Agenda and minutes

Councillor Church, Davies, Garlick, B Markham and Woods declared a personal interest in both Items 6 – Overview and Scrutiny Response to the Consultation on the West Northamptonshire Emergent Joint Core Strategy and 7 – Council Response to the Consultation on the Emergent Joint Core Strategy, as Members of the West Northamptonshire Joint Strategic Planning Committee.

Councillor Edwards declared a personal interest in both items 6 and 7 as a Member of the County Council’s South West Northampton Planning Committee.

To approve the minutes of the proceedings of the Meeting of the Council held on 13 July 2009.

The minutes of the meeting of Council held on 13 July 2009 were signed by the Mayor.

Apologies were received from Councillors Beardsworth, Capstick, De Cruz, Flavell, Hadland, Hawkins, M Hoare, Lane, Larratt, I Markham, Meredith and Mildren.

None.

Mr Suter stated that he was the Chair of the Whitehills and Spring Park Association.  He commented that democracy was a cornerstone of Britain and as a free and liberal country people were able to freely elect politicians.  These rights were not enjoyed across the world.  He stated that these rights came under threat when non-directly elected Members were able to make decisions, in this case in the form of a quango known as the WNDC.  Democracies were characterised by having a system of checks and balances but this quango eroded that position.  He referred to an open day held by residents prior to the last local elections at which candidates had indicated that the Council was going to fight against the WNDC and take back its planning powers.  Councillors had been elected on the basis of these statements but now the Council had appeared to take the opposite tack.  There was now an opportunity for the Council to fight for Northampton.  The public did not want the Emergent Joint Core Strategy. 

Mr Britcher commented that it was difficult for the public to really get to grips with the issue; the Overview and Scrutiny report before Council was twenty eight pages long alone.  He commented that it was not clear when the closing date for comments was.  The consultation document was a broad brush tick box approach.  There were many issues involved but one that was not dealt with was that if the wider Northampton area was covered by one authority, a Joint Planning Unit would not be needed and the planners would be directly responsible to that authority and thus the public.  Mr Britcher referred to settlements such as Bourneville and pit villages, which had grown up around the work that was available, or along railway lines such as at Llandudno Junction, Effingham Junction and Bedlington Station.  Mr Britcher referred to Grange Park, which was built close to the M1 but did not particularly benefit the town or provide for lower grade workers.  He queried where all the jobs to complement the proposed housing would come from:  He understood that it had been assumed that they would work in other places, for example in London.  In this respect there were already problems with the existing rail service.  Mr Britcher referred to existing schemes for rail developments, such as the Bedford/Olney/Northampton line, the Harborough Link along the Brampton Valley and Roade Junction station to serve as a parkway for Towcester.  He queried the traces of the spur line westwards from the Castle/Brackmills line as a potential for development.  Mr Britcher commented that large developments near Moulton and Whitehills would cause more transport problems further into the town; for example, could the Cock Hotel Junction cope with this?  He felt that such schemes were badly designed and he referred to the proposals for Buckton Fields, which he believed had problems with damp and suggested that housing needed to follow the contours of the land as typically, pit villages did.  He also  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.

Report of Overview and Scrutiny Committee 1: Partnerships, Regeneration and Community Safety and Engagement (copy herewith)

Councillor Simpson submitted a report that set out the conclusions of the meetings of the Overview and Scrutiny Committees to consider the Emergent Joint Core Strategy.  Councillor Davies seconded the adoption of the report.  Councillor Simpson commented that within the timescales allowed, Overview and Scrutiny had not had the opportunity to do a comprehensive review and he highlighted concerns that had been raised as follows:

•       That in terms of consultation, the approach had been inadequate and carried out at the wrong time of year.  It had been noted that the JPU website was not user friendly and that the exhibitions had usually been held at the wrong times of day for the public.

•       In terms of the Vision and Options this was largely agreed, although some aspects appeared vague.  Overview and Scrutiny did broadly agree with Option B, ie that development should be focused on a small number of large development areas as the preferred option.

