Agenda item

From the Cabinet, 1 December 2020

Further to Minute 49 of the Cabinet, the City Council The Cabinet considered a report of the Director of Streetscene and Regulatory Services which indicated that Policy DS1 of the Local Plan commits the Council to review certain triggers before March 2021 which, if met, would lead to a review of the current Local Plan. The report reviewed these triggers and recommended that there is no requirement to commence a Plan Review in March 2021.

The report indicated that The Local Plan was adopted in December 2017 and included, within policy DS1, the following provision;

“3. The Council will undertake a comprehensive review of national policy, the regional context, updates to the evidence base and monitoring data before 31st March 2021 to assess whether a full or partial review of the Plan is required. In the event that a review is required, work on that review will commence immediately.”

The full text of the policy and its explanatory notes was included in Appendix 1 to the report.

With the conclusion of the most recent housing and employment monitoring, it was considered an appropriate juncture to review the triggers set out in DS1 to determine whether a review of the Plan is appropriate.

The report indicated that with regard to National Policy, since the adoption of the Local Plan in 2017 the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) has undergone revision, the most recent version of which is dated February 2019. By itself this is insufficient to trigger a review, and analysis was undertaken regarding the extent of the changes to the NPPF and the subsequent impact on the adopted Plan. Whilst the NPPF revisions provide updated provisions and guidance, there are no material changes that result in the current Plan being rendered unsound; it is therefore not considered appropriate to commence a review on this basis.

Since Plan adoption the government has introduced a Standard Methodology which Councils are obliged to use when calculating housing requirements, replacing the method that was used in the Local Plan. This Methodology takes the official government population projections produced by the Office of National Statistics (ONS) and applies a multiplier to them based on average affordability in the City.  Details of this were set out in the report. 

The Cabinet Member for Housing and Communities had considered two petitions which requested an urgent review of the Local Plan at his meeting on 27 November 2020. At the Cabinet Meeting, the Cabinet Member reported on issues raised at that meeting and referred the following additional Recommendation for Cabinet:

That Cabinet recommend that Council commit to commence a Local Plan Review prior to the end of 2022 in the event that the Government’s Standard Methodology for Assessing Local Housing Need indicates a housing need lower than that currently provided for within the adopted Coventry City Local Plan (i.e. 1230 dwellings per year).

The Cabinet noted that the Cabinet Member had requested a meeting with the Secretary of State for Housing at the earliest opportunity to discuss this matter.

RESOLVED that the City Council:

1)  Notes the assessment of the Plan Review triggers

2)  Approves that there is no requirement to commence a Plan Review in March 2021 as a result of the triggers set out in Policy DS1 of the Local Plan

3)  Commits to commence a Local Plan Review prior to the end of 2022 in the event that the Government’s Standard Methodology for Assessing Local Housing Need indicates a housing need lower than that currently provided for within the adopted Coventry City Local Plan (i.e. 1230 dwellings per year).

Note: In accordance with the Constitution, a vote taken by name was taken in respect of this matter.

The Councillors voting for and against the Recommendations were as follows:

Result: Carried   

For: 33

Against: 14

Abstentions: 0