Private Sector Forum meeting
19th October 2012
Council Chamber, Carrick House, Pydar Street, Truro, TR1 1EB
Present:
David Stein – Acorn Property Group
Michael Griffin – Mansell (Chair)
Andy Stevenson – Cornwall Council
Ben Colman – Cornwall Council
Phil Mason – Cornwall Council
Morwenna Milburn – Cornwall Council
(minutes)
James Welch – Cornwall Council
Marshall Plummer – Cornwall Council
Nicola Stinson – Cornwall Council
Karen Jackson – Cornwall Council
Steve Havers – Cornwall Council
Lyndsey Sandey – Cornwall Council
Gwenda Beckley – South West Homes
Lorna Sercombe – South West Homes
Richard Abbott – Pensans Ltd/Built 4U SW
Ltd.
Peter Crawford – Wainhomes
Cllr Mark Kaczmarek – Cornwall Council
Apologies:
Colin Molton – HCA
Peter Marsh – Cornwall Council
Andrew O’Brien – Cornwall Council
Terry Grove-White – Cornwall Council
Michael Crich – Cornwall Council
Derek Coyle – First Step Homes
Martin Page – First Step Homes
Steve Smith – Eliot Design and Build
Andy Parsons – Lowena Homes Ltd.
Tim Bennett – Lowena Homes Ltd.
Greg Oldrieve – Vickery Holman
John Cox –Randall Simmonds
Andrew Selleck – Selleck Nicholls Ltd.
Ian Knight - HCA
Versha Koria - HCA
Ron Ley – Poltair Homes
Emma Rodgers – Linden Homes
Graham Hutton – Linden Homes
Alan Green – Ocean Housing
Damien Burley – Walker Developments (SW) Ltd.
John Wombwell – Wombwell Homes
Guy Cotton – Galliford Try
Stephen Teagle – Galliford Try
Shaun Stapleton – Kier Western
Caroline Wheeleker – Linden Homes
Graham Clark, Sunnybank Homes
Julian Kitto – Cornwall Council
Louise Dwelly – Cornwall Council
Nigel Doyle – Cornwall Council
Anthony Eke – Vickery Holman
Clare Salmon – Cornwall Council
Kathryn Pennington – DCH Group
Ben Couch – Taylor Lewis
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Private Sector Forum meeting
19th October 2012
Council Chamber, Carrick House, Pydar Street, Truro, TR1 1EB
Welcome
Welcome from the Chair Michael Griffin (Mansells /Chair HBF South West
Planning)
Michael Griffin (MG) welcomed everyone to the meeting. a) Minutes of the last meeting 21/6/12
The minutes of the last meeting were approved
South West Homes
Gwenda Beckley and Lorna Sercombe from South West Homes gave an update on
October 2012. the new contract they hold with Cornwall Council from 1 st
South West Homes will now be the first port of call for marketing of affordable homes for sale in Cornwall. They can provide developers with a list of applicants and a free advertising service on their website. Please contact www.southwesthomes.org.uk
or call 0300 100 0021.
Update from Phil Mason, head of Cornwall Council Planning and
Regeneration
Some major changes to the higher administration of the Council have happened this week, significantly the removal through vote of no confidence of the former Leader
Cllr Alec Robertson and the subsequent replacement by Cllr Jim Currie. Four
Cabinet members have resigned and will be replaced shortly. As a result of the changes, some delays to Cabinet decisions are expected, most notably the Local
Plan.
The Design Guide is in the final stages prior to consultation. Design standards for housing are being looked at.
The Cornwall Land Initiative (Council owned sites suitable for housing) will be going out to tender shortly for a development partner, once Cabinet approval has been given.
Cllr Kaczmarek gave an update reiterating the status of the administration of the
Council and explained that the Local Plan will be seen at Cabinet as soon as possible.
Presentation from Ian Knight, Head of Area, Homes and Communities
Agency
Ian Knight gave a presentation detailing the status of the current initiatives in
Cornwall, emerging new initiatives and other policy development. Presentation circulated with minutes
Questions and answers
Q1 FirstBuy is not relevant to SMEs as not generally eligible.
