Agenda item - Chairman's Communications

              Web casting

3.1         The Chairman explained that afternoon’s meeting of the Planning Committee was being web-cast as part of the on-going pilot study which would run until June 2009. Members were reminded to speak directly into the microphones and to switch them off when they had finished speaking in order to ensure that they could be heard clearly both within the Council Chamber and in the public gallery above.

              Planning Strategy for the South East

3.2         The Strategic Planning and Monitoring Manager, Mr Holford was in attendance at the invitation of the Chairman in order to brief the Committee in respect of this matter.

3.3         Mr Holford explained that the South East Plan had been published on 6 May 2009. It replaced Regional Planning Guidance for the South East (RPG9) and the East Sussex and Brighton & Hove Structure Plan which was now part of the statutory development plan and with the Brighton & Hove Local Plan was a key document when considering planning applications. These needed to be determined in line with the South East Plan where relevant. The Council’s planning policy documents (Local Development Framework) e.g. Core Strategy had to be produced in accordance with the South East Plan.

              Main Implications for Brighton & Hove:

              Housing Targets

3.4         The housing allocation for Brighton & Hove was 570 houses/flats per annum (total 2006 to 2026 is 11,400).This was lower than the Secretary of State’s proposed changes (620 pa totalling 12,400) but higher than in the draft Plan (550 pa, totalling 11,000) and the figure suggested in the Council’s response to consultation last year (520 pa totalling 10,400).

              Shoreham Harbour

3.5         Shoreham Harbour continued to be identified as one of seven Strategic Development Areas in the South East. The proposal for 10,000 homes at Shoreham was an interim figure in addition to the target for the rest of the City and would also have to be met.

              Waste

3.6         The requirement to provide for a proportion of London’s Waste remained. This had now been qualified by the need for local testing of figures through the development plan documents where there was more recent data with which to asses and plan for capacity.

3.7         RESOLVED – That the position be noted.