•       Impact on Northampton – Overview and Scrutiny felt that the housing targets were questionable and undeliverable and that the Government’s growth figures should be challenged.  Brown field sites should be developed before green-field; the need for a plan to develop the town was agreed and also for infrastructure to be in place at the beginning of the process.  As part of the plan, regeneration of the town centre was vital and the links to it and, in particular, public transport was fundamental.  Council needed to ensure that it fulfilled its responsibilities regarding flood risk.  In terms of locations for growth Overview and Scrutiny felt that it could not comment, as there was insufficient detail in terms of the infrastructure required at the present time.

•       In terms of the delivery of the plan there needed to be a clearer relationship with the Central Area Action Plan and the process should work from the bottom up rather than the top down.  There needed to be a clearer definition of the employment areas and more clarity about regeneration being undertaken with existing communities.

Councillor Simpson thanked the Scrutiny Officer for her assistance in producing the report and commented that it was essential that further work on the Joint Core Strategy should be subject to greater scrutiny and public involvement. 

Councillor Davies commented that it was important that all Councillors were involved, as he believed that some felt that the process was happening too quickly and that they had not had a proper chance to debate this matter fully.  Councillor Davies thanked those members of the public who had contributed to the Overview and Scrutiny meetings.

Councillor Clarke commented that Councillors did not have to accept the Emergent Joint Core Strategy.  They could vote according to their conscience and in accordance with the views of the members of the public that they represented.  He asked for some clarity as to what was proposed to happen to the recommendations made by Overview and Scrutiny.

Councillor Church, in responding to the Overview and Scrutiny report, proposed  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

(Motion herewith)

Councillors Wood moved and Councillor Palethorpe seconded:

“This Council notes that:

1.      The Government identified Northampton as a major growth area within the Milton Keynes South Midlands sub-region.

2.      The East Midlands Regional Spatial Strategy agreed to an extra 43,000 homes in Northampton by 2026.

3.      The Northampton Local Plan produced in 1997 is out of date, with limited reserve policies.

This Council believes that:

1.      Northampton needs a sound spatial plan to deliver the housing, quality jobs and infrastructure for the future and to protect the town from developer-led growth.

2.      Priority should be given to the regeneration of the town centre to become a destination of choice for working, shopping and relaxing.

3.      Previous expansions of Northampton have failed to enhance its character and reflect its unique and longstanding heritage.

4.      Given the number of homes built in Northampton between 2001 and 2009, the current and foreseeable economic difficulties and the uncertainties of future public funding for infrastructure, the Government’s growth targets are unlikely to be met within the plan period.

This Council resolves to:

1.      Challenge and seek a reduction in the Government’s annual growth targets through a fresh regional approach that is infrastructure-led, rather than allocating land for development, without any certainty of new public services.

2.      Seek public exhibition space to inform residents of these and other growth plans in a clear, jargon-free way.

3.      Provide more opportunities for the public to debate and contribute to future growth plans for our town.

4.      Establish a sound spatial plan to secure Northampton’s regeneration and deliver the jobs, homes and public services needed for the next twenty years and beyond.”

Councillor Woods commented that he largely agreed with the statement made by Mr Suter, however he could not support Mr Britcher’s contention that development should take place on existing lines of communication, as this form of ribbon development in the 1930s had led to the subsequent Planning Acts that people were now familiar with.  Councillor Woods commented that he agreed that this debate was overdue.  The population and housing allocation figures had been imposed on West Northamptonshire by Government and regional bodies.  He agreed that Northampton must decide its own future rather than London and Nottingham doing this.  He referred to recent BBC press reports that the population in Great Britain was now in excess of 61 million.  He commented that the United Kingdom should remain a welcoming place and migrants had benefited the country both economically and culturally.  Recent press reports also indicated that there was a flow of migrants returning to their native countries due to the recession.  He noted that the mid-2008 population estimate for Northampton was 202,800 and had included 1,600 births, 800 deaths and 800 migrants.  This followed a consistent trend over the last thirty years.  If this trend was continued the population of Northampton by 2026 would be 230,000.  Therefore, there would still be a demand for new housing and jobs although the current recession meant that access to finance had  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.

None.