Agenda item

4.1       The Committee received a report which provided an update on the adoption of the City Plan and other work being undertaken by the planning policy team. The City Plan was adopted on 21 April 2021 following the conclusion of its             Examination in Public and the publication of the Planning Inspectors’ Final        Report in March confirming the City Plan as legally compliant and ‘sound’.            The City Plan 2019-2040 replaces the previous 2016 iteration of the City Plan         and the ‘saved’ policies from the council’s 2007 Unitary Development Plan             (UDP). It will now be used alongside the 2021 London Plan, and any ‘made’   (adopted) neighbourhood plans when determining planning applications in             Westminster. The City Plan represents a significant step forward from the             previous policy framework in several policy areas.

·       The Spatial Strategy sets out where growth will happen, including within our Opportunity Areas, Housing Renewal Areas and the Central Activities Zone.

·       The Housing chapter sets our target of 20,685 new homes to 2040 and includes policies on affordable housing, housing for specific groups, innovative housing and housing quality.

·       The Economy chapter sets our target of 63,000 new jobs to 2040 and includes policies on offices, town centres and high streets, the visitor economy, community infrastructure, education and skills, and our Special Policy Areas.

·       The Connections chapter outlines our principles in relation to sustainable transport and contains policies on active travel, parking, freight and servicing, and water transport.

·       The Environment chapter has policies to address air quality, energy, flood risk, waste, green infrastructure and other local impacts such as noise and lighting.

·       The Design and Heritage chapter sets out the principles of sustainable design and has policies addressing heritage and townscape, building height, the public realm and basements

4.2       Members were advised that officers were working towards producing a range   of other planning policy documents alongside other workstream. The         Supplementary Planning Documents (SPDs) provide additional detail and             guidance to enable successful implementation of the City Plan’s new policies.             Whilst they don’t form part of the council’s statutory Development Plan, SPDs    hold significant weight in decision-making and are produced subject to a             statutory process including formal consultation. The first SPD to be produced         is the Environment SPD, which was consulted on between May and July 2021             and is now being finalised. There are four additional SPDs currently in   preparation which are Planning Obligations and Affordable Housing, Public Realm, Design, and Heritage.

4.3       Members were informed that following recent changes to permitted   development rights made by the government, the council has issued a new Article 4 Direction for public consultation. There will be a 6-week consultation   period between 21 July – 1 September and a 12-month period between           introduction and effectiveness of the Direction to ensure the council is not   subject to compensation claims. The Article 4 Direction will restrict the change             of use from commercial to residential uses in the Central Activities Zone (CAZ) without full planning permission.

4.4       The Committee was advised that the Planning Policy team continued to     support Westminster’s designated Neighbourhood Forums in producing   neighbourhood plans for their respective areas. Currently there are two             ‘made’ (i.e. adopted) neighbourhood plans in Westminster, which are for             Knightsbridge and Mayfair. These plans form part of the council’s statutory     development plan. Neighbourhood plans for Fitzrovia West, Soho and        Queen’s Park have been progressing through the formal examination stage             this year and are now subject to a final referendum before they can be          formally ‘made’. The Pimlico Neighbourhood Plan has been formally submitted to the council for consideration and is now subject to public             consultation until 23rd August.

4.5       Members were informed that the council monitors the performance of its          planning policies through the production of an annual Authority Monitoring   Report (AMR). The AMR contains a series of measures to assess the             performance of planning policies, and these key performance indicators      (KPIs) can be found in the Implementation and Monitoring chapter of the City      Plan. With the adoption of the new City Plan, officers are working to produce a          new format for the AMR to ensure all the new KPIs are captured and that the   document is a useful tool for measuring and analysing the effectiveness of the     council’s planning policies. A new AMR will be published later this year.

4.6       Members held a discussion and noted the following: -

·       Members commented on the difficulties experienced in the hospitality sector with recruiting staff and noted that these industries previously provided low-cost housing to their employees. The Committee made further comments about the correlation between employment and low-cost housing. Officers informed that the Council’s new house-building targets were derived from the Greater London Authority (GLA) London Plan and that the Mayor of London was responsible for the strategic provision of new jobs and homes in the Capital. The Committee was informed that the number of jobs within the City of London outnumbered residential dwellings and that it would be difficult for their Sub-Committees to individually match the needs of housing specifically to jobs in the Borough.

·       Officers informed the Committee that the London Plan was to be reviewed to ensure that sufficient new housing was being provided in the Capital and that any changes to the Plan would need to be reflected in subsequent iterations of the City Plan. The Council is required to produce an annual report which details how many additional homes have been delivered per year to The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG). The Council is currently required to deliver 985 Homes each year and will need to provide an action plan if this target is not met over a three-year average.

·       Officers advised that the arguments for an Article 4 Direction which will restrict the change of use from commercial to residential uses in the Central Activities Zone (CAZ) without full planning permission had been set out and that the Secretary of State had yet to respond to proposals. The Committee was informed that the Council had a unique position, and this was due to the CAZ contributory role to the national economy. The GLA has also produced evidence regarding the unique characteristics of the CAZ and has designated the Area in the London Plan.

·       That the current existing and proposed Neighbourhood Plans did not cover all the areas in the Borough, and these included the Royal Parks and several localities in the West End such as Covent Garden, Vincent Square, China Town and Parliamentary Estates. A large part of the residential areas in the Borough had a designated Neighbourhood Area where neighbourhood plans could be pursued. Officers advised that communities within these areas could undertake neighbourhood planning via designation as a Neighbourhood Forum, and that this designation was subject to a formal application process, with evidence required that those putting forward the application are representative of the area they wish to represent.

·       Members agreed that natural drainage and permeable materials usage should be encouraged in developments and noted that these topics were included in the Environmental SPD in relation to ‘flood risks’. The Committee commented that these components should also be included in the SPDs for Public Realm and Design and noted the important role they had in the Council’s ‘Climate Emergency Action Plan’.

The Committee thanked officers for their work on the City Plan and Policy Updates.

Resolved:

1.     Members noted the contents of the report.

2.     Members agreed that natural draining and permeable materials usage be encouraged and be referenced in the Supplementary Planning Documents (SPDs) and also the Council’s Emergency Action Plan.