policy Officer presented Members with a report on the Local Plan Settlement Pattern, pages 19 to 32 of the Agenda refer.

It was highlighted that a number of reports relating to the methodology behind establishment of the Local Plan settlement pattern had been presented at previous meetings of this Committee.  This report brought together the previous decisions of the Committee and Appendix A set out the resulting Settlement Pattern, proposed for inclusion in the Local Plan review.  This would be subject to consultation at a future date as part of consultation on the wider Local Plan review.

Members were referred to the background of the report detailed at Paragraph 1, pages 20 to 21 of the report refer.

The Planning Policy and Research Service Manager highlighted the table at Paragraph 2.6 of the report to Members that detailed the changes as a result of the updated scoring, showing a reduction in the large and medium villages and an increase in the number of small villages.

As a result of previous discussions and work undertaken, this had resulted in looking at allowing more developments in medium villages in terms of housing development, so a reduction in number would in effect make sure that the medium and large villages were the most sustainable. Those villages that did not have the services and facilities to support that additional development were now small villages and would be caught under the SP4 policy which was more restricted in terms of housing provision.

The Chairman asked for clarification on Policy SP4 in relation to small settlements and the current restriction for two units of infill.  The Planning Policy and Research Service Manager responded that further to discussions with Members there was a desire to be slightly more flexible within the SP4 policy in small villages and over the years quite a number of the infill plots had been taken up where some of those had shown that there was a potential for more than two.

Members were invited to put their comments and questions forward.

• Further to the changes to the settlement pattern referred, a Member asked for clarification whether this would put an end to development in small villages.

In response, the Planning Policy and Research Service Manager explained that the Local Plan policies were a starting point when making decisions on planning applications and all material planning considerations had to be taken into account.  Policy SP4 had been written so it allowed very small amounts of development in a small village with infill sites.  It was a very restrictive level of growth and would be contained within the new SP4 going forward. So there was not an absolute ‘no’ in planning terms, and as a planning authority the Council was heading in the direction of trying to be more flexible than it had in the past.

• A Member highlighted that the findings from contacting parish councils to ascertain the accuracy of the services and facilities in each settlement seemed to reflect quite  ...  view the full minutes text for item 38.

The programmed date for the next Meeting of this Committee will be Thursday 14 March 2024.

The date of the next Meeting was confirmed as Thursday 14 March 2024 commencing at 6.00pm.