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Agenda and minutes

Agenda and minutes

Venue: Meeting Room G.01, Ground Floor, City Hall, 115 Charles Street, Leicester, LE1 1FZ

Contact: Jerry Connolly, Scrutiny Policy Officer, Email:  Jerry.Connolly@leicester.gov.uk  Jason Tyler, Democratic Support Officer, Email:  jason.tyler@leicester.gov.uk

Items
No. Item

28.

APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE

Minutes:

Apologies for absence were received from Councillor Fonseca, and from Councillors Joel and Porter as invitees of the Economic Development, Transport and Climate Emergency Scrutiny Commission (Minute 33 refers).

 

 

29.

DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST

Members are asked to declare any interests they may have in the business to be discussed.

Minutes:

There were no Declarations of Interest separate from those recorded in the Members’ Register.

 

30.

MINUTES OF THE PREVIOUS MEETING pdf icon PDF 96 KB

The Minutes of the meeting of the Housing Scrutiny Commission held on 1 August 2022 are attached and Members are asked to confirm them as a correct record.

 

Minutes:

AGREED:

That the Minutes of the meeting of the Commission held on 1 August 2022 be confirmed as a correct record.

 

 

31.

PETITIONS

The Monitoring Officer to report on the receipt of any petitions received in accordance with Council procedures.

Minutes:

The Monitoring Officer reported that no Petitions had been received, in accordance with Council procedures.

 

 

32.

QUESTIONS, REPRESENTATIONS OR STATEMENTS OF CASE

The Monitoring Officer to report on the receipt of any questions, representations or statements of case received in accordance with Council procedures.

Minutes:

The Monitoring Officer reported that no Questions, Representations or Statements of Case had been received, in accordance with Council procedures.

 

33.

LEICESTER LOCAL PLAN (2020 - 2036) - PUBLIC CONSULTATION ON SUBMISSION PLAN (REGULATION 19) pdf icon PDF 175 KB

The Director of Planning, Development and Transportation submits a report which outlines the main strategies and policies of the submission City of Leicester Local Plan for public consultation in November 2022.

 

A presentation will also be made at the meeting covering the report and related details.

 

Members of the Economic Development, Transport and Climate Emergency Scrutiny Commission have been invited to participate for this item.

 

 

 

 

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Chair reminded the Commission that Members of the Economic Development Transport and Climate Emergency Scrutiny Commission had been invited to attend the meeting and welcomed their participation. 

 

The Head of Planning then submitted a report which outlined the main strategies and policies of the submission of the Local Plan for public consultation in November 2022.  A presentation was also given, which covered the content of the report and related details.  

 

It was reported that the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) required all local planning authorities to produce a local plan and in view of this officers had been working on a new plan which would replace the current core strategy and saved policies from the previous local plan of 2006. The key consultation stages were outlined.

 

It was noted that the draft plan would cover the period 2020–2036 sought to:

·      Meet the needs for homes, jobs, shopping, and leisure

·      Allocate sites for development including strategic development sites

·      Protect important sites such as those with heritage value

·      Set clear policies that guide decisions on planning applications

·      The plan was required to be viable and deliverable

 

It was clarified that this would be the final consultation before the plan was submitted to the independent Planning Inspectorate for an Examination in Public (EIP).  The Chair commented on the consultation process, involving submission of comments to the Overview select Committee prior to final consideration by Full Council.

 

The Chair then referred to the attendance of Councillor Kitterick, who he had allowed to speak in accordance with Scrutiny Procedure Rules, alongside the Members of the Economic Development, Transport and Climate Emergency Scrutiny Commission.

 

The presentation detailed the questions received in advance from Councillors Kitterick and Waddington and the following key points were noted:

 

In respect of the documents supplied referring to site allocations, it was suggested that they did not appear to be included within the policies document, and in response it was clarified that:

·      Space standards had been considered and the issue with the potential "studio" loophole had been covered in the Draft Plan as defined in previous consultation in 2020.  It was proposed that the standards would apply to all residential C3 accommodation, and it was confirmed that the case would be made to apply the standards to studio flats.

