Questions and Answers – Lowfield Lane

Why aren’t the District Council debating a petition focused on a planning application at Full Council in advance of the Planning Committee at which it will be considered?

We have seen growing interest in a planning application in relation to a site on Lowfield Lane.  We know that a petition about this planning application will be presented to Full Council next week (16 July 2024) and have read social media comments advising that we, the District Council, have ‘declined to have the petition against the proposed development of Lowfield Lane ‘debated’ in advance of the planning committee which will be hearing the application.’

We’d like to share some detail with you around this. The Council is required to decide planning applications as part of its statutory role as a ‘Local Planning Authority’. The largest and often most complex or controversial applications are referred to the Planning Committee (a specific panel of Councillors) to make such decisions. This will be the case for Lowfield Lane given that a planning application has been submitted which has not yet been decided – a ‘live’ planning application.

When there is a ‘live’ planning application it means that only the Planning Committee can debate it, in order to ensure the transparency of following a statutory decision-making process. It is for this Committee to debate and assess all of the issues and come to a decision. The Planning Committee will be made aware of all representations received, including the petition. Public speaking is also permitted by representatives of the community.

It’s not that we don’t listen, nor care, because we really do, and we have heard and will continue to hear the voices of all our communities. We always consider their valuable thoughts, concerns and ideas. But any planning application must be considered in the proper way. Each ‘live’ planning application must be treated in the same way, equally and fairly.  It wouldn’t be right not to do so. To reiterate, those same people have heard residents’ comments, they will be fully informed on the petition and are acutely aware of the difficult decision required in relation to this planning application.

When and why was Lowfield Lane allocated for housing?

We are required by the Government to meet the accommodation needs for all our communities, and we must detail how we will do this through our Development Plan, which is made up of a Core Strategy (Part 1) and Allocations & Development Management DPD (Part 2). The Core Strategy sets out how much housing is needed, based on a required methodology. The Allocations & Development Management DPD allocates land to meet this.

The Council adopted its original Core Strategy in 2011, with Lowfield Lane allocated in 2013 through the Allocations and Development Management DPD.  All planning authorities must have an up-to-date Development Plan, examined by the Planning Inspectorate, which shows how we will meet the future housing needs of all our communities.

The allocation of the Lowfield Lane site followed a thorough assessment of available alternative options and was justified by a comprehensive and wide-ranging evidence base.  As the Government mandate, houses have to be built somewhere, and all potential land is thoroughly considered, and the best options allocated.

How is land allocated for housing and why?

Every council in the country is legally required to set out a plan for how it will address the future housing needs of its local community.  Planning to meet the housing needs of our local population is one of our most important responsibilities. Sometimes it can be extremely challenging to find suitable housing sites that balance meeting the needs of current and future populations with other competing social, environmental and economic objectives, but it’s important that we don’t duck this challenge.  

The requirement upon councils to address local housing needs sets out the context for the amount of land to be allocated.  Land is identified by a thorough assessment and the filtering of site options follows a logical, transparent and robust process that includes the opportunity for communities to provide input. When assessing possible options, a wide-ranging and comprehensive evidence base is brought together, which ensures that the impacts of allocating land to be understood and taken account of.

The allocation of a site identifies the principle of development for the use to be acceptable, with the detail of a development proposal to then be thoroughly assessed through the Development Management process when a planning application is submitted.

How will the revised Lowfield Lane planning application address concerns over the environment?

It has taken three years for a planning application for this site to be ready.  It has been revised multiple times to address concerns over biodiversity and the environment. The Planning Committee are looking forward to the revised plans, when they are submitted, to see what additional changes and features have been incorporated into them to address local residents’ environmental concerns.