Minutes:
Context:
A report was presented to members with an overview of tourism related planning policies to enable consideration of the extent to which the Local Development Plan (LDP) supports the Council’s objectives for growing our tourism economy.
Key Issues:
To aid consideration of this topic, this report is divided into two sections. Firstly, the table in the report sets out the various types of tourism-related development and shows how they would be considered under the LDP. The table is traffic-light rated to show where policies are supportive (green), supportive only in certain circumstances (amber), or prohibitive/no relevant policy (red). The second section of the report looks at tourism-related planning applications determined since the LDP was adopted. This section utilises details from the LDP Annual Monitoring Report to investigate planning approvals, and a separate analysis of applications refused, to identify any issues arising. The Head of Planning reported that, based on the evidence to date, it can be concluded that the LDP is supporting appropriate tourism development. The situation will continue to be monitored and the 2016 LDP Annual Monitoring Report could be reported back to the Select Committee if desired.
Member Scrutiny:
The Committee held a brief discussion on these potential future areas for scrutiny, in which they recognised there is a need to balance the value of the Section 106 contribution against the need to attract development. There was an acknowledgement that whilst attempts should be made to maximise Section 106 contributions, there is a need to be mindful that too high a Section 106 contribution may detract inward investment. The Committee discussed Section 106 contributions in relation to affordable housing and were advised that this is scrutinised on an ongoing basis by the Strong Communities Select Committee, whose meetings could be attended by Members of the Economy and Development Committee. The Committee felt there may still be a need to assess the extent to which the Local Development Plan supports regeneration, in a similar vein to their scrutiny of its application to tourism development, however, at this stage, Members needed a better understanding of the Planning function and its obligations and how well they are performing, possibly though scrutiny of their Service Plan. The Head of Planning, Place and Enterprise advised that he is in the process of preparing an Annual Performance Report for submission to Welsh Government on 19th November and that this report may serve as a useful starting point for the Committee’s scrutiny.
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Committee’s Conclusion:
Chair’s Summary:
The Chair advised the Committee that elements of the earlier discussion during agenda item 5 may have answered some of Members queries, however, as scrutiny of the Planning Function sits within the remit of the Economy and Development Select Committee, the Committee should have sight of the Annual Performance Report for the function prior to the submission to Welsh Government. The Committee were in agreement that a Special Meeting of the Committee should be held on Monday 16th November at 2pm to table the Annual Performance Report as a single item for scrutiny and that future areas for scrutiny in respect of the Planning Function could be identified after this time.
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