Decision Maker: Cabinet

Outcome: Recommendations Approved

Is Key Decision?: Yes

Is Callable In?: No

Date of Decision: June 16, 2025

Purpose:

Content: The Cabinet considered a report of the Executive Director (Environment and Place) presenting the ‘Preferred Approach with Options’ for public consultation, as part of the next stage in preparing the Southend New Local Plan.   Resolved:   1. That the ‘Preferred Approach with Options’ document, as set out at Appendix 1 to the submitted report, as the third stage of the preparation of the Southend new Local Plan, to be published for public consultation under Regulation 18 of the Town and Country Planning (Local Planning) (England) Regulations 2012, be approved.   2. That the feedback received during the previous stage of consultation, the Southend New Local Plan Refining the Plan Options 2021, as set out in the accompanying Consultation Statement (Appendix 2 to the report), be noted.   3. That authority be delegated to the Executive Director (Environment and Place), in consultation with the Cabinet Member (Planning and Housing) to:   ·         Make minor amendments to the Southend New Local Plan Preferred Approach with Options document prior to consultation; and ·         Take all necessary steps to ensure compliance with the relevant statutory processes and procedures to undertake the consultation.   4. That the updated Statement of Community Involvement, set out at Appendix 4 to the report, be approved.   Reasons for decisions:   1. To ensure the expeditious production of a new Local Plan for Southend, which when adopted will set a clear, up to date, planning policy framework to manage and guide future development in the City. Once adopted, the Plan will also ensure the Council has strong control of decision making and will continue to be able to make planning decisions, aligned to a clear strategy which has been the subject of widespread public engagement with the local community.   2. The successful delivery of the Southend New Local Plan will contribute to the fulfilment of a number of elements of the Council’s vision and other strategies.   Other options:   1. The failure to prepare a new local plan for Southend would result in its current plans becoming progressively out of date and the Council becoming increasingly unable to positively influence the scale, nature and location of development within the City. Without the certainty of a recently adopted local plan, which includes up to date policies and proposals for the location of development and new infrastructure, potential investors in new development may be dissuaded from investing in the local area, fail to take account of local priorities and not develop in the right places to best support the local economy and community. The local community would also be left with little certainty of where and how new development would happen in future years.   2. An out-of-date local plan also brings the potential risk of “planning by appeal” with the responsibility for decision making being passed from the Council and the local community to the Planning Inspectorate and the Secretary of State, as the Council’s existing local plan becomes increasingly out of date. Councils can be directed to prepare a local plan by Government where they have not kept their local plan up to date and can even have plan-making powers taken away, should they fail to progress plan preparation in a timely manner, or refuse to prepare a plan.   Note: This is an Executive Function Not eligible for call-in Cabinet Member: Cllr Anne Jones