This meeting was about approving the content of the East Devon Local Plan, and included discussions on whether to allocate two sites, Budl01 in Budleigh Salterton and Otto02 in Otterton, for housing. The meeting was adjourned part way through and continued on 29 November and 1 December.

Approving the Regulation 19 draft of the East Devon Local Plan

A report recommending that the committee approve a draft of the East Devon Local Plan was presented for discussion. The draft plan, which can be read in full in Appendix 1 - Proposed Reg 19 Plan, was scheduled to be discussed in detail, chapter by chapter. The plan is intended to cover the period from 1 April 2020 to 31 March 2042. It is intended to cover all aspects of planning policy for the district, providing policy coverage for the whole district and site specific policy for locations that are shown on a map called the Policies Map. The meeting was asked to delegate authority to planning officers to make minor changes to the draft after the meeting, and to decide when the draft would be published for public consultation.

The report explained that the publication of a new National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) by central government was expected soon, and that the new framework may include new rules about when the consultation on the draft plan should start. The report suggested that if the new NPPF was published in late December 2024, it may be necessary for East Devon to begin its consultation in January 2025, in order to avoid having to follow new, more onerous rules about how the local plan is made.

The report also sought approval to begin a second, separate consultation on the new community proposed in the plan in Spring 2025, after the evidence base to support the new community is completed. This evidence will include:

• A masterplan for the new community
• A viability study, that will examine how financially viable the new community is, and what contributions the developers can be expected to make
• A strategic highway and transport assessment, that will look at what road improvements will be needed to support all of the developments planned for the western side of East Devon

The report also included a summary of the discussions from the previous meetings of the committee and the changes to the draft plan that were made in response to them.

The report included an update on two sites that the committee had previously resolved should be allocated for housing development in the local plan. These were:

• Budl_01 in Budleigh Salterton
• Otto_02 in Otterton

The report described the assessment that had been done of site Budl01 since the last meeting, and recommended that the site not be allocated for housing development because of its impact on the landscape. The report also recommended that site Otto02 not be allocated for housing because it is at risk of flooding.

Five year housing land supply

The report also included a discussion of how many homes East Devon can realistically expect to build each year, and whether this will be enough to meet the council’s target of 946 new homes a year. It noted that the government requires the council to identify enough sites to provide five years' worth of new homes. The report included a table and graph showing that, based on the homes that have already been built, and the developments that are expected to be completed soon, enough homes will be built in East Devon in the five years after the local plan is adopted. The report noted, however, that this assumes that all of the sites that are allocated for development in the local plan will start being developed within six years. This means that it is important for the council to approve planning applications quickly, or it may not have enough land available to meet its housing target. The report also suggested that the council could decide to only plan to build 800 homes a year to start with, and make up the shortfall later. This would mean that the council would be less reliant on the timely delivery of new homes on the sites it has allocated for development.

Policies Map boundary refinement following Spring 2024 consultation

The report also explained that the council will need to make some changes to the Policies Map after the public consultation has taken place. These will include:

• Adding boundaries to the Policies Map to show where new sites are allocated for development.
• Amending the boundary of the Clyst Valley Regional Park to reflect the changes that were proposed in the consultation on the park that was undertaken in Spring 2024.
• Removing the Green Wedge and Coastal Preservation Area designations from sites that have been allocated for development in the local plan.

The committee was also provided with a draft of the Local Plan Appendix 1 - Proposed Reg 19 Plan. This document includes a table in Appendix 1 that lists all of the policies in the local plan and whether they apply to the Cranbrook Plan area. It also includes a table in Appendix 2 showing the number of homes that East Devon expects to build each year until 2042.

Budl_01

The report describes the work that had been done to assess the suitability of part of site Budl_01, to the south of Bedlands Lane and west of Dark Lane, for the allocation of 50 homes. It included an extract from a masterplan for the site. It noted that the site promoter had identified three fields that they believed could accommodate the homes, but that council officers believed that only the field next to Dark Lane was suitable. It explained that the officers' preferred field was not suitable because it would require a long access road, and that this would have a negative impact on the landscape. It therefore recommended that the site not be allocated for development.

Honi_18

The report explained that work to ensure the allocated site at Kings Road in Honiton (Honi_18) is deliverable was progressing. The report explained that National Highways would be happy to approve the access to the site if a 30mph speed limit was introduced along the frontage of the site. It noted that the Police were content with this proposal, and so the report recommended that the allocation of the site should go ahead.

