Agenda item

Report of the Director for Planning and Transport and the Corporate Director for Development and Growth

Dawn Alvey, Local Plans Manager, presented a report to the Committee on the Local Area Plan Part 2: Land and Planning Policies Document, highlighting the following points:

(a)  the Local Plan Part 2 is guided by statutory rules on how to prepare local plans, which guides the way that the Council considers planning applications in the future. The Plan allocates future sites for development. Part 1 was a higher level document setting out land requirements for Nottingham, whilst Part 2 focuses on the detail and is more relevant to Nottingham citizens and Councillors;

(b)  consultation now open till 11 March 2016. There are 10 sites in the Arboretum, Dunkirk and Lenton, Radford and Park area. One additional site (Prospect Place) has been added since the last update, and 2 sites (Dunkirk Fire Station and Wholesale Fruit and Flower Market off Clark Road) have not been taken forward;

(c)  planning policies form part of the plan: there is a focus on protecting family housing, supporting new family housing, having guide locations for purpose built student accommodation; and resisting the conversion or creation of HMOs;

(d)  the sites within the Arboretum, Dunkirk and Lenton, Radford and Park area are:

·  Prospect Place – cleared site, suitable for residential. Some details will need to be handled sensitively as the land to the south and north is not residential;

·  Derby Road – primarily residential, family housing;

·  Abbey Street/Deengate – was part of the Medipark proposals, part of the Enterprise Zone, so important still to be allocated for appropriate uses;

·  Boots site – 2 planning permissions have been approved, still allocated as often economic conditions change;

·  Alfreton Road/Forest Mill – problematic! Keen to see it brought forward for a beneficial use and an attractive frontage. Mixed usage;

·  Radford Mill – part of the site has already been developed;

·  Salisbury Street – temporary planning permission for car sales and a car wash. Appropriate for residential and mixed employment use;

·  Derby Road/Sandfield – allocated for residential, some community use, small scale retail. Important site to get right in terms of connection to neighbouring occupiers;

·  Castle College site – mixed use, with a focus on tourism and links to the castle. Need to get the heritage and architectural details right;

(e)  any comments for consultation should be sent by email to localplan@nottinghamcity.gov.uk or comments can be sent in writing, or online at www.nottinghamcity.gov.uk/localplan.

There were some questions and feedback from the Committee:

(f)  the plan takes forward the concentration test for HMOs, so when an HMO comes forward the existing density will be reviewed. A tighter limit is proposed (10%), but there may be difficulty justifying and evidencing that approach. 10% may be too high still in some areas, but too low citywide. If the Park gets more students it could have a domino effect and get more students in;

(g)  the proposal for Forest Mills is for mixed use - residential and other uses are appropriate. It is a long standing site, and there is a need to bring forward a development that gets the site back into use. One possibility is ground floor retail, but it is too large to be used just for retail;

(h)  the Committee noted that some student blocks were originally built or converted with inadequate parking, on the assumption that students wouldn’t bring their cars with them. Any future blocks will need to assess whether parking provision is adequate. It is difficult to address this issue where conversions do not require planning permission, but otherwise other policies of the Plan seek to ensure that parking provision is adequate;

(i)  the Committee commented that residential development at the former Lenton Centre would be welcomed, but there are concerns about timescales. Flats are being redeveloped, the church square is being demolished, and access may become an issue. The Plan, however, merely sets out principle land use; it doesn’t mean there are plans currently on the table. Any issues such as access and other works would be addressed at the planning application stage of any proposed development. The land is owned by the private sector so the City Council has no control over when they bring a scheme forward. There are no plans in place at the moment;

(j)  The timescales involved are very long, as they are guided by statutory guidelines. The Plan won’t be submitted to government till late 2016, with adoption of the plan potentially scheduled for summer 2017.

RESOLVED to note the Local Plan Part 2: Land and Planning Policies Document (Publication Version) as contained in appendix A of the report, and that the period for making representations ends on 11 March 2016.