Agenda item

Report of the Director of Policy, Performance and Communications

3.1       The Committee received a report from the Head of City Policy and Strategy which provided an update on progress of the revised City Plan at the post-Regulation 18 Notification/pre-Regulation 19 Notification stage. It informed the Committee of the broad direction of travel of the new Plan and sought its views on key policy areas.

3.2       The Cabinet Member for Planning and Public Realm and the Head of City Policy and Strategy joined the meeting for the debate on this item and answered members’ questions in connection with the report.

3.3       The Committee discussed in detail the following issues:

·           Policy Designations and Boundaries for the West End – There were a number of existing strategies and policies in place which impacted on planning in the West End. The importance of the City Plan reflecting and refining what already existed was stressed in order to avoid the confusion of creating another definition of the West End.

·           New Approach to Housing Delivery: Application of Adopted City Plan Policies – The Committee considered how the approach to different policy areas of the City Plan would change according to different needs and circumstances. In the interim a new approach would be implemented based on existing City Plan policies but containing new elements. Members would have the opportunity to comment on the new City Plan in due course.

·           Unallocated Residential Parking – In response to clarity on future car parking requirements for new developments it was suggested the City Plan would bring a greater flexibility to determine what parking was required based on each particular application. This would include a less rigid adherence to minimum parking requirements.

·           The Impact of the Night-time Economy on Public Safety – Concern was expressed with regards to the effects an increase in night-time activity would have on the mental health of local residents. The Sub-Committee was informed that the Council was aware of such issues and in response Councillor Paul Church had recently been appointed the Council’s mental health champion. Adult social care representatives formed part of the task group currently looking at the City Plan and the Head of City Policy and Strategy would ensure the issue of mental health would be raised at its next meeting.

·         Affordable Housing – The importance of ensuring the delivery of affordable housing was recognised and discussions with developers were underway with regards to improving on-site delivery. The Sub-Committee discussed the aim of the City Plan to ensure the full viable affordable housing requirements for future developments would be met.

·         The City Plan’s Flexibility - Whilst it was recognised bringing a degree of flexibility into the City Plan was beneficial concern was expressed that this could have the effect of making it difficult in future to refuse planning applications based on planning grounds. The Committee was assured that this area of concern had been recognised and efforts to address this were reflected in the very prescriptive approach recently taken when drafting the new growth/tall/higher buildings policies.

·         Evening and Night-time Economy – The Committee discussed a proposal that ‘Stress Areas’ should differentiate between evening uses, e.g. restaurants and theatres, and late night uses, e.g. clubs and music venues, and take into account the different impacts they had on local areas. It was noted that it was important to find the correct balance between increasing the vitality of town centres and protecting the amenity of neighbouring residents. These were issues that required addressing in the City Plan whilst ensuring at the same time the policies aimed at preventing cumulative impact in current stress areas were not relaxed.

·         Transport Infrastructure – With regards to transport hubs the Council now had more sophisticated processes in place to assess what infrastructure was already in place when considering what developments were suitable for such sites and any potential impact they may have. With regards to transport it was noted in the report that references to ‘Pedestrian Movement and Sustainable Transport’ were to be removed. The Cabinet Member agreed to provide an update on this to the Committee following the meeting.

·         Open Spaces – The Committee was interested to learn if the City Plan would encourage applications for large developments to include a green space provision within them? Members noted that health and safety issues over public access to green spaces located on rooftops had been encountered however negotiations would continue in ensuring green spaces at ground floor level were provided for any large developments. The old Post office site on Oxford Street was cited as an example of new public realm space being provided with a new development.

RESOLVED:

1)            That the broad direction of travel for the Full Revision to the Westminster City Plan be noted; and

2)            That the views provided by the Committee on the Westminster City Plan Review - Regulation 18 consultation responses be noted.