Agenda and minutes

No declarations of interest were made at the meeting.

RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting held on 27th July, 2021 be approved as a correct record and signed by the Chair.

RESOLVED that upon consideration of a Schedule of Planning and Other Applications received, together with the recommendations in respect thereof, the recommendation be approved in accordance with Schedule and marked Appendix ‘A’.

RESOLVED that the public and press be excluded from consideration of the Appendix to the Adoption of the Doncaster Local Plan 2015-2035 report, in accordance with Section 100(A)(4) of the Local Government Act 1972, as amended, on the grounds that exempt information as defined in Paragraph 5 of Schedule 12A to the Act, is likely to be disclosed.

The Committee considered a report, which was presented by the Planning Policy & Environment Manager, Jonathan Clarke, which provided an update of the Doncaster Local Plan 2015-2035.

Members were informed that it was a real significant milestone for the preparation of the Local Plan and the process to date which had been ongoing for several years.  The Government had been clear of the need for Local Planning Authorities to have up-to-date Development Plans for their areas.  When adopted, the Doncaster Local Plan would replace the saved policies from the Unitary Development Plan and the strategic policies of the Core Strategy. 

It was reported that Full Council approved the draft Plan in July 2019, following several stages of consultation as part of the Plan’s preparation. Members noted that more consultation had been carried out than that required by the statutory regulations.  The draft Plan was published for any final comments and these were passed directly to the Planning Inspector when the Council submitted the Plan to Government for its independent Examination in Public in March, 2020.  Despite the challenges of the Covid pandemic in 2020, the Council managed to keep the examination broadly to timetable and through the use of ‘Blended Hearings’, whereby some participants attended physically in the Council Chamber in line with the guidance at the time, and others joined the Hearings via video link. 

It was also reported that there were a number of changes necessary to the Plan to address some concerns raised by the Inspector, which were subject to full consultation in February, 2021 and the feedback informed the Inspector’s Final Report.  The Council received the Inspector’s Final Report in late June, 2021 and the headline conclusion was the Local Plan, with the changes made, was legally compliant and ‘sound’ in line with national Planning Policy’s tests of soundness in that it was positively prepared, justified, effective and consistent with national policy.  The Government expected Local Plan’s that had been found ‘sound’ to proceed to adoption as soon as practicably possible and the Planning Committee’s remit, in line with the Council’s Constitution, was to advise and recommend on matters of planning policy to the Executive.

RESOLVED that the contents of the report be noted and that the Doncaster Local Plan 2015-2035 be recommended to the Executive to be adopted and have full Development Plan status and weight for determining all Planning Applications, and the Unitary Development Plan (1998 saved policies and supporting Policies Maps) and Local Development Framework Core Strategy (2012) be replaced entirely.

The Committee considered a report which detailed all Planning Enforcement performance in the first Quarter of 2021/22.

RESOLVED that all Planning Enforcement Cases received and closed for the period for 1st April to 30th June, 2021, be noted.