Employment Land figures and other parts of the Local Plan NOT passed

6 Apr

On rereading EDDC’s press releases, it appears that the Inspector has refused to look at the rest of the submitted Local Plan until the housing figures have been reworked and resubmitted, cross-border housing has been sorted and gypsy and traveller sites evidence reworked and resubmitted.  Only then will he consider other issues.

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One Response to “Employment Land figures and other parts of the Local Plan NOT passed”

  1. Richard THurlow April 7, 2014 at 10:46 am #

    Quite frankly the EDDC Local Plan preparation demonstrates EDDC’s shambolic performance in Planning issues. They have had 5 years to produce their plan, and now they are back to square one. The criticism (put politely by Mr A Thickett, the Inspector,) is scathing.

    He said “Unfortunately I do not consider that the Local Plan is sound nor at this stage can it be made so by main modifications”,

    There was no robust justification for the figure of 15,000 houses; the Strategic Housing Market Assessment, (SHMA), was held by him too be “unreliable”.

    There was a failure to comply with NPPG and NPPF; the supporting evidence was not appropriate nor up to date.

    There was a failure to cooperate with neighbouring authorities (ie West Dorset), and a failure to assess 5 yr housing land supply properly (giving rise to dangers of over-development etc – see Para 6 of letter).

    EDDC did not demonstrate a 5 yr supply when plan adopted, contra to NPPF Para 49,

    Their “blanket”approach to villages was wrong, and there was an overall need for plan to cover a longer period of time.

    So effectively EDDC must go back to the drawing board, and carry out an up to date Strategic Housing Market Assessment.

    All in all, a shambles. Given that the housing figures underpin so many of the other strategic policies, esp. employment land, all of those will need to be revisited in the light of new assessment of housing figures.

    The Inspector has not commented on other issues, because these are minor wrt the overall weakness of the Plan.

    EDDC have not yet issued a timetable for the production of the revised figures, but they will do so, since the Inspector has requested it. He says he is aware that” this may take some time.

    We are dangerously exposed for the next year or so to the depredations of Developers, since we don’t have a plan

    EDDC must now be considered to be dangerously incompetent. This has been demonstrated by their involvement and support of the biased Business Forum, by the disgraced former Councillor Brown’s presence on the planning scene, by EDDC’s error strewn attempt to get Planning for the Knowle, and by EDDC’s assertion that the 53 changes to the LP were only “minor” which was comprehensively rejected by the Inspector.

    All of these incompetances (and many more I suspect if we only knew the truth), cost us,the taxpayers, a great deal of money

    We need a root and branch reform of EDDC; the dominant Cabinet must be voted out, as must supine Councillors, (the majority). The CEO should get a reprimand for permitting such incompetence on his watch, as should his Deputy, otherwise we will continue to be lead by donkeys

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