Agenda item

The Vice Chair read out the following question from Mr David Cummings, which had been received under public questions, in relation to the agenda item. The Chair explained that the Cabinet Member for Planning and Economic Development would respond within his presentation to Council. 

In reviewing the RLDP documents presented today and heard at recent scrutiny committee meetings many questions remain as to the achievability and the detail of the contents of the report.

For example, the document states that 6,240 jobs are planned to be created but provide no indication of how these will be created and where within the county they will be.

The report fails to address the lack of infrastructure, particularly in Monmouth’s case where there is no spare capacity at schools, GP surgeries or to treat sewage and poor public transport to other settlements.

 Additionally, 50% of the proposed development within the plan be social housing. There are 3,953 open applications for housing in the county. If you create social housing where there is no infrastructure and no public transport, you will create a pool of people disillusioned with life who wish they lived somewhere else.

So with these headline statements in mind, is the September 2023 version of the Revised Local Development Plan fit for purpose?

The Cabinet Member for Planning and Economic Development presented the Replacement Local Development Plan (RLDP) Preferred Strategy. Post-consultation updates to the Preferred Strategy were summarised in paragraph 3.9 in the report, as the basis for the ongoing preparation of the Deposit Plan.

https://www.youtube.com/live/WXW4tpnPFZ0?feature=shared&t=7730

Upon being put to a recorded vote, Council resolved to accept the recommendations:

·        That Council endorses the updates to the Replacement Local Development Plan Preferred Strategy summarised in paragraph 3.9 as the basis for the ongoing preparation of the Deposit Plan

Votes For: 23

Votes Against: 22

Abstentions: 1

Recorded Vote: Replacement Local Development Plan (RLDP) Preferred Strategy

County Councillor Emma Bryn left the meeting at 18:30pm

County Councillor Angela Sandles left the meeting at 18:30pm