A report by the Director of Regeneration, Housing and Planning sought approval for a Draft Core Strategy to be published for public comment.  The Cabinet was informed that the comments received would be reported back to it before the Core Strategy was submitted to the Secretary of State for public examination by an Independent Planning Inspector.  The Cabinet noted that the Council’s Constitution required both the publication and submission of the Draft Core Strategy to be approved by the Council.

The Director informed that the Core Strategy would assist in the delivery of corporate priorities related to Your Neighbourhood and Your Economy.  The Cabinet noted that once adopted, the Core Strategy would replace the strategic policies contained within the Unitary Development Plan that had been adopted in February 2000.

Councillor Pat Hackett raised concerns that planning policy was being revoked which could have implications on greenbelt land.  He asked Officers to take all necessary steps to try to ensure that the greenbelt was not eroded.

The Cabinet turned its attention to the proposed Wirral Waters development noting that, ideally, it would be helpful for Peel Holdings to begin work on the residential development within the next five years.  Members agreed to encourage and support Peel with this in anyway that it could.

The Cabinet noted, in particular, that the Council’s Housing Strategy Team had advised that the relaxation of restrictions on development outside regeneration priority areas could have a detrimental affect on the attractiveness of existing, cleared sites within Wirral’s former HMRI boundary where the market for new housing was already weak.  This would represent a major risk to the delivery of Wirral’s new-build housing programme with Lovell and Keepmoat, with implications for the funding agreement with the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) which was based on pre-agreed outputs for new-build starts and completions.

Councillor Phil Davies asked how Members could ensure that HMRI sites could be regenerated in the future and if they could put any measures in place.

The Head of Regeneration and Planning who had presented the Director’s report informed that regeneration had been focused on HMRI areas and this would continue through the Council’s ongoing work.  Finance was the problem in terms of building houses and providing mortgages.  If the Council was able to put financial support mechanisms in place it would be helpful.  The Council wanted to see appropriate sites developed to create the right environment to assist the provision of housing on those sites.  The Council was in challenging circumstances at present and wanted to see the east of the borough and Wirral as a whole prosper.

The Cabinet noted from the Director’s report that the 2011 Census, had shown the first recorded growth in Wirral’s population since 1971.  In Wirral’s case, this had meant that there were 13,100 additional people and 5,000 additional households within the Borough than were previously projected for mid-2011.  Given this unexpected increase in population and households, there was currently no reliable alternative basis for projecting future household needs until revised national projections were published during 2013.

Councillor Tony Cox queried whether the Head of Regulation and Planning was aware of where the additional people had come from. The Head of Regeneration and Planning agreed to provide him with the detail at a later date but commented that it was an encouraging sign and that he would break down the figures and ascertain the demographics.

Councillor Phil Davies told the Cabinet that he hoped that the growth in Wirral’s population would have a positive impact as Central Government’s funding was based on the size of the population.

RESOLVED: That the Cabinet

(1)  notes the Director’s comments on strategic choices;

(2)  recommends to the Council that the Proposed Submission Draft Core Strategy and its supporting documents contained within the Document Library be approved for publication and as a material consideration for the purposes of development control;

(3)  recommends to the Council that the following documents contained within the Document Library be approved as factual evidence for the Core Strategy and be adopted as material considerations for the purposes of development control:

·  Wirral Employment Land and Premises Study Update (BE Group, 2012)

·  Wirral Strategic Housing Land Availability Assessment Update 2012 (Wirral Council and A.P.Sheehan 2012)

·  Wirral Retail Strategy Update 2012 (GVA, March 2012)

·  Wirral Open Space Assessment (Wirral Council and Strategic Leisure, 2012)

·  Assessment of Wirral Core Strategy Transport Impacts (Mott McDonald, July 2012)

(4)  recommends to the Council that the Interim Planning Policy be revoked, to allow decisions to be determined in accordance with the Unitary Development Plan, the Regional Spatial Strategy (until it is revoked) and the National Planning Policy Framework and to allow sites within the previously restricted areas to contribute towards the ongoing housing land supply;

(5)  recommends to the Council that the Director of Regeneration, Housing and Planning be given delegated authority to prepare and amend the supporting documents necessary to accompany the publication of the Proposed Submission Draft and the supporting documents, provided that they do not materially alter the policy direction set out in the Proposed Submission Draft;

(6)  the Portfolio Holder for Regeneration and Planning Strategy be given authority to approve the final content of the Proposed Submission Draft Habitats Regulations Assessment Report and the Statement of Consultation referred to in paragraph 2.6 of the report, so that they can also be formally approved for publication by the Council at its meeting on 15 October 2012;

(7)  the comments received on the Proposed Submission Draft and its supporting documents be reported back to the Cabinet before the Core Strategy is submitted to the Secretary of State for public examination.

(8)  the review of the Council’s Strategic Housing Needs Assessment; assessment of accommodation needs for Gypsies and Travellers; future standards for open space and recreation; Core Strategy viability assessment; and work to identify a solution to the future provision of appropriate wastewater treatment capacity in Birkenhead; are undertaken as soon as practicable, before the Core Strategy is submitted to the Secretary of State; and

(9)  Cheshire West and Chester Council be advised that it is not possible for Wirral to accommodate additional housing to make up any short-term shortage of deliverable supply in Cheshire West and Chester.