Agenda item

A presentation will be given on the Local Plan in relation to the Beaumont Leys ward.

Attendees were asked to consider and comment on a presentation from Rachael Mkanza, Senior Planner, on the Local Plan consultation.  An officer from the Planning Service was also present to record comments from attendees in order that views expressed would be fed into the consultation. A printed copy of the presentation was circulated at the meeting and is attached to the action log.  Points made included the following:

·      The Local Plan was a very important document that set out the council’s policies and allocated sites up to 2031. The plan looked at meeting the needs for homes, jobs, shopping and leisure and people were urged to give their views to feed into the consultation. 

·      There was limited open space in Leicester for new housing and employment opportunities.  A list of all potential development sites had been drawn up and views were sought from residents as to what sites should be developed and what should be protected.

·      Although all possible sites had been included in the draft plan, this did not mean that all those sites would be developed. It was necessary to include as many sites as possible so the council could demonstrate that there was no piece of possible housing land that they had not considered.

·      The plan listed 68 potential development sites in the Beaumont Leys ward.

Concerns were expressed from residents that Gorse Hill Farm Park, amongst other sites were listed as potentials for development. Rachael explained that Abbey Park was also included, but it did not mean that it would be built on. However, it was important that people responded to the consultation and gave their views.

·      People were able to respond to the consultation as individuals or as a group (for example the Heathley Park Resident’s Group).

·      The next stage would be to formulate a draft local plan after taking into account the comments and views expressed in the consultation.  A Revised Draft Local Plan would then be drawn up; it was expected to be available during the Winter – Spring 2018.

·      There would then be a further period of public consultation. The finalised plan would need to be approved by the Planning Inspectorate and by full council before it was adopted. It was anticipated that this would be by the end of 2018.

Councillor Waddington commented that through the consultation there was the potential to make the area better with more facilities, but she was concerned that there was not a clear vision. She questioned how they could ensure that land outside the centre was not used for industrial purposes.  Rachael explained that it was important to submit representations, giving views on suggested use for specific pieces of land.  The meeting heard that if a local authority did not have a Local Plan, the Government could grant planning permission if an application went to appeal, so it was very important that people had their say.

The Chair thanked the planning officers for their presentation and said that councillors would be happy to help people submit comments and views as part of a residents’ group.