Agenda item

Officers Craig O’Connor and Jill Edge delivered the report, informing the committee of the Sustainable Settlement Appraisal, which has been prepared to inform the Replacement Local Development Plan.

Challenge:

Should the scoring system used for the diagram on p2 have negative points to reduce scores, if negative issues exist? e.g. in Monmouth we have a lack of sewage capacity, and less car parking than most other large towns.

The items in the diagram came from Welsh Government as a manual for what needs to be considered. This exercise looks at the quantative measures i.e. the facilities that do exist. Going forward, the other elements on the diagram will be considered but that doesn’t form part of this appraisal. There will be that qualitative assessment then, and discussions with the Health Board, Education authority, Welsh Water, etc. We have a meeting in a few weeks’ time about Monmouth’s sewage capacity. We will therefore look at those things, and we will look to get money from developers if sites are promoted to enhance our infrastructure. This current exercise only looks at which settlements in Monmouthshire are considered to be sustainable, based on the quantative information we have at this time.

Broadband penetration can vary across very small areas, given the hilly nature of our county. Is that taken into account?

We didn’t look at broadband penetration. We considered speed, based on the information we were able to acquire at the time of the survey. We will update that. It’s not clear how we would assess penetration, how it would be measured. If members have ideas about that then we can take them on board when we do this work again.

What do these analyses allow us to do? What can we insist that developers do for us, as a result?

This appraisal underpins our replacement Local Development Plan in terms of where we should look for potential growth, and housing and employment opportunities. It is for us as a council to consider where the most sustainable places are for us to develop growth. These developments in growth can enhance areas, potentially improving the negative points we have discussed. In the last development plan a doctors’ surgery was going to close, but thanks to the housing growth in that area it was retained for that community. Housing developments therefore ensure that some services are retained; we want to keep local businesses open and our local areas thriving.

It is good to know which communities are sustainable, and what we would like to build, but unless we have the political will to enforce what we would like to build, is this exercise not about what we can demand of developers?

Yes, what we want from developers – what type of development, and the level of growth we want for Monmouthshire – will come through this Local Development Plan process. This is one stage in a long process of many years developing this plan. We have had many conversations about the housing mix, and sustainable forms of development and design that we want. But those detailed policies and requests of developers will come later. This is merely the first step, identifying which areas are the most sustainable, and where additional growth could be.

When formulating the strategy, should we not also consider the importance of attracting the right sort of employers, and putting in the necessary infrastructure?

Yes, a holistic approach is needed. The plan is about growth, housing and employment, and ensuring we build in the right place. We need to ensure that all services are within easy reach for people. Covid has magnified the importance on ‘local’ – going to work at local hubs, etc. Many conversations are taking place about focussing more on local things, and the work/life balance. We want to enhance our existing settlements to allow for or improve this. It is certainly very important to consider the overall picture, which is why we need to base our decisions on robust evidence.

Do we have an idea of what the new data from Welsh Government suggests? Is it likely to change anything substantially?

We are still working through the detail at the moment. We are speaking to consultants about how the new population projections affect Monmouthshire, so it is probably too soon to say how that will play out in terms of growth levels. In the coming months we will revisit the growth options, based on these new figures, and go out to public consultation. We can engage with our communities to see where they think we should go. There are key issues in Monmouthshire that still need addressing: affordable housing, ageing population, reliance on cars etc. We need to review the new figures and evidence, and address matters subsequently, ensuring we make the right decisions for our communities. When we reassess this settlement appraisal, using the same methodology, it will be sent out to all community councils.

Chair’s summary:

We have commented on some of the report’s aspects, with the suggestion of looking again at the scoring capacity – the officers have emphasised the qualitative and quantative data, but we need to balance the limitations that could make further development in those areas more problematic. Equally, we have heard how development can bring opportunities for business growth; sometimes, communities experience difficulty before the process is reassessed, and new infrastructure is put in place. The officers noted that the aim is to enhance communities, and make them more sustainable long term. The LDP workshops are due to resume, which will be important for feeding into this process. We heard concerns about broadband penetration and speed; Councillor Becker suggested that for assessing broadband penetration, we look at how many people Open Reach says it has lit up in an area for fibre, specifically, fibre to the cabinets vs. how many homes are served by those cabinets. Councillor Roden proposed that a fourth scoring principle for negative factors be introduced.