Agenda item

The Cabinet is requested to consider the agenda report and its three appendices contained in the first agenda supplement (the second and third appendices are confidential and exempt from publication within Part II and will be circulated to members and relevant officers only) and to make the following recommendations to the Council meeting on Tuesday 25 July 2017 namely that:

(1)  The entering into a new Agreement with the South Downs National Park Authority (SDNPA) under section 101 of the Local Government Act 1972 be approved to enable the Council to continue to provide a development management service to the SDNPA for up to three years initially until 30 September 2020 and, subject to a further report to Cabinet and Council, for a further two years up until 30 September 2022 if the arrangements are working effectively and agreeable to both authorities.

(2)  The Head of Planning Services be authorised to conclude negotiations on the Section 101 Agreement including the Service Level Agreement and related Protocols and complete the Agreement.

(3)  The proposed basis for payments set out in appendix 1 and 2 for the delivery of a development management service to the SDNPA be approved.

(4)  The recommendations from Overview and Scrutiny Committee as set out in paragraph 9.1 in the agenda report be considered.

RECOMMENDED TO THE COUNCIL

(1)  That a new Agreement be entered into with the South Downs National Park Authority (SDNPA) under section 101 of the Local Government Act 1972 to enable Chichester District Council to continue to provide a development management service to the SDNPA for up to three years initially until 30 September 2020 and, subject to a further report to the Cabinet and the Council, for a further two years up until 30 September 2022 if the arrangements are working effectively and agreeable to both authorities.

(2)  That the Head of Planning Services be authorised to conclude negotiations on the section 101 Agreement including the Service Level Agreement and related Protocols and complete the Agreement.

(3)  That the proposed basis for payments set out in appendix 1 and 2 for the delivery of a development management service to the SDNPA be agreed.

RESOLVED

That having regard to the recommendations made by the Overview and Scrutiny Committee set out in para 9.3 of the Cabinet agenda report:

(1)  Officers be authorised to work with the South Downs National Park Authority to develop (with district and parish councillors) a communications protocol.

(2)  A corporate task and finish group to review the resources allocated to enforcement in relation to the SDNPA Enforcement Protocol and Chichester District Council’s Enforcement Strategy should not be established at the present time.

The Cabinet received and considered the agenda report and its three appendices in the first agenda supplement, the second and third of which were confidential Part II exempt material (copies of the report and the first appendix attached to the official minutes).

The report was presented by Mrs Taylor.

Mr Frost and Mr Whitty were in attendance for this item.

Mrs Taylor summarised the history from 2011 to date of the legal agreements between CDC and the South Downs National Park Authority (SDNPA) for the delivery by CDC of a development management service on behalf of the SDNPA. She explained the principal change relating to how payments would be calculated in the new agreement, which could operate for up to five more years with effect from October 2017. The new arrangements for determining payment levels were set out in paras 6.4 to 6.11 of the report. The draft section 101 agreement was in appendix 1; its four schedules were summarised in para 6.1 of the report, which also mentioned certain matters were still being negotiated and it was expected that these would be satisfactorily resolved. Para 6.7 summarised the details in the two confidential Part II appendices. The justification and benefits for entering into the new agreement were set out in sections 5 and 7 of the report. Section 9 reported the views expressed by CDC’s Overview and Scrutiny Committee (OSC) at its meeting on 23 June 2017, which included two recommendations to the Cabinet in paras 9.3 and 9.4.

Mr Frost commented that a very thorough review of the SDNPA’s agency arrangements with other authorities had been undertaken during the previous nine months, with the focus being clearly put on the approach to determining payments. The confidential details in appendices 2 and 3 disclosed how much work had been done on examining the cost approach based on case types.

During the debate Mr Frost, Mrs Shepherd and Mrs Taylor responded to members’ questions and comments on points of details which included the following matters:

(a)  The accuracy of the costs estimate and the possible need for each party to discuss options in the event that the costs proved to be above or below the estimate.

(b)  The third line in para 4.5 of the report required clarification to say that the SDNPA had made an offer to CDC for CDC to undertake the development management functions on its behalf. 

(c)  The use of section 106 monies and Community Infrastructure Levy monies: the former were specifically allocated to a particular development; the latter would be received by the SDNPA for infrastructure anywhere within the SDNP; if there was a concern that the SDNPA was spending monies without consulting the local parish council, then this should be raised with the SDNPA. 

The two recommendations by the OSC (para 9.3) were considered by the Cabinet in the light of an overview given by Mr Carvell. Mrs Apel, the OSC chairman, commented on the OSC’s rationale for making them. With regard to the second recommendation relating to a task and finish group being established to review the resources allocated for enforcement, Mrs Shepherd advised that it should be borne in mind that the SDNPA was commissioning this service from CDC and the SDNPA was very satisfied with CDC’s work.  There was an agreed enforcement protocol which should be observed. The SDNPA could not be compelled to have a higher standard of enforcement service merely because CDC required it. 

The consensus was in favour of supporting the OSC’s first recommendation but not the second, on the basis that the proposed establishment of a task and finish group was considered to be premature. 

Mr Dignum said in closing that (a) CDC as the local planning authority was responsible for providing a first class planning service for the Chichester Local Plan area and within the SDNP on behalf of the SDNPA on an agency basis, in the latter case it would deal with the vast majority of those planning applications; (b) the agency agreement would set in place arrangements on a long-term basis; (c) this would enable CDC to continue to be involved in development management matters across Chichester District; and (d) the agreement would enable CDC to recover a proportion of its overhead costs.    

Decision

The Cabinet voted unanimously on a show of hands in favour of making the recommendations and resolutions set out below.

RECOMMENDED TO THE COUNCIL

(1)  That a new Agreement be entered into with the South Downs National Park Authority (SDNPA) under section 101 of the Local Government Act 1972 to enable Chichester District Council to continue to provide a development management service to the SDNPA for up to three years initially until 30 September 2020 and, subject to a further report to the Cabinet and the Council, for a further two years up until 30 September 2022 if the arrangements are working effectively and agreeable to both authorities.

(2)  That the Head of Planning Services be authorised to conclude negotiations on the section 101 Agreement including the Service Level Agreement and related Protocols and complete the Agreement.

(3)  That the proposed basis for payments set out in appendix 1 and 2 for the delivery of a development management service to the SDNPA be agreed.

RESOLVED

That having regard to the recommendations made by the Overview and Scrutiny Committee set out in para 9.3 of the Cabinet agenda report:

(1)  Officers be authorised to work with the South Downs National Park Authority to develop (with district and parish councillors) a communications protocol.

(2)  A corporate task and finish group to review the resources allocated to enforcement in relation to the SDNPA Enforcement Protocol and Chichester District Council’s Enforcement Strategy should not be established at the present time.