Agenda, decisions and minutes

RESOLVED: That the minutes of the meeting held on 15 September2015 be signed as an accurate record of the meeting.

1.1       RESOLVED: That the minutes of the meeting held on 15 September2015 be signed as an accurate record of the meeting.

2.1       There were no declarations of interest

RESOLVED: That the Committee refer the following to Mayor and Cabinet:

a)    Ask officers to investigate the possibility of setting up a Community Trust or similar body for CIL and Section 106 payments.

b)    Ask officers to develop a framework of consultation so communities can set their priorities for development, if CIL or Section 106 payments become available.

c)    Ask officers for further information on how the process of gathering priorities in communities for CIL and Section 106 payments will operate with both Neighbourhood Forums and Local Assemblies in operation

5.1       John Miller, Head of Planning, presented the report to the Committee. The key points to note were:

• Planning obligations (often referred to as Section 106 obligations after the section 106 of the Town and Country Planning Act), are secured through Legal Agreements between local planning authorities and developers in the context of the grant of planning permission.  They can be both financial and non-financial and are used when there is a need to mitigate the impact of a development and the impact itself cannot be dealt with through a planning condition on the permission.
• The Community Infrastructure Levy Regulations (Regulation 122) set out that from 6 April 2010 it will be unlawful for a planning obligation to be taken into account when determining a planning application for a development if the obligation does not meet the following tests:

o   necessary to make the development acceptable in planning terms;

o   directly related to the development; and

o   fairly and reasonably related in scale and kind to the development.

• CIL is intended to provide developers with more certainty up front about how much money they will be expected to contribute towards borough infrastructure needs. The Council adopted the CIL Charging Schedule with effect from 1 April 2015. Over time, the CIL will largely replace planning obligations as a way in which developments contribute towards providing the new infrastructure necessary to support new development. However, as a number of large schemes were approved prior to the introduction of CIL and will be built out in phases, it is anticipated that phased Section 106 payments will continue to be made for these schemes for at least the next 5 years. In addition, Section 106 payments will continue to be applied alongside CIL, albeit in relation to a more restricted range of issues.
• The balance of Section 106 monies held by the Council at the end of the 2014/15 financial year was approximately £23.1 million.  The Section 106 income during this financial year, £7.6 million, has practically doubled since the previous financial year.  This reflects the continuing increase in regeneration activity and, in particular, the commencement and progression of a significant number of large scale developments within the borough.
• Some of the projects that Section 106/CIL payments are being spent on are:
  • A 60 unit extra care scheme that Phoenix Community Housing is developing on behalf of the Council at Hazelhurst Court. 
  • A 22 home hostel and support unit that the Council is supporting Deptford Reach – a local and longstanding homelessness charity – to develop at its current day centre.
  • Funding to support the Council’s Local Labour and Business Manager (LLBM) who manages and develops the Local Labour and Business Scheme (LLBS), which has led to 19 new apprenticeships and the continuation of 10, 92 jobs secured, 258 training places offered, a job fair which attracted over 1300 attendees and 25 recruiting employers from a variety of sectors along with employment and training partners and over £4m worth of contracts secured by Lewisham  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.

RESOLVED: That the Committee agree the terms of reference and the

witnesses/information for the 1^st Evidence Session for the review.

7.1       Roger Raymond (Scrutiny Manager) introduced the report to the Committee. The key points to note were:

• Members were to consider the Scoping Paper, and decide:
  • if they are happy with the key lines of enquiry/terms of reference or would like to amend them
  • on the witnesses for the 1st Evidence Session.

7.2       In response to questions from the Committee, the following was noted:

• The information from the Allies and Morrison report reviewing the Catford Regeneration plans should be made available to the Committee for the review. However this would be under Part 2 business, for reasons of commercial confidentiality.
• Some discussion and information on the future of the Broadway Theatre should be provided to the Committee as part of the review.
• Information for the review should include the following areas:
  • Civic Suite
  • Town Hall Chambers
  • Lewisham Town Hall building
  • Laurence House
  • Broadway Theatre
  • Milford Towers
  • Catford and Catford Bridge Station
  • Catford Shopping Centre.

• Milford Towers Residents Association should be asked for a written submission to present their views to the review.
• Also if there are any relevant community groups, they should be asked for any written submissions.
• The Rushey Green and Catford South Councillors should be invited to the evidence sessions for the Review.

7.3       RESOLVED: That the Committee agree the terms of reference and the

witnesses/information for the 1^st Evidence Session for the review.

The Chair informed the Committee that this item will be deferred to the next meeting.

8.1       The Chair informed the Committee that this item will be deferred to the next meeting.

The Committee agreed to have the following items at the November meeting:

o   Planning Catford Regeneration Programme Review –Evidence Session 1

o   Waste Strategy (with enforcement)

o   Asset Register – Update

o   Planning service annual monitoring report.

11.1    Roger Raymond (Scrutiny Manager) introduced the report. The key points to note were:

·         The items scheduled for the November meeting were as follows:

o   Planning Catford Regeneration Programme Review –Evidence Session 1

o   Waste Strategy (with enforcement)

o   Asset Register – Update

o   Planning service annual monitoring report.

11.2    In response to questions from the Committee, the following was noted:

·         The Scrutiny Manager will discuss with the Chair if any items need to be moved if more space is needed for the Catford Regeneration Review 1^st Evidence Session and the Waste Strategy item.

11.3   The Committee agreed to have the following items at the November

meeting:

o   Planning Catford Regeneration Programme Review –Evidence Session 1

o   Waste Strategy (with enforcement)

o   Asset Register – Update

o   Planning service annual monitoring report.

12.1    The Committee agreed to refer the following items:

• Publishing Viability Assessments at 4.3
• Planning obligations/regulations – Update at 5.3