Agenda item

The following Notices of Motion had been submitted in Accordance with Procedure Rule 12:

 

1.       M6, J17 – Future Growth and Investment

 

Proposed by Councillor B Moran and seconded by Councillor G Baggott

 

At M6, Junction 17, the delivery of the Local Plan depends on the ability of people to make reliable journeys on Highways England’s strategic road network and that the adjacent local roads can cope with the additional traffic that will need to safely access and exit the Junction into the future. The arrival of the HS2 Hub at Crewe will place more demands on the road network in this area, but the growth of traffic on the M6 should not be at the expense of more congestion on local roads which will affect local journeys.

 

Future investment by Highways England into a major upgrade of Junction 17 should be a key consideration of Transport for the North as they commence their process of developing a Strategic Transport Plan for the North which will be the basis for determining Highways England’s future programme. Consultation on this Plan starts in the New Year and I propose that the Portfolio Holder for the Environment, in conjunction with the Executive Director for Place, include within the Council’s response, support for an early inclusion of a major scheme to improve capacity at Junction 17 in Highways England’s next investment period.  

 

This Motion reflects the question raised by Fiona BruceMP, in the House of Commons on 30 November 2017. This concerned the need for improvements at Junction 17 to be prioritised in Transport for the North’s Strategic Transport Plan, in order for Cheshire East Council to deliver continuing high levels of economic growth.

 

RESOLVED:

 

That the Motion stand referred to Cabinet.

 

 

2.       UK100 Clean Energy by 2050

 

Proposed by Councillor S Corcoran and seconded by Councillor S Hogben.

 

This Council acknowledges;

 

·       the historic commitments made at the 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Paris toward the future of renewable energy;

·       our responsibility to help secure an environmentally sustainable future for our residents and in relation to the global effects of anthropogenic climate change.

 

This Council subsequently notes that;

 

·       despite the Paris Agreement placing no binding commitments upon Local Government institutions, we as a Council can still play our part in the global movement towards a sustainable energy future;

·       additional benefits of the development of green industries include the potential to create well-paid, high-skilled employment locally, regionally and nationally;

·       the UK100 Agreement pledge outlines the ambition for the UK regions to exceed the Paris Climate targets through achieving 100% ‘clean energy’ usage by 2050.

 

In light of this, this Council therefore resolves to;

 

·       match the ambitions of the UK100 Agreement through pledging to achieve 100% clean energy across Cheshire East Council’s full range of functions by 2050  (defined as 70% from fully renewable sources [Wind, Water, Solar], with the remainder from other low CO2 forms of energy production, in line with ambitious post-2040 energy mix forecasts;

·       work in partnership with our residents and business community to deliver against the commitments made nationally and internationally at the 2015 Paris Summit;

·       turn these commitments into reality through developing a ‘route map’ to a sustainable future, working together with Cheshire East’s business, educational and residential communities as part of an integrated approach to a shared sustainable future.

 

 

References

For energy mix forecasts see Greenpeace, ‘Energy Revolution’, p.86: www.greenpeace.org/international/Global/international/publications/climate/2015/Energy-Revolution-2015-Full.pdf

 

http://www.uk100.org/

 

RESOLVED:

 

That the Motion stand referred to Cabinet.

 

 

3.       Local Plan Housing Land Supply

 

Submitted by Councillor S Corcoran and seconded by Councillor
N Mannion

 

That this Council notes that

 

1        in a recent planning appeal case the Inspector considered whether Cheshire East Council had a 5-year housing land supply and said, "To my mind, even though the calculated supply includes a 20% buffer, the 5-year supply should be considered to be marginal and, potentially, in doubt" and said "I conclude that it would be both cautious and prudent in the circumstances of this case to regard policies for the supply of housing to be considered not up-to-date, thus engaging the tilted balance of paragraph 14 of the Framework."

 

2        the Local Plan assumes a housing need of 1800p.a.

 

3        a recent government consultation included a figure for housing need in Cheshire East of 1142 p.a.

 

4        if the 5-year housing land supply calculation were based on a housing need of 1142p.a. then Cheshire East would have a secure and robust 5-year housing land supply

 

5        in order to take advantage of the lower figure for housing need in calculating a 5-year housing land supply, the Local Plan will need to be refreshed

 

This Council requests that a report be presented to the next Cabinet meeting setting out the work required to refresh the Local Plan to ensure that Cheshire East has a secure and robust 5-year housing land supply.

 

RESOLVED:

 

That the Motion stand referred to Cabinet.

 

4.       Maintenance of Highways in Crewe

 

Proposed by Councillor J Rhodes and Seconded by Councillor
S Brookfield

 

This Council should review its current asset led management approach to the repair and maintenance of roads and footpaths in the light of its failure to adequately maintain the highways in the principal town of Crewe.

Furthermore, it should institute an open and transparent system for funding and spending on highways, as is currently used for local highways groups. This would prevent any possible accusation of favouritism towards any particular town or ward. The annual assessment of highways and the list of areas to be maintained should also be made available to Councillors and the public.

Lastly, a comprehensive scheme of repair for highways in Crewe should be drawn up and submitted to the relevant scrutiny committee, alongside an estimate of the 3 year budget requirement.

 

RESOLVED:

 

That the Motion stand referred to Cabinet.

5.       Publication in full of Developer’s Viability Assessments

 

Proposed by Councillor N Mannion and Seconded by Councillor
B Roberts

 

Viability Assessments, introduced under the provisions of the NPPF in 2012,  are submitted by developers of larger sites as evidence to justify removing or reducing their  contributions, most often with regard to our Local Plan requirement that a minimum of 30% of residential units in a development are designated as ‘affordable’. 

 

To date, the content of Viability Assessments submitted by planning applicants to Cheshire East have not been published, nor have any details been shared with the Council’s planning committees.

 

However, a growing number of planning authorities, most recently Greenwich and Southwark councils, joined in November 2017 by Bristol City Council, have started to publish all viability assessments submitted by developers in full.

 

Therefore, in the interests of openness and transparency it is proposed that:

 

From 1^st February 2018 all Viability Assessments submitted by developers shall be published in full on the Council’s planning portal.

 

RESOLVED:

 

That the Motion stand referred to the Strategic Planning Board.