St Albans Full Council on Thurs to Consider next Steps on Local Plan
At its meeting on 17 January, St Albans City and District Council’s Cabinet is to look at the next steps needed to progress the Strategic Local Plan.
A decision by Full Council on 28 November 2012 led to the withdrawal of the pre-submission Strategic Local Plan (SLP) for further work to be undertaken.On 20 December 2012, Cabinet agreed to carry out a Green Belt Review of boundaries and potential housing locations and a Housing Needs Study.Councillor Teresa Heritage, Portfolio Holder for Planning and Conservation for St Albans City and District Council, said: “Cabinet will now consider how this work should be undertaken and any other matters arising from Council’s decision made at the end of the last year.”Cabinet will also consider the implications of the revocation of the East of England Plan by the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government on 3 January. The revoked document was the basis for the District’s house building target of 360 homes per year from 2001 to 2021.The meeting on 17 January is open to the public and will take place at the Council’s offices at the Civic Centre, St Peter’s Street, St Albans from 7pm. A webcast of the meeting can be watched on the Council’s website either live or at a later date.The papers for the meeting are available on the Council’s website.Councillor contact:Councillor Teresa Heritage, Portfolio Holder for Planning and Conservation for St Albans City and District CouncilTel: 01582 761014Contact for the media:Amanda Wilkinson,Media and Internal Communications OfficerSt Albans City and District CouncilTel: 01727 819317E-mail: amanda.wilkinson@stalbans.gov.ukFollow us on Twitter:http://twitter.com/StAlbansCouncilNotes:On 28 November 2012, Full Council considered a petition in relation to development of land at Oaklands and subsequently agreed the following motion:“That this Council agrees to the following recommendations put forward by No Oaklands Housing Action Group:1. An independent review of Green Belt boundaries and a Green Belt Study of all potential housing locations needs to be undertaken now.2. There needs to be clarity on how sites will be delivered and this is implied by an allocation of strategic sites.3. Detailed delivery matters such as availability and infrastructure requirements need resolving.4. Oaklands should retain its Green Belt green field status in any future policy review or boundary change to prevent urban sprawl and coalescence with Hatfield.5. An alternative site should be considered.6. Green Belt release should only be considered when the district has run out of sites within its urban land.7. An independent commission of housing need in St Albans and its District should be set up to inform the evidence base.”
Posted on January 15, 2013, in urban planning. Bookmark the permalink. 2 Comments.
I see St Albans City and District Council’s Cabinet has agreed an interim housing target of 360 homes p.a – in a press release it said: “With the revocation of the East of England Plan there is a vacuum in local planning development policy as there is no definitive housing target. It is a requirement of the Government’s National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) that information on the land supply position for housing is provided to guide decision making. Cabinet therefore agreed that the East of England Plan target of 360 homes per year is the most appropriate to use for housing land supply purposes. This target is based on evidence, has been consulted upon, sustainability appraised, justified and publically examined.”
At the meeting on 17 January,it also agreed to consult with adjoining District Councils on the possibility of jointly undertaking Green Belt and Housing Needs studies.
I think this is great news! With the plans of improving recycling and the new museum funding, I am sure public will be satisfied with the work of our council.