Agenda and draft minutes

There were no apologies. 

Councillor Judith Smyth was in attendance.

There were no declarations of interest.

The purpose of this report is to update Members on updates to planning published by the Government in December 2023 and advise them on the implications for planning in Portsmouth.

The report was introduced by Ian Maguire, Assistant Director Economy, Planning and Transport, and Lucy Howard, Head of Planning Policy.  As an introduction to key matters raised in the updates to planning published by the Government in December 2023, the Head of Planning Policy highlighted key information and implications for Portsmouth from the table in Appendix 1. 

Members' questions

In response to members' questions, officers clarified:

·         Some of the changes and amendments in the documents take effect immediately particularly the changes with the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF).  However, all the changes in the Levelling Up and Regeneration Act (LURA) will be subject to secondary legislation.  There will also be consultation on several matters such as changes to the extensions of time for planning applications.    

·         The dates for progressing local plans under the old system were confirmed as 30 June 2025 for submission and 31 December 2026 for adoption.

·         An advantage of adopting the local plan under the old system is that the council's Supplementary Planning Documents (SPDs) will remain in force for longer.

·         Planning fees will increase from December 2024 and Portsmouth was awarded £100,000 from the first round of the Planning Skills Delivery Fund.  This will be used to help fill skills gaps through temporary staffing and some additional digital improvements and IT support. 

·         Reporting on member decisions on planning applications that are made against officer recommendations will now be done by the Planning Inspectorate.

·         A presumption in favour of sustainable development for decision taking applies currently at PCC as we do not have an up to date Local Plan or a five year hosing land supply.

·         The new NPPF brings in the concept of a four year supply, and Portsmouth will match this categorisation on pre-submission.

·         Strategic policies must ensure outcomes that support beauty and placemaking.  There will be a robust policy to support good design and it will also mention 'beauty'.

·         Portsmouth is just outside the top 20 cities (using ONS data) so the uplift incorporated in the new NPPF does not apply.  Brighton and Southampton are both included and neither has the land to provide the housing required.

·         Where a local plan has identified a five year supply of specific deliverable sites at the time its examination is concluded, it will no longer need to prove a 5YHLS for five years and this is an incentive to move the new local plan forward.

·         Although not directly relevant to Portsmouth, the NPPF removes the requirement for green belt boundaries to be reviewed.

·         A Written Ministerial Statement published in December bans local plans from including policies that impose more stringent standards on energy efficiency and low carbon heating improvements than building regulations.

·         Tighter sustainability regulations may affect attitudes to good design as, for example, smaller windows and overhangs may have to be factored into what makes good design and may result in planning compromises.

·         The importance of mansard roofs as a source of additional housing supply is recognised in the NPPF though this will need to  ...  view the full minutes text for item 3.