A1 The minimum units has been reduced to 10 for FirstBuy Phase 2, hopefully this will encourage more SME take up
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Private Sector Forum meeting
19th October 2012
Council Chamber, Carrick House, Pydar Street, Truro, TR1 1EB
Q2 of the 137 indicative homes where the site isn’t identified, how many of these have planning consent?
A2 Approximately half.
Q3 Does FirstBuy count towards the Council’s affordable housing targets?
A3 .ADDENDUM : firstbuy units don’t count as affordable homes for the purposes of planning policy. However, they are recorded as part of delivery targets and reported to Government for the contribution they make to improving the affordability of home ownership.
Update from Andy Stevenson, Infrastructure Asset Manager, Cornwall
Council on Highways Adoptions Policy and interim SUDS policy
Presentation circulated with minutes.
Andy gave an update further to his presentation at the Developers’ Forum in July
2011, after which a working group looked at the issues of APCs and Highways
Bonds. Revised policy wording had been agreed and fed back to the Forum. Andy worked through a number of adoption examples and stressed that he was available to provide guidance and advice to avoid potential problems. Both David Stein and
Peter Crawford confirmed that they had previously benefitted from this service.
Andy went on to explain that an interim SUDS policy was now available and could be viewed on the Council’s website.
Questions and Answers
Q1 What is the update with the SUDS approval body process?
A1 Consultation goes through planning mechanism but no official SUDS approval body.
Q2 When developer is asked to provide SUDS but adjoining areas will benefit, what will be the policy on calculating the commuted sum?
A3 Each scheme will have to be looked at on a case-by-case basis.
Q3 Who is responsible for flood control in Cornwall?
A3 Majority with the Council, some major rivers with Environment Agency.
Q4 Is permeable tarmac an acceptable method of dispersal?
A4 Yes, the Council are accepting of permeable tarmac.
Update from Marshall Plummer, Development Manager, Cornwall Council
The new Planning and Regeneration structure has been in place since June. A new county-wide Householder Team is now in place, following the successful pilot in
West Cornwall. This provides a fast-track service for householder applications.
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Private Sector Forum meeting
19th October 2012
Council Chamber, Carrick House, Pydar Street, Truro, TR1 1EB
The Strategic Development Team are now established, dealing with major applications. This is headed up by David Edmondson.
MP will be heading up the teams dealing with Appeals and Enforcement.
A recent customer service survey was carried out and findings are being looked at.
The structure for planning committees is being reviewed, any feedback into this process can come to MP direct marshall.plummer@cornwall.gov.uk
The Service is working with the Planning Advisory Service to see how it compares with other Authorities, with a view to making improvements.
A suggestion for a Planning Performance Agreement working group was raised.
Update from Stave Havers, Local Plans Manager, Cornwall Council
SH provided an update on the Local Plan (formerly known as the Core Strategy).
The Local Plan was supposed to have gone to Cabinet but has been delayed in the recent administrative changes. As soon as Cabinet has been re-formed, the Plan will be considered with a view to going to full Council in December, published for consultation in January and then referral to Secretary of State before the elections in March. The document has evolved from the LEP input and is more of an economy-lead strategy with a target of 50,000 jobs and 49,000 homes (affordable housing targets 35-50% depending on area, 70% rental and 30% intermediate sale).
Update from Karen Jackson and Lyndsey Sandey, Legal Services, Cornwall
Council
KJ and LS provided an update on the performance targets of Legal Services in relation to the drafting of 106s. There are still issues with 106s being instructed far too late in the determination period. It would be really useful if heads of terms were submitted with the planning application, where possible.
A suggestion for a 1 day workshop involving Legal, Affordable Housing, Planning,
Developers and Agents was suggested with a general consensus that this was a good idea. KJ will organise something for the new year with assistance from JW on behalf of the Forum.
Feedback from Michael Griffin on House Builders Federation/CLG meeting
Ran out of time to discuss this item, MG happy to provide individual feedback if required.
AOB
JW made a request for suggestions for future agenda items.
Date of next meeting
TBC
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