Agenda and minutes

Councillor Atkins was substitute member for Councillor Brady.

DECIDED: That the minutes of the meeting held on 2 November 2022 be approved.

There were none.

·         Disclosable Pecuniary Interests

·         Other Interests

(At least two clear days notice required, in writing, to the Proper Officer in accordance with Procedure Rule 15).

None had been received.

Any additional items to be added to the Work Programme:

·         Chair’s Items

·         Members’ Items

DECIDED: That the Work Programme for 2022/2023 be approved, subject to:

·       an item on a review of CCTV being added;

·       for the existing item on a Management Plan for Green Spaces to be prioritised.

The report notified members of the draft Developer Contributions Supplementary Planning Document (SPD) and plans for public consultation. Feedback on the document and plans for consultation was also sought. 

Policy SS12 in the adopted Staffordshire Moorlands Local Plan (2020) identified the need for a Developer Contributions SPD to provide guidance for affordable housing, open space, education, health and other forms of infrastructure required to address the impact of development and how contributions will be calculated. The SPD would provide the Council with a stronger basis to seek developer contributions and will provide officers, councillors and developers with clear guidance.

  The Council had appointed consultants, Capita, to assist with the preparation of the SPD.  As part of the initial work undertaken, stakeholder engagement was carried out with key service areas across the Council including Development Management, Legal, Regeneration, Service Commissioning and Staffordshire County Council. This led to a first stage consultation between 24^th February and 7^th April 2022 where a number of issues and options were identified for consideration. A summary of the responses received and how these have been taken into account in the draft SPD can be seen at Appendix 3 of the report.

The draft Developer Contributions SPD set out details regarding the Council’s approach to planning obligations and the types of contributions that would be required. A full copy of the draft SPD was attached as Appendix 1 to the report.

It was now proposed to consult on the draft SPD in line with the Regulations and the Council’s Statement of Community Involvement for a period of four weeks. Details regarding the extent of the consultation were detailed in the report. Following a review of responses to the consultation, the Council would then be able to consider the adoption of the SPD. The document would become a material consideration to relevant planning applications. 

It was confirmed that the SPD would strengthen the point around viability for affordable housing and claims by developers that affordable housing was no longer feasible would be independently verified in future.

DECIDED:

1)    The Panel NOTED the purpose and content of the SPD and provided feedback.

2)    Members NOTED the findings of the Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) Screening Report.

3)    Public consultation: January – February 2023. Dates to be amended to take place after the Election in May 2023

Members gave consideration to a report and presentation which provided an update on the development of the Tourism Strategy and action plan for tourism delivery in the Staffordshire Moorlands over the next five years.

The presentation included the following topics:

·       What made a destination successful

·       Tourism Performance

·       Market Trends and Uncertainty in the Travel Market

·       Outcome of Consultation, Engagement and Town Sessions

·       4 Areas of Opportunity

o   Alton Towers

o   Towns and Villages

o   Active Experiences

o   Accommodation

·       Underpinning

The following matters were discussed by the Panel:-

-       The heavy reliance of Alton Towers within the Strategy

-       Analysis and research

-       A central scheme of events in the Moorlands

-       Lack of connectivity between the towns

-       The removal of the negative comment relating to Biddulph from the Baseline report document which was the viewpoint/first impression of the Consultant

-       Improved staycation numbers

-       Permission for the installation of a bike shelter on a car park owned by SMDC

-       The need for a Changing Places Facility in Biddulph

-       Key events such as Biddulph Up In Arms and Biddulph in Bloom were not included in the Baseline report

-       Suggestion that towns and villages put together an attractive events package for the King’s Coronation

-       The viability of a hotel in Cheadle

-       For alternative destination signage to be available at Alton Towers, along with leaflets and discounted park access tickets provided to B&Bs

-       Countryside Parks provided opportunities for tourism in the area, along with the canals and Peak Wildlife Park

-       General unawareness that parts of the Peak District National Park were located within the Moorlands

-       Staffordshire Moorlands was not seen as a destination

-       Development of mills

-       A package/itinerary to encourage visitors to stay in the towns

-       Consideration to be given to low cost alternative accommodation with good family facilities

-       Incentives such as business rate reductions and a budget for events

-       Detrimental effect of large numbers of holiday accommodation in villages

-       Increased number of events/festivals such as Leek Blues and Americana Festival to take place over a number of days

-       Future Arts and Culture funding

-       Importance of towns, parishes and businesses working collectively to improve the offer/attractions in the wider area

DECIDED:

1)    The Panel NOTED the draft version of the Strategy and recommended Cabinet APPROVAL and publication of the Strategy;

2)    Members NOTED the actions taken for the effective delivery of this Strategy;

3)    For the Panel to receive a 6 monthly update on the delivery of the Strategy.

The Panel received a report which detailed the newly drafted Electric Vehicle Charge Point (EVCP) Strategy and contained an update on the delivery plan and progress to date.

To help produce the strategy SMDC commissioned Amey to: develop an EV Charging Strategy and delivery plan; identify a suitable delivery/operating model; produce a technical specification to procure a suitable partner; engage with potential operators, and assist with assessment of tenders received.

Two operational/commercial models were recommended:

1.    SMDC Own & Operate

2.    Match Funding

(Description, considerations and risk for each model were detailed in the report)

The Council had identified a capital budget of £200,000 for the investment in EVCPs should capital funds be required.

Members welcomed the report and discussion took place around future proofing, average charging times, reliability of technology, charge points for bikes, solar panels and pricing tariffs on car parks. The possibility of a final meeting of the Car Parking Working Group was also mentioned.

The positive contribution the charging points would have towards the Council’s climate change and tourism ambitions was noted.

DECIDED:

1)    Members of the Panel considered the SMDC EVCP Car Parking Strategy and recommend Cabinet APPROVED the adoption of the strategy;

2)    The Panels’ preferred option was the SMDC Own/Operate Model;

3)    The details of the delivery plan were NOTED and members recommended Cabinet APPROVED the delivery plan.