Agenda item

1.    The Delivery Agreement was accepted and observations on the content were offered.

2.    It was agreed that the Delivery Agreement should go out to public consultation for six weeks.

3.    The right was delegated to the Head of Environment Department to make editorial modifications to ensure accuracy before the document goes out for public consultation.

The report was submitted by Cllr Dafydd Meurig.    

DECISION

1.    The Delivery Agreement was accepted and observations on the content were offered.

2.    It was agreed that the Delivery Agreement should go out to public consultation for six weeks.

3.    The right was delegated to the Head of Environment Department to make editorial modifications to ensure accuracy before the document goes out for public consultation.

DISCUSSION

It was explained that the Delivery Agreement was part of the initial steps of drawing up a new Local Development Plan. It was noted that this process was lengthy and technical as there were specific steps to address on a statutory timetable.

It was explained that the delivery agreement would go out to consultation with key stakeholders should the Cabinet approve it. It was detailed that the agreement would be submitted to the Planning Policy Working Group in January, the Cabinet in February and the Full Council in March before being officially accepted.

It was reported that the Planning Policy Working Group had already considered the Delivery Agreement and that their observations had been noted in the report. It was confirmed that the Communities Scrutiny Committee had considered the Agreement. It was noted that the timetable did not allow the inclusion of their observations within the report to the Cabinet. A summary of their considerations was provided:

·       It was considered that a 'consultation' was a risk within the Agreement. This was noted due to the importance of consultation within the plan and the risk of not consulting sufficiently. It was considered that including it as a risk would ensure that it would receive constant attention. It was enquired whether lessons had been learnt from previous consultations and it was considered whether it would be possible to incorporate these changes within their consultation.

·       The fact that the list of bodies that were intended to consult with included under-represented groups was welcomed and that the consultation was open for everyone to respond.

·       There was concern that usual methods were used when consulting and officers were asked to ensure that alternative methods were used.

·       It was accepted that there was a role for all Members to support the work and take ownership of it.

It was recognised that thorough and clear consultation was required with all relevant bodies. It was noted that there were statutory requirements for the consultation process but there was room for the Council to improve on these requirements.

It was emphasised that the timetable set by the Government to draw up a new Plan was very tight. Despite this, it was confirmed that 'consultation' was being added as a risk within the Delivery Agreement by the beginning of the public consultation. It was ensured that the Department was collaborating with the Communication service to make every effort to consult effectively and thoroughly.

It was discussed that the Department had succeeded to appoint officers following every job advertisement in the past few months. It was noted that officers' capacity was not currently deemed a risk to deliver the Agreement but it was confirmed that the situation would be monitored continuously.