Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council

Thursday, 18 March 2010

Council Plan 2010-2013

Cabinet considered a report that provided members with the draft Council Plan and abridged Service Improvement Plans for 2010-13. The Council Plan set out Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council's key priorities, which were the Council's contribution to the Borough's Sustainable Community Strategy.

The first part of the 2010-2013 Council Plan provided information about the Council and its work for the local community. The second part was an action plan setting out how the Council would achieve our priorities and how success and progress towards those priorities would be measured.

The Service Improvement Plans provided further detail on how the improvement priorities and objectives would be delivered and linked priorities to resources. Business Unit plans would provide the detail on other areas of the Council's day to day work.

It was noted that Special Council would be invited to consider presentations on the content of both the Council Plan and the Service Improvement Plans at its meeting to be held on 24th March 2010. Full details of the content of the Council Plan and the related Service Improvement Plans can be found at http://www.egenda.stockton.gov.uk/aksstockton/images/att11699.pdf
 

Local Development Framework: Adoption of Stockton on Tees Core Strategy Development Plan Document (DPD)

The Core Strategy DPD was the key document in the new Local Development Framework and would provide strategic planning policies for the Borough. Between 22 September and 2 October 2009, it had been the subject of an Independent Examination before a Planning Inspector into its "soundness." On 3rd February 2010, the Council received the Inspector's report of the Independent Examination, which found the document sound subject to certain binding recommendations.

The Inspector's report and the schedules of Significant Proposed Changes and two schedules of minor changes entitled Schedule 1 and Schedule 2 were provided to Cabinet. Cabinet noted the principal changes required by the Inspector:

• To make clear that affordable housing policy is to be interpreted flexibly in response to changing market conditions, he had required that the affordable housing requirement was couched in terms of a target (15 -20%) and that provision at a lower rate would only be acceptable where robust justification was provided. The affordable housing policy was to be applied with flexibility sensitive to the market conditions prevailing at the time the planning application was submitted. The targets for the tenure mix (20% intermediate and 80% social rented) could also only be deviated from where robust justification was provided.
  
• To ensure that in safeguarding land for the chemical industry, adequate information would be in place to safeguard the integrity of the Teesmouth and Cleveland Coast Special Protection Area (SPA) and Ramsar site. To this end, the Inspector had required an element of flexibility into Policy CS4 by prefacing the amount of land to be safeguarded for the chemical and processing industry with the phrase "up to" to recognise that, given environmental constraints in the Seal Sands area, it might not be possible to safeguard precise amounts of land. In addition, clause 6 of Policy CS4 was to be amended to state that no port or river based development would be permitted on or adjacent to North Tees Mudflat. Paragraph 9.7 was amended to include a commitment for the Council to undertake a study, in partnership with Natural England and the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, to assess the potential for development in the Seal Sands, North Tees Pools and River Tees Corridor to adversely affect the integrity of the SPA/Ramsar site and to develop a strategic framework for development in these areas and an integrated approach to habitat creation.
  
• To ensure that the retail policy was consistent with national policy, the Inspector had required policy CS5 to be amended to state that no further allocations for retail development would be made other than in or on the edge of Stockton Town Centre and that, whilst the Council would not encourage additional retail or leisure development in Teesside Park or Portrack Lane or any other out-of-centre locations, any proposals which emerged would be dealt with in accordance with prevailing national policy as set out in Planning Policy Statement 4 or its successor.

The final published version of the Core Strategy incorporating all of the proposed changes both significant and minor changes was provided to Members and would be presented to a Special meeting of Council on the 24th March 2010 for approval.

A full copy of the Core Strategy DPD can be viewed at http://www.egenda.stockton.gov.uk/aksstockton/images/att11699.pdf

Further details regarding the above can also be obtained by contacting Rosemary Young, Spatial Planning Manager, tel. 01642 526054; e-mail Rosemary.Young@stockton.gov.uk