Otto_02

The report explained that the committee had previously resolved to allocate Otto_02 in Otterton for housing. It noted, however, that a large part of the site is at risk of flooding. The report stated that the council would need to pay around £10,000 to find out how much of the site is at risk of flooding, and that if the site was found to be unsuitable, it would need to be removed from the local plan. It recommended that it would be more sensible to simply remove the site from the local plan and leave it within the settlement boundary for Otterton. This would mean that it would still be possible for the landowner to apply for planning permission to build on the site, but they would have to provide a flood risk assessment to show that the homes would not be at risk of flooding.

The format for consultation

The report described how the council will consult on the draft local plan. It said that the council will publish the plan on its website and encourage people to submit their comments using Commonplace, an online platform. The report explained that this consultation is about whether the draft plan meets the legal requirements to be examined by a government inspector. It therefore will not be the same kind of consultation as the previous consultation on the draft plan, which took place in Spring 2024. This consultation had a more general 'have your say' approach. The report explained that this formal technical consultation will require people to use a standard form when submitting their comments. The report noted, however, that the council will still review all of the comments it receives, and then write a report describing what people said.

Plan submission and examination

The report also described what will happen after the public consultation has ended. It said that the council will ask the committee and then the full council to formally submit the local plan to the government for examination. Once the plan has been submitted, a government inspector will assess the plan to make sure that it is ‘sound’. This means that it must be:

• Legally compliant
• In accordance with government planning policy
• Based on robust evidence

The report said that the inspector will invite the council, and anyone who made a representation during the public consultation, to attend a series of hearings to discuss the plan and the comments that people have made. After the hearings have concluded, the inspector will write a report describing whether or not the plan can be formally adopted by the council. The inspector may ask the council to make some changes to the plan, called Main Modifications, before it is adopted. Once these have been made, the council will be able to formally adopt the plan. The report said that this is expected to happen at the end of 2026 or the beginning of 2027.

Implications for neighbourhood planning

The report also explained how the new local plan will affect neighbourhood plans. It said that the council will continue to assess new neighbourhood plans to make sure that they meet the requirements of the current, adopted Local Plan, and that they will also increasingly be assessed to make sure that they do not conflict with the policies of the new local plan. This is because all new neighbourhood plans must be in general conformity with the strategic policies of the adopted local plan. The report noted that the publication of the draft plan will provide communities with information to help them understand if they need to prepare a new neighbourhood plan, or to review an existing plan.

Foreword to the local plan

Councillor Todd Olive, the Portfolio Holder for Strategic Planning, was scheduled to present a draft foreword to the plan.

Defining Settlement Boundaries

The committee was scheduled to discuss whether to accept the proposed settlement boundaries for each of the Tier 1-4 settlements in East Devon, and the wording of the policies about how planning applications that are made within, and outside, settlement boundaries will be determined. A report that explained how the boundaries had been determined, and what comments were made about the proposed boundaries during the last consultation was presented for discussion. It also included two maps of each settlement, one showing the current settlement boundary and one showing the proposed settlement boundary.

Redrafting of Local Plan chapters

The committee was also asked to consider whether to endorse Chapter 6 of the local plan. This chapter includes the site allocations for all of the sites that the committee had previously agreed should be allocated for development. The report explained that the chapter describes the challenges, constraints and opportunities for each site, and includes specific policies about what must be provided on each site. It explained that for larger, complex sites the developers will need to produce a detailed masterplan, and submit this to the council for approval. The report also said that the chapter should be read in combination with all of the other policies in the plan, not in isolation.

Viability Assessment initial findings

The committee was scheduled to be provided with the initial findings from the viability study. It explained that the viability study is being undertaken to help the council understand whether the policies it proposes in the local plan are financially viable. The report explained that the study is being undertaken by consultants, and that one of its findings was that a requirement for developers to provide 35% of the homes they build as affordable homes can be achieved in high value areas, but that a lower percentage will be needed in other areas. The report noted that because the viability of the new community will be significantly different to the rest of East Devon, separate viability modelling will be undertaken for the new community.

The report explained that the viability study will be used to inform the policies in the local plan, including the policy on affordable housing. It asked the committee to endorse the initial findings of the viability study.