Agenda and minutes

To provide an opportunity for Members and Officers to declare any personal and/or prejudicial interests in any item on the agenda

No interests were declared.

In accordance with Procedure Rules Nos.11 and 35 a period of 10 minutes is allocated for members of the public to address the meeting on any matter relevant to the work of the meeting. Individual members of the public may speak for up to 5 minutes but the Chairman will decide how the period of time allocated for public speaking will be apportioned where there are a number of speakers. Members of the public are not required to give notice to use this facility. However, as a matter of courtesy, a period of 24 hours’ notice is encouraged.

Members of the public wishing to ask a question at the meeting should provide at least three clear working days’ notice in writing and should include the question with that notice. This will enable an informed answer to be given.

There were no members of the public present.

To consider a report which seeks approval for the publication of the Strategic Housing Land Availability Assessment as part of the evidence base for the Cheshire East Local Development Framework.

The Cabinet Member considered a report which sought approval for the publication of the Strategic Housing Land Availability Assessment as part of the evidence base for the Cheshire East Local Development Framework.

The primary role of the Strategic Housing Land Availability Assessment was to:

1.      Identify sites with potential for housing;

2.      Assess their housing potential; and

3.      Assess when they are likely to be developed.

The study included sites that had been put forward by landowners and developers, with a capacity for 10 or more dwellings. The Strategic Housing Land Availability Assessment had been undertaken to:

?       provide a consistent assessment of potential sites that had been submitted by land owners and developers;

?       consider factors affecting the developability of the site (e.g. flood risk, access);

?       assess the sustainability of the site in terms of accessibility to services; and

?       consider the deliverability of the site in terms of the need for / timescales for delivering infrastructure required (e.g. highway schemes).

The Strategic Housing Land Availability Assessment provided background evidence on the potential availability of land in Cheshire East for housing.

A housing requirement of 1,150 net additional new dwellings a year had been agreed by the Council. There were currently insufficient ‘deliverable’ sites to meet the five year supply requirement, consequently the Council was introducing the Interim Planning Policy on the Release of Housing Lane, to identify broad locations for future housing growth, pending the preparation of the Local Development Framework which would allocate areas and sites for future development.. This guidance, which was subject to consultation, had identified two broad locations for housing growth within the Borough. These locations would provide an additional 1,350 dwellings to the 5 year supply and consequently the 5 year supply total was increased to 6,097. This equated to 5.3 years’ supply.

This document would be reviewed and updated annually.

This assessment was required by national planning policy, set out in Planning Policy Statement 3: Housing (PPS3).

RESOLVED

That

(1)   the Strategic Housing Land Availability Assessment be published; and

(2)   the document be used as part of the evidence base for the Cheshire East Local Development Framework.

To determine the award of Community Grants to voluntary and community organisations which meet the criteria approved by Cheshire East Council. 

The Cabinet Member considered a report on the award of Community Grants to voluntary and community organisations which met the criteria approved by Cheshire East Council.

Cheshire East Council had received various applications for community grants to be considered in line with the Council’s Policy for the Allocation of Community Grants. Each grant application was outlined in the report, as was the reason for the recommendation in respect of that application.

All of the proposed grants could be funded from within existing budgets approved as part of the Council’s Budget for 2009-10.   

RESOLVED

That the Community Grants listed in the report be awarded, declined or deferred as indicated.