Agenda and minutes

The Chair welcomed everyone to the meeting. 

Members of the Council are invited to identify any disclosable pecuniary, other pecuniary or non-pecuniary interests relevant to the items on the agenda.

There were no declarations of interest registered in respect of any items on the agenda.

Members are asked to agree the minutes of the meeting held on 2 June 2021.

The Committee agreed the minutes from the Overview & Scrutiny Committee Business meeting which took place on the 2^nd June 2021.

Officers will present on the below and members of the Committee will be able to ask questions:

1.    The process - local plan preparation process future stages of the plan preparation, and current consultation approach

2. Green Infrastructure, Environment and Climate Change
3. Housing Need
4. Spatial Options and Green Belt

The Chair advised that the consultation on the Local Plan is still ongoing.  The Officers will present on four main areas, namely:

·         The process - local plan preparation process, future stages of the Plan preparation, and the current consultation approach.

·         Green Infrastructure, Environment and Climate Change

·         Housing Need

·         Spatial Options and Green Belt

1. The following comments were received from Officers:

·         There is a requirement by law to produce a spatial plan, which will then be examined by the Planning Inspectorate.  This sets out the development needs of the borough, details and sites.

·         Enfield’s planning process is currently at Stage 1 where evidence is being collected and issues identified. The initial consultation started in 2019 but can be repeated if required, with a proposed submission plan expected next year. Examination and implementation phases take place thereafter, with a long-term strategic approach over the next 50 years.

·         The spatial strategy sets out the strategic direction where several areas were looked at.  Option 1 where 25,000+ homes, investment in green infrastructure and economic development was opted for.  Options identified included train stations, Crews Hill and Chase, managing industrial estates, promoting sports and recreational needs, providing affordable housing (include mixed housing units).

·         Challenges identified included limited green belt release, investment in infrastructure and exceeding environmental capacity.

·         Two growth areas are being examined:

Crews Hill Station: the vision is to make the most of the station and surrounding areas, improving green space access and creating family housing by making good use of the undeveloped land whilst creating a gateway for rewilding.

Chase: providing access to green spaces, promoting active travel, creating suburban homes and a useful link between stations, maximising use of Trent Park.

·         Rural Enfield will allow for more rewilding, promoting further UK tourism an eco-tourism, encourage food growing and horticulture and improve overall wellbeing.   60,000+ new trees will be planted during the winter. This will allow for diversity of usage and encourage greater resilience, with further access to green and open spaces.

·         Site Allocations: site selection methodology created a process which called for a sites and land availability assessment.  Although many smaller sites were put forward, the focus was more geared to larger areas, e.g. 50 homes or more.  There are 62 proposed site allocations covering housing employment, sports, burial and nature.   At present only areas have been identified and going forward more work is needed to move to the next stage of the plan.

Reasons why certain areas are avoided may involve flood risks, non-availability, unsustainable location, expired planning permission.

·         Policies:  All policies are grounded in spatial vision, to include a range of land uses and growth to focus on the strategies in the plan.

·         Housing: Housing is unaffordable for many with a rise of nearly 20% in the last 20 years and costs 12 times the average earning in the borough.  The consequence of this is overcrowding and lack of choice and has a knock-on effect for renters and first-time buyers. Enfield have been delivering 500 new homes per year,  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4.

Members are asked to discuss and agree the work programmes for 2021/22.

These documents will be circulated once all the scrutiny panels have had their work programