Updated: Local Plan Public Hearing Will Not Revisit All Issues

Published on: 4 Feb, 2019
Updated on: 6 Feb, 2019

The government’s planning inspector will hold another public hearing on 12 and 13 February, at the council’s offices in Guildford, as part of his independent examination of our submitted Local Plan.

See reactions below…

Council leader Paul Spooner said: “We are now approaching the final stages in our new Local Plan. The Inspector found our plan substantially sound on all key tests during last summer’s public hearings. He also indicated he will not revisit issues such as spatial strategy, strategic sites and constraints next week because they have already been thoroughly discussed.

Cllr Paul Spooner

“He will focus on the overall housing requirement and the possible implications arising from the latest Office of National Statistics (ONS) household projection figures.

“We received thousands of comments to help inform our new Local Plan during the important and wide-ranging consultations at each stage of the process, and passed your feedback to the Inspector. We now think that the potential reduction in homes based on the ONS figures means it is possible to meet our borough’s housing need, without having to allocate any of the new green belt sites proposed in the last main modifications consultation.

“But our plan is about more than providing much-needed local homes, it’s about providing sustainable places to live and work in our borough, supported by vital infrastructure and a great environment.”

More information about the hearing on February 12 and 13 will be on the council website below, including the Inspector’s note, matters and issues, agenda and a programme of participants as soon as they are published.

See: www.guildford.gov.uk/newlocalplan

Guildford’s Local Plan was submitted to the Secretary of State in December 2017. Also submitted were all of the public consultation comments made in 2016 and the responses about the changes from the consultation in the summer of 2017.

The planning inspector manages the whole process and decides if he wants to ask the council, or anyone else, for clarification or to raise concerns as part of testing the soundness of our plan. This includes before, during and after any public hearing sessions.

The inspector has reviewed the comments from the 2018 main modifications consultation, after his public hearings in the summer of 2018. After the February 2019 public hearings, he will produce his final report and recommendations. This will mark the end of his examination of the plan. The recommendations will be considered and the full council will be asked whether to adopt the new Local Plan.

Asked whether GBC would take the opportunity to modify the draft Local Plan to take account of the recent change of plan in North Street from mainly retail to primarily residential a GBC spokesperson said that the plan was “evidenced based” and set at a point in time.

“It is considered to be a framework and provides guidance for development going forward.” Adding that any planning application would be judged on the evidence presented and the plan has sufficient flexibility to allow for these changes.

Cllr Caroline Reeves

This evening (Monday, January 4, 2019) the leader of the opposition at Millmead, Cllr Caroline Reeves (Lib Dem, Friary & St Nicolas) played down the council’s announcement. She said: “This is not news, the planning inspector made it very clear last year when he set the dates for next week’s public hearing that he would only be reviewing the housing requirements following on from the publication of the ONS household projections data.

“No doubt the inspector will explain his decision to anyone who argues against this.”

Cllr Susan Parker

But the leader of the Guildford Greenbelt Group, Cllr Susan Parker (Send) argued that significant change to the housing number might still be possible: “At the end of the summer Examination in Public the inspector made it clear that this is Guildford Borough Council’s plan. He was not commenting on whether this was the best possible plan, or whether the plan could be improved; merely whether Guildford’s plan is itself sound.

“He is now looking at the impact of housing projections. This is a fundamental change. The proposed housing number is far too high. Instead, we’d propose a revised housing target of 300-313 new homes per year, as supported by the Office of National Statistics.

“Guildford’s planned 5-year housing supply would not then be justified. There are no exceptional circumstances for increasing our housing stock by around 25% nor for putting 70% of new homes on the green belt. We think that fewer homes should be built but those built should be genuinely affordable homes, for key workers and the young. There is no need for executive suburban sprawl.”

Cllr Tony Rooth

And Tony Rooth of the new Independents Alliance said: “Housing numbers must logically have a knock-on effect on the Local Plan. Significantly lower numbers would reduce pressure generally for development and on vital infrastructure needed in our precious green belt environment. Proposed new sites should be removed. Larger strategic sites already included like Blackwell Farm, Slyfield, Wisley and Gosden Hill would need to be reassessed.

“The prospect of substantially more brownfield development has also risen. We argued throughout 2018 that the leadership’s proposed “retail led’ mixed-use town centre no longer made sense with an increasing number of empty shops.

“On 14th January, Cllr Spooner announced, at last, that the council leadership and North Street landowners, “agreed to now progress with a primarily residential-based scheme.” This will mean changes to the balance of homes, retail and other uses.

“The inspector must now consider the impact of increased sustainable town centre housing. If combined with a significantly lower borough wide target, surely he should assess downsizing or even removing development on strategic sites currently in the Local Plan?”

Responses to Updated: Local Plan Public Hearing Will Not Revisit All Issues

Valerie Thompson Reply

February 4, 2019 at 6:29 pm

None of the “new” green belt sites will need to be built on.

What we still fear is the devastation to our rural communities that building on the allocated green belt sites, already in the earlier Local Plan, will cause.

If GBC had planned properly for the town centre and had adhered to the idea of “brownfield first”, most of these sites would not be needed at all for development.