Agenda and minutes

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Noted.

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Ross, Say and Tabois.

Councillor Bevan informed the Committee that he would leave the meeting after agenda item six, as he was required to attend the Pensions Sub Committee meeting.

The Chair informed the Committee that there was one item of urgent business, which would be dealt with at agenda item nine.

None.

To approve the minutes of the meeting held on 20 November 2018.

RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting held on 20 November 2018 be approved as a correct record.

Peter Studdart, the Chair of the QRP, will give a presentation on the QRP, it’s work over the past year, and some of the improvements it has secured.  There will also be an opportunity for the Committee to ask questions.

Peter Studdert, Chair of the Quality Review Panel, provided an overview of the work of the QRP, the processes they follow, and examples of where feedback had been provided on schemes.

The following was provided in response to questions from the Committee:

-           In relation to the developments at Hale Wharf, wind would be an issue for the tall buildings, however developers had provided an analysis which showed where the problem areas would be, and the QRP felt that the developers had done as much as could be reasonably expected to mitigate this. 

-           The QRP were committed to only bringing forward schemes that were of good quality.

-           Sustainability was looked at strategically, and the panel had experts who could do so. 

-           Where the QRP did not agree with Council officers’ opinions, this would be made clear.  Officer briefings were provided to the QRP, although the Council took care to ensure that the language used was as non-leading as possible.

-           The QRP were there to work within the policy framework and to get the best design based on that, rather than to question the policy. 

The Chair thanked Peter for attending.

A report on the work of the Planning Service in the financial year 2018/19 (April – December) to date.

Dean Hermitage, Head of Development Management, introduced the report as set out. 

The following was provided in response to questions from the Committee:

-           The new version of the Wood Green Area Action Plan was still being finalised. 

-           There had not been any discussions on the refurbishment options for Bury Road car park.

-           No London Boroughs had lost their planning powers under the Government thresholds, however the information was included in the report to make members aware of the thresholds.  The Council currently received around 20 major applications per year, and if four or five application decisions were overturned then this would breach the threshold.

-           Members requested further information on the use of s106 and CIL contributions.  Emma Williamson advised that the team was thinking of how this could be included in future reports.

-           Further work was needed in terms of the shaping of Wood Green High Road – the idea was to preserve smaller units, and redevelop the large units into smaller ones with residential units above.

-           Land receipts formed part of the Council’s budget, not planning.

RESOLVED that the report be noted.

The Council’s Lawyer, Robert Walker, advised the Committee that the determination of fees was a Cabinet function, and the report should be for noting only.

RESOLVED that the report be noted.

The Chair referred to the tabled report in relation to membership changes, and asked the Committee to approve the addition of Councillor Basu to the Planning Sub Committee, following the appointment of Councillor James to the Cabinet.

RESOLVED that the appointment of Councillor Dhiren Basu to the Planning Sub Committee be approved.

5 March 2018

5 March 2019