·      In terms of the retention of "whole" houses and resisting sub-division of houses into flatted units where there was a proven demand for whole house accommodation, it was clarified that the new Policy drafted sought to secure this objective within approved Article 4 Direction areas.

·      Purpose built student accommodation would be considered with the same criteria-based policy to that set out in the Regulation 18 Draft Plan

·      An adapted policy on Hostel accommodation to the previous version is proposed sought to strengthen management controls.

·      The Tall Buildings policy and city centre streetscape it was reported that Character Area assessments published in full at the previous consultation stage had been refreshed in line with new Government Guidance and new Supplementary Design Guidance to  ...  view the full minutes text for item 33.

34.

HOUSING CRISIS IN LEICESTER - SCRUTINY REVIEW REPORT pdf icon PDF 1 MB

The Chair of the Task Group presents the Scrutiny Review “Housing Crisis in Leicester”.

 

Minutes:

As Chair of the Task Group, Councillor Gee was invited to introduce the item.

 

The report of the review was submitted, and it was noted that the review was prompted by a range of factors, but most keenly felt was the erosion of affordable social housing through the right to buy mechanism which had reduced housing availability for those who most directly needed it.  A principal objective was to capture and use the very detailed knowledge that members had within their own communities and their knowledge of local issues.

 

While a shortage of new social rented housing was a contributing feature of the housing crisis, a full range was highlighted, including problems facing those who own their own homes or living in the private rented sector (PRS).  Members recognised the value of the PRS, while also pointing to adverse issues within the sector, particularly high rents, poor housing, antisocial behaviour by tenants, and landlords who failed to maintain the homes occupied by their tenants. 

 

Frustration with the planning system, which appeared to freeze potential housing sites out of the reach of housing providers, and by extension was beyond the reach of those in greatest need, was also a feature of the review. 

 

The related developing crisis of high inflation and energy costs also contributed to the housing crisis and the failures in Government policy were referred to and acknowledged.

 

The Executive Summary, background to the review and key findings were noted.

 

Councillor Gee commented on and welcomed the attendance of Councillors Kitterick, Waddington and Whittle, who were not Commission members but had remained in the meeting to discuss the item.

 

The Chair of the Commission thanked Councillor Gee for his introduction and asked for questions and comments.

 

It was suggested that the emphasis should be widened from Government blame and comment was made on the availability of Council owned and which could potentially be developed for housing.  The possibility of creating a development company to accelerate this proposal and the need for clear data was stressed to ensure that the work of the Task Group and the Review did not end up being wasted. In this regard it was confirmed that a report to update on progress would be submitted to the Commission at a future agreed meeting.

 

The Assistant City Mayor (Housing and Education) advised that she hoped for clear asks of Government to result from the review.  She added that the crisis should be seen as a corporate responsibility across the Council, including consideration by public health, economic development and other services.

 

In conclusion the Chair referred to the possibility of a licensing scheme for private landlords to improve conditions which would be a factor for future deliberation.

 

AGREED:

1.    To endorse the final Scrutiny Report - ‘Housing Crisis in Leicester’.

 

2.    That the Assistant City Mayor (Housing and Education) and the Executive be requested to consider the recommendations and calls for action to Central Government as contained in the final Scrutiny Report.

 

3.    That a report to  ...  view the full minutes text for item 34.

35.

DISTRICT HEATING SERVICE CHARGES pdf icon PDF 251 KB

The Director of Housing submits a report, which asks the Commission to comment on the report due to be considered by Full Council on 29 September 2022.

 

Minutes:

This item was withdawn.

 

36.

WORK PROGRAMME pdf icon PDF 139 KB

The Commission’s Work Programme is submitted for information and comment.

 

Minutes:

The Commission’s Work Programme was submitted for information and comment.

 

37.

CLOSE OF MEETING

Minutes:

The meeting closed at 7.05pm.