Report of the Director of Planning, Building Control and Licensing.

This report provides an update on the Local Plan. It provides a general overview of current planning policy; an update on emerging planning policy (Places for Everyone and the Manchester Local Plan); a summary of the current consultation on updates to the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) expected this Spring; and potential future changes to NPPF via the Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill.

The committee considered a report of the Director of Planning, Building Control and Licensing which provided an update on the Local Plan. The report also provided an overview of current planning policy; an update on emerging planning policy (Places for Everyone and the Manchester Local Plan); a summary of the current consultation on updates to the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) expected this Spring; and potential future changes to NPPF via the Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill.

Key points and themes within the report included:

• The emerging Local Plan presented an opportunity to review current planning policy and will set out how the city should meet the need for new development over the next 15–20 years. It will identify where new development should happen, which green spaces and other aspects of the environment should be protected or enhanced, and how transport and other infrastructure will be improved;
• The range of policies included within the Local Plan to address key issues and challenges;
• The range of studies commissioned to provide the evidence base of the Local Plan;
• The timetable for the stages of the Local Plan’s development, with adoption planned for winter 2024;
• The Places for Everyone local plan - a joint development plan of the nine Greater Manchester districts which will determine the kind of development that takes place in their boroughs - was nearing completion of hearing sessions and would undertake further round of formal consultation on any proposed changes to the plan in late 2023 and would be adopted by individual full councils;
• The ongoing government consultation on the proposed approach to updating the NPPF; and
• Changes to national planning policy proposed under the Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill 2022 (LURB).

Key points and queries that arose from the committee’s discussions included:

• The internal scrutiny process of the Local Plan, and whether this would be subject to further consideration by this Scrutiny Committee;
• How the impact of future carbon emissions and rainfall could be forecasted to support the evidence-base for the Local Plan;
• The impact of implementing Schedule 3 of the Flood and Water Management Act 2010 concerning Sustainable Draining Systems (SuDS);
• The importance of a sense of place, and whether the city had the local services and infrastructure to support new emerging communities;
• The reforms to national planning policy proposed in theLURB and the implication of these on planning policy around affordable housing;
• If any further detail around Compulsory Purchase powers and Investment Zones was available;
• The impact of the government’s recent building safety announcement on the Council’s ability to hold developers to account on cladding issues;
• How planning powers are used to require developers to use local labour;
• Noting the Council’s record for high-quality development, and querying whether the new National Development Management Policy Framework would require the Council to accept lower quality development in line with the revised policies;
• Whether the current evidence bases within the Council’s strategies were sufficient; and
• Expressing concerns over the potential loss of flexibility for the Council through changes to the NPPF.

The Executive Member for Housing and Development introduced the item and highlighted the importance of the Local Plan for the city as it outlined the Council’s ambitions and framework for development. He explained that the Local Plan would align with Places for Everyone which was a joint development plan between the nine Greater Manchester authorities and was currently under inspection. This included targets for 50,000 affordable homes with 30,000 of these being social rent zero-carbon properties which aligned with Manchester’s Housing Strategy. He explained that the Local Plan also encompassed policies and objectives around biodiversity, green spaces, and purpose-built student accommodation for which several studies had been commissioned to inform the evidence base of the Local Plan. He also provided assurances that residents and elected members would be consulted on the Local Plan prior to adoption and highlighted previous extensive feedback from residents and community groups. 

The Director of Planning, Licensing and Building Control explained that the Local Plan acted as a planning policy framework and that this would align the Council’s policies and ambitions to enable delivery these priorities through the planning process where feasible. She acknowledged potential challenges and stated that the Local Plan would be scrutinised by an Independent Examiner. She also explained that the refreshed Core Strategy was proposed to be adopted in 2024, which meant that evidence would need to be gathered and the Core Strategy subject to internal scrutiny processes by summer 2024 and officers were committed to meeting this deadline. 

In response to a query from the Chair regarding internal scrutiny of the Local Plan, the Director of Planning, Licensing and Building Control explained that it was yet to be decided which commissioned studies would be submitted to the relevant Scrutiny Committee and it was suggested that Policy Panels may be utilised. 

