Hart Borough Council Cabinet Meeting

The minutes of the meeting held on 5 December 2024 were confirmed and signed as a correct record.

Proposed by: Cllr Radley;  Seconded by: Cllr Wildsmith

Unanimously agreed

Apologies had been received from Cllrs Collins and Neighbour.

In the absence of the Chair, the Vice-Chair, Cllr Radley, chaired the meeting.

No declarations were made.

The Chair had no announcements.

There was none.

This report was to update on progress against the climate change action plan and made recommendations for the next set of priorities to support the delivery of the action plan.  Further, it requested approval to allocate agreed funding against specific projects.

Members heard:

·       This was a regular six monthly update, which showed details of work in progress

·       Overview & Scrutiny had asked whether there was any idea yet as to total cost for the whole project, but there were still a large number of unknowns

·       Future updates would be able to provide more information and clarity as to future costs, grant funding and technology available

Members questioned:

·       Whether the Council should be cognisant of the future structure of local government and should future Councils be set up to achieve the goals already set

·       That if Hart would not complete the climate change action plan project as a whole, would future consideration need to be given as to what our accountability would be for the project

Proposed by: Cllr Quarterman; Seconded by: Cllr Radley

Members discussed:

·       Whether there was an argument for moving forward with the climate change action plan more aggressively, although any such discussions would need to be in tandem with discussions around other financial responsibilities

Unanimously agreed.

Decision

1.    The climate change programme update was noted, including comments received from Overview and Scrutiny Committee

2.    Cabinet reviewed and approved the proposed projects list and associated cost allocations set out in paragraph 33 of the report, to be funded from project cost savings outlined in paragraph 37

This report was to consider the assessment of the Local Plan, and whether the adopted Hart Local Plan (Strategy & Sites) 2032 needed updating, and what the next steps should be.

Members heard:

·       That there was a need to review whether the current Local Plan was still fit for purpose

·       As the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) had been published by the Government after this paper had been produced, this had increased the requirement to carry out the review

·       Work needed to start on the review sooner rather than later, as there was an expectation from the Government that a review would be undertaken

·       There was currently no legislation in place to support a faster paced local plan implementation process, so the current timescales of around 3.5yrs still stood

·       The current Local Plan was felt to be still fit for purpose but that the review was necessary for the reasons above

Members queried:

·       If Hart was reformed into a unitary organisation with other local authorities, would any work done now still keep the local area protected

·       Whether there was a precedent, or other instances of adopted Local Plans being incorporated into a Unitary’s Local Plan

Members heard that two minor amendments were being proposed to the recommendations:

·       Recommendation 1 to be amended to add reference to section 10(A) of the Town & Country Planning Act, and also to add “in doing so noted that the assessment was conducted prior to the publication of the December 2024 version of the National Planning Policy Framework and the associated Indicative Local Housing Need figures” at the end

·       Amend recommendation 2 to say “paragraph 14” rather than “paragraph 13”

A member queried why the reference to the Town & Country Planning Act had been added.  It was confirmed that the Act set out the requirement for local authorities to review their Local Plan every 5 years.  It was also confirmed that if there was a subsequent change in legislation then this recommendation would not need to come back to Cabinet.

Recommendation as amended proposed by: Cllr Oliver; Seconded by: Cllr Wildsmith

Unanimously agreed

Decision

Cabinet:

1.    Approved the summary of the assessment of the Hart Local Plan (Strategy & Sites) 2032 prepared to comply with Section 10A of the Town & Country Planning (Local Planning)(England) Regulations 2012 (as amended), which concluded that work should start on a new local plan; in doing so noted that the assessment was conducted prior to the publication of the December 2024 version of the National Planning Policy Framework and the associated Indicative Local Housing Need figure

2.    Agreed that the Planning Policy & Economic Development team should commence preparatory work for a new local plan, as set out in paragraph 14 of the Committee report.

The Cabinet Work Programme was reviewed, and amendments were discussed and agreed as follows:

·       The UKSPF item originally planned for February, had been split into two separate items now in February and March (as shown highlighted on the draft Work Programme)

·       The Odiham and North Warnborough Neighbourhood Plan item would be brought to the February 2025 meeting