Issue - meetings

The Cabinet is requested to consider the agenda report and its appendix in the agenda supplement and to make the following resolutions:

(1)  That the Decision Statement as set out in the appendix to the agenda report be published.

(2)  That the examiner’s recommendation that the Neighbourhood Development Plan proceed to referendum, subject to modifications as set out in the Decision Statement, be approved.

RESOLVED

That subject to the completion of a satisfactory Strategic Environment Assessment or legal advice that states that this is not required:

(1)  The Decision Statement as set out in the appendix to the agenda report be published.

(2)  The examiner’s recommendation that the Neighbourhood Development Plan proceed to referendum, subject to modifications as set out in the Decision Statement, be approved.

The Cabinet received and considered the agenda report and its appendix in the main agenda supplement.

This item was presented by Mrs S Taylor (Cabinet Member for Planning Services).

Mr M Allgrove (Planning Policy Manager) was in attendance for this matter.

Mrs Taylor summarised the examination process and outcome. She advised that since the end of the examination and the release of the decision statement officers had needed to seek advice on technical legal points which had arisen.

Mr Allgrove advised that the judgment of the Court of Justice of the European Union in the Sweetman case (People Over Wind, Peter Sweetman v Coillte Teoranta [2018] ECR 1-244) with regard to the Habitats Directive assessment had given rise to a complex, technical legal point for which there was no case law precedent and which had implications for the need for a strategic environmental assessment (SEA) of neighbourhood development plans (NDP). Previously the need for an SEA of the Selsey NDP had been screened out. Initial legal advice received by officers was that as a result of the Sweetman decision the need for an SEA now appeared to have been triggered. In order to avoid any potential legal challenges to making the Selsey NDP it was proposed that the publication of the decision statement and the ensuing referendum should be delayed pending a definitive legal opinion that an SEA was not required or, if it was, an SEA had been undertaken. Accordingly the recommendation in paras 2.1 and 2.2 of the report had been amended by the introduction of a preamble as follows:

‘That subject to the completion of a satisfactory Strategic Environment Assessment or legal advice that states that this is not required:

(1)  The Decision Statement as set out in the appendix to the agenda report be published.

(2)  The examiner’s recommendation that the Neighbourhood Development Plan proceed to referendum, subject to modifications as set out in the Decision Statement, be approved.’

Mr Allgrove responded to questions on points of detail from respectively Mrs E Lintill (Deputy Leader of the Council and Cabinet Member for Community Services) and Mr R Barrow (Cabinet Member for Residents Services) as follows:

·       It was not immediately apparent why the impact of the Sweetman judgment on the need for an SEA had not been raised by the examiner and officers would be contacting him to explain the decision to defer publication of the decision statement and a referendum until definitive legal advice had been received.

·       The chairman of Selsey Town Council (STC) had been briefed by Mr Allgrove at a meeting the previous evening on the position. STC had also indicated that it did not wish to review its NDP to allocate further land, the need for which was identified in the Local Plan Review.  

Decision

The Cabinet voted unanimously to make the resolution set out below as amended on the advice of Mr Allgrove.    

RESOLVED

That subject to the completion of a satisfactory Strategic Environment Assessment or legal advice that states that  ...  view the full minutes text for item 622