The Director of Planning, Licensing and Building Control acknowledged that much of the evidence being produced was contemporary and explained that the Council would engage with relevant parties to forecast an evidence base for the future.

It was stated that engagement would be undertaken with key stakeholders to identify the social infrastructure required and where capacity was available and census data would be used to gain an understanding of future population figures. It was acknowledged, however, that the Local Plan could not identify who would deliver key infrastructure and the Council would not have the authority to identify specific sites for dental and GP practices, for example. The Executive Member for Housing and Development cited developments at Victoria North as an example of where the Council is working with partners to consider infrastructure requirements at an early stage in the development process. Work was ongoing across the Council and discussions underway with government departments to ensure suitable infrastructure at Victoria North and a business case for a new tram stop at Sandhills in Collyhurst had recently been submitted. He noted that the Department for Education (DfE) often waited to assess how many children moved into the development, which he felt was often too late to provide the necessary provisions.

The Director of Planning, Licensing and Building Control explained that a national consultation was underway regarding the proposed revisions to housing figures within the NPPF, but this did not include reference to a devolution deal for Greater Manchester.

Members were also advised that the suggestion of streamlining the process for Compulsory Purchase Orders (CPO) had been discussed for many years with the Council participating in several rounds of consultation. The Executive Member for Housing and Development highlighted that funding for new homes within Places for Everyone would be provided to Homes England rather than the Council, which further demonstrated the need for greater devolved powers like those granted to London Borough authorities.

The Director of Planning, Licensing and Building Control stated that officers would welcome the proposal to make the CPO process easier and explained that there were certain circumstances where the Council needed to legitimately impose a CPO to deliver what was needed for the city. In response to a query around Investment Zones, the Director of Planning, Licensing and Building Control confirmed that no further information had been provided to the Council regarding the process for identifying potential Investment Zones. She explained that where planning powers were proposed to be reduced, the Council would have less control over the quality and delivery of development such as the ability to impose conditions regarding local labour. The Strategic Director for Growth and Development also highlighted that it had been referenced at a recent Conference of the North that Investment Zones would be relaunched and could be aligned more closely with universities although the detail of this remained unknown.

In response to a query regarding the impact of implementing Schedule 3 of the Flood and Water Management Act 2010 concerning SuDs, the Planning and Infrastructure Manager explained that this was a key aspect in the work of the ‘Our Rivers, Our Cities’ programme, which helped to inform the evidence base of the Local Plan, and there had been significant discussion on existing infrastructure. This was also at the forefront of business planning for United Utilities, who had commissioned a study of the upper River Mersey to assess water management.

The Director of Planning, Licensing and Building Control explained that a consultation was underway which proposed giving local planning authorities powers to not determine applications where there had been previous issues with the developer or applicant. A second consultation on the building safety levy was also underway which proposed making developers pay a levy prior to starting work. Both consultations were open to the public and links to these would be provided after the meeting. She also provided assurances that the Council would provide a robust response to these consultations subject to the approval of the Executive Member.

The Executive Member for Housing and Development explained that 49 developers had signed the Building Safety Pledge, which set out that leaseholders should not have to pay for any costs associated with critical fire-safety remediation work arising from the design, construction, or refurbishment of buildings of 11 metres and above.The Secretary of State for the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communitieshad recently issued legally binding contracts on this for developers to sign within six weeks and consequences, such as not receiving planning or building control permission, were in place for those who did not do this, which he welcomed.

Encouraging local labour through the planning process had been a key focus of the Council for many years. This had previously been achieved through a legal agreement and was frequently imposed through conditions to planning approval, although there were limitations to this. The review of the Local Plan would also look to improve on this.

The Director of Planning, Licensing and Building Control acknowledged that the proposed revisions to the NPPF could allow the government to reduce the matters dealt with by local planning authorities and their ability to adopt higher development standards. She reiterated that the Council was proud of the quality of development in the city and would continue to push for high-quality standards.

In response to a query from the Chair, it was confirmed that there was a substantial evidence base for the Council’s strategies, but further expertise would be required in some areas to enable delivery through the planning process of key priorities.

Decision:

That the committee

1. notes the report, and
2. requests an update on the Local Plan in the next municipal year.