Agenda and minutes

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RESOLVED

·         That the Chair’s announcement regarding the filming of the meeting for live or subsequent broadcast be noted.

Apologies were received from Cllrs Basu and McShane.

To approve the minutes of the meeting held on 19 May.

RESOLVED

·         That the minutes of the meeting held on 19 May be approved as an accurate record.

The Committee sought an update on actions contained within the minutes:

·         With reference to the impact of a change to the planning policy definition of a traveller, officers updated that this remained an emerging situation in lieu of an appeal lodged against the change to the definition and in consideration that the housing legislation definition remained unchanged. The Council’s travellers and gypsies needs assessment was currently being drafted and would be circulated to the Committee once completed (action: EW).

·         It was updated that a report on gambling fees would be submitted to the December Committee meeting seeking approval to increase the fees to the maximum (action: DB).

·         Following the request made at the last meeting, further details of planning enforcement prosecutions had been included within the planning service update report later on the agenda.

·         A verbal update was provided on recent assets of community value applications determined. Three had been successful including the Prince of Wales public house N22, Muswell Hill library N10 and the Hope and Anchor public house N8. An application for The Green on the corner of Lynton Road and The Grove N8 had been unsuccessful. Further details would be circulated to the Committee (action: EW).

The Chair outlined his intention to vary the order of the agenda to take the housing strategy first, followed by the Conservation Area Appraisals and lastly the planning service update.

To consider the final proposed draft of Haringey’s Housing Strategy following completion of a second stage of consultation.

The Committee considered a report on the final proposed draft of Haringey’s Housing Strategy following completion of the second stage of consultation, comments from which were summarised within the report. The Strategy would progress to Cabinet with a view to recommending adoption to Full Council. A brief outline was provided of amendments made to the draft as a result of the consultation process, although the visions and strategic objectives remained unchanged. Revisions made reflected local policy decisions such as changes to the definition of affordability, and national policy changes such as ‘pay to stay’, the levy on local authorities to fund the extension of Right to Buy to housing associations etc. It was advised that there would be a suite of underpinning policies and plans to support delivery of the Strategy’s key objectives.

The Committee raised the following points in discussion of the Strategy:

·         It was requested that a further breakdown be undertaken of table 2, page 517 of the agenda pack summarising consultation responses on priorities for type of tenure, in particular subdividing the responses between Council and housing association tenure to provide continuity with the remainder of the document. Officers agreed to action this subject to the availability of the information (action: DH).

·         It was proposed that the Strategy should set out a clear position to facilitate the allocation of affordable housing units on development sites in excess of 1000sqm for management by Homes for Haringey. Officers expressed some reservation on the basis that this approach had yet to be trialled and as such there was no evidence it would be successful or that Homes for Haringey would formally accept. Feasibility would also be reliant on service charge levels. The request was however noted (action: DH).

·         Concerns were expressed over the future approach to be adopted for the development of small infill sites on Council estates within the borough. It was considered that the expertise developed in-house should be utilised to bring these schemes forward in order to retain new units within Council ownership and management instead of delivery through alternate housing providers. Officers advised that the Strategy did not incorporate such a level of detail regarding delivery which would be covered in underpinning policies and plans but noted the comment (action: DH).

·         The ambitious 19,800 net new homes target by 2026 was identified by the Committee as an area of concern including the associated demand pressure imposed on local public services such as education and health provision. Assurances were sought that this would be fully assessed and managed within underpinning delivery plans and strategies. Officers agreed to double check the start point for this target, which came directly from the London Plan, to clarify whether it aligned with the start date of the Strategy or was already underway (action: DH). Officers advised that the focus on new homes delivery in the key growth development areas of Tottenham and Wood Green inline with the associated Tottenham and Wood Green Area Action Plans would incorporate planned social infrastructure  ...  view the full minutes text for item 222.

To consider six draft Conservation Area Appraisal and Management Plan documents.

The Committee considered a report setting out proposals to release the six draft Conservation Area Appraisals and Management Plans which made up the Tottenham High Road historic corridor for a six week consultation process. The Council had a review programme in place for the borough’s  conservation areas inline with statutory requirements, with those in key growth areas to be undertaken first. The Tottenham High Road area had undergone significant change since the last reviews had been undertaken in 2008 and as part of the Tottenham Area Action Plan would be subject to considerable development pressure going forward whereby comprehensive Management Plans would serve as a valuable tool for shaping change. The Committee were advised that a number of revisions were proposed to the boundaries of the conservation areas in order to accurately reflect the area’s special interest.

It was anticipated that the revised documents would be referred to Cabinet for adoption following the completion of the consultation period in early 2017.

The Chair identified at this point that a training session on conservation areas had been scheduled on 15 December for all Councillors which he encouraged Committee members to attend.

The Committee made the following comments in discussion of the reports:

·         Clarification was sought on the link between the review of conservation areas and a review of locally listed buildings which local Conservation Area Advisory Committees had recently been asked to take part in. In response, officers advised that the two processes were separate as locally listed buildings were not required to be located in a conservation area. An update report on the locally listed buildings review would come to a future Committee meeting prior to releasing the proposed changes for consultation.

·         Concerns were expressed over the phrasing of some of the narrative within the report, particularly related to criticisms on the impact of a number of recent developments on the conservation areas. It was felt this gave a conflicting and inconsistent viewpoint whereby these applications had been approved by Planning Committee based on balanced determinations of the overall planning benefits of schemes and not solely on the conservation impact. Officers advised that the review had been undertaken by consultants based on a visual survey focussed solely on conservation issues but agreed that the wording could be improved. A number of the schemes singled out did however serve as examples of poor developments and emphasised the importance of having comprehensive Conservation Area Management Plans and design guides in place to encourage high quality development, a particular focus going forward. The Committee proposed that the Cabinet Member introduction be redrafted to provide a clear narrative on the conflict and balance to be achieved between conservation and other planning benefits when determining planning schemes (action: LM).

·         The Committee commented that some of the breaches identified within the review document as detracting from the conservation area appeared to be fairly minor such as unsightly advertising hoardings and questioned whether these could be actioned as enforcement ‘quick wins’. In response, officers advised that in  ...  view the full minutes text for item 223.

To update on the work of the Planning Service in the financial year 2016/17 to date.

The Committee received an update report setting out performance of the Planning Service in the financial year 2016/17 to date. A verbal update was also provided on progress with the examination in public process for the Local Plan documents, the Wood Green Area Action Plan and the review of CIL and s106 Legal Agreement SPD.

The Committee raised the following points in discussion of the report:

·         The relatively low number of planning enforcement notices served to date in 2016/17 was questioned when assessed against the level of complaints received over the same period. Officers responded that on a London basis, Haringey was one of the highest performing authorities for the issuing of planning notices at around 100 annually and which was on track for the current year. It was also emphasised that not all complaints received upon investigation were classified as planning breaches and that the service of a notice was the culmination of a considerable amount of work.

·         Clarification was sought on delays to the Statement of Community Involvement report coming before the Committee. Officers advised that progress had been delayed owing to an unsuccessful judicial review and that subsequent changes were being made to the document to make it clearer and to reduce the potential for further challenge. Submission for Cabinet approval was planned for December.

·         It was questioned whether any monitoring was undertaken on planning appeal trends as figures to date appeared to be relatively high. Officers advised that although a specific analysis had not been undertaken recently, an increase had been seen in appeals lost for advertising hoardings and dormers and extensions refused in conservation areas but hadn’t resulted in any significant appeal costs against the Council. In response to lessons learnt, a new approach was however being taken for applications on private roads in Highgate to tighten up the protection of authentic Quenelle properties in response to a number of appeals against refusals for complete demolition and rebuilding. Appeal trends and lessons learnt would be monitored on an ongoing basis.

·         Clarification was sought on whether an update was planned of the parking stress map. Officers agreed to double check if this would occur as part of the Parking Policy sitting under the Transport Strategy (action: EW).

·         An update was sought on the service’s position on the acceptance of cheques following concerns this was contributing to delays with the validation of planning applications. Officers advised that cheques remained an acceptable form of payment as they were particularly of benefit for larger applications and the service wanted to maintain an equality of approach across the board.

·         Concerns were raised about the potential impact of a recent personnel change on the performance of the Building Control team. In response, it was advised that the team was currently undergoing a restructure to introduce a more resilient, tiered structure with better opportunities for the development of existing staff. The recruitment of surveyors to local authority practice remained challenging nationally but a recruitment exercise to frill the vacant post would be  ...  view the full minutes text for item 224.

5 December.

5 December.