Agenda item

Further to Minute 39 of the Cabinet, the City Council considered a report of the Executive Director of Place, which sought endorsement of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the planned distribution of employment land within Coventry and Warwickshire.

The MoU, attached as an appendix to the report, was presented to the Coventry, Warwickshire and Hinckley and Bosworth Joint Committee (CWHJC) at its meeting on 21^st July 2016. For the avoidance of doubt, the report only related to the six local authorities of Coventry and Warwickshire (Coventry City, Rugby Borough, Warwick District, North Warwickshire Borough, Stratford on Avon District and Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough). The MoU was accompanied by a covering report which recommended the MoU be endorsed by each of the six authorities.

The MoU sought to ensure the current employment land requirements of the Coventry and Warwickshire sub-region were planned for in full during the current round of Local Plans. In doing so it primarily responded to the fact that Coventry City was unable to accommodate its full employment land requirements within its own boundaries. In this respect it was similar to the housing requirements MoU agreed at the Joint Committee in September 2015 and endorsed by the City Council in January 2016. It was also a vital component of the City’s ability to demonstrate its responsibilities under the Duty to Cooperate were satisfied in relation to the delivery of employment land.

Over the course of 2016, the MoU had been developed by all six authorities with further support from Warwickshire County Council and the Coventry and Warwickshire Local Enterprise Partnership. Its development had been supported by an officer and member reference group of the CWHJC. It had been informed by updated evidence of economic growth forecasts and land requirements at a range of geographies across the sub region. It contained points of agreement that related to the quantum of employment land that should be distributed across the sub-region. This distribution supported both demographic and workforce growth, market signals and demand as well as considering commuting flows between the six authorities and opportunities to combat deprivation.

The MoU proposed distribution of employment land requirements to be taken forward into plan making were detailed in the report.  The MoU was supported by all relevant Members of the CWHJC.

As part of this agreement, the CWHJC sought a formal commitment from each of the individual Local Authorities represented to formally endorse the MoU by the end of October 2016. This was with a view to supporting the timely progression of Local Plans (including Coventry’s) and the Council’s responsibilities under the Duty to Cooperate.

The report also provided an update on the housing requirements MoU which confirmed that all authorities had endorsed the MoU with the exception of Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough Council who were continuing to review their land capacity in advance of potentially signing the MoU later this year.

RESOLVED that the City Council endorses the Memorandum of Understanding, attached as an appendix to the report, relating to the planned distribution of employment land within the Coventry & Warwickshire sub-region.