Agenda and minutes

The Chair welcomed all present to the meeting and read out the Building Evacuation Procedure. 

To receive any declarations of interest.

There were no declarations of interest received at this point in the meeting.

The minutes of the Regeneration Scrutiny Panel meeting held on 17 January 2024 were submitted and approved as a correct record, subject to the following amendment:

Page 3, paragraph 6, last sentence to be deleted.

The Chair will provide a verbal update on matters considered at the meeting of the Overview and Scrutiny Board held on 7 February 2024.

The Chair provided a verbal update on items considered at the meeting of the Overview and Scrutiny Board held on 7 February 2024.

The next meeting of the Regeneration Scrutiny Panel is scheduled to take place on Wednesday 20 March 2024 at 10.00 am.

The next meeting of the Regeneration Scrutiny Panel was scheduled to take place on Wednesday 20 March 2024 at 10.00 am.

None.

The Assistant Director Planning at South Hams District Council and West Devon Borough Council will be in attendance to provide information in relation to shared planning services.

Recommendation: that the Panel notes the information provided.

The Assistant Director Planning at South Hams District Council and West Devon Borough Council was in virtual attendance at the meeting to provide information in relation to shared services.

The two Councils had worked together since 2006 and delivered a wide range of services, including planning, for residents and businesses across south west Devon in a shared service partnership.

South Hams and West Devon were separate Local Authorities with their own budgets but with a joint pool of staff and a single Chief Executive.  West Devon was a relatively small authority with South Hams being much larger and therefore there were some recharge rates between the two to ensure service provision was fair and equitable.

Across the shared service approximately 75 members of staff were employed which included officers for conservation, planning policy, business and enforcement.  Outside of the Assistant Director’s remit, but also shared across the three authorities, the Urban Fringe Delivery Team worked with the planning services to support the delivery of large and complex sites within the Plymouth Urban Fringe and employed 7 members of staff.

With the initial delivery of the shared service, planning services were hit hard in terms of the numbers of staff employed.  However, over the past three years there had been more investment into planning services – including the Assistant Director appointment.  Some new posts had been brought in, with extra investment to bring planning back up to speed.  Careful consideration had to be given regarding cutting jobs versus operational needs when moving to a shared service.  Whilst it was important to deliver savings, it was also vital to meet operational requirements.

Following a review by the Planning and Advisory Service (PAS), the Assistant Director Planning had taken up post fourteen months ago and capacity within the service had been increased with council specific posts for Head of Development and Head of Enforcement for each authority. 

South Hams had a Development Management Committee for determining planning applications and West Devon had a Development Management and Licensing Committee.

Whilst each Council had its own Planning Policy Officers, there was a joint team for the Joint Local Plan.   The Plymouth and South West Devon Joint Local Plan covered the administrative areas of Plymouth City, South Hams District and West Devon Borough and formed part of the Development Plan for these areas.  It was created by all three Councils and adopted by each one in 2019.  The Supplementary Planning Document (SPD) which provided guidance on the implementation of the Local Plan was also adopted and shared by the three authorities as well as other documents such as the Climate Emergency Planning Statement. 

With regard to cohesion across the three areas there was an inter- relationship and cross boundaries.  There was a demand for housing generated by Plymouth and new urban extensions were needed. This meant that South Hams was able to focus less on housing areas.  Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty were also included, so fringe areas could be used for development as they were  ...  view the full minutes text for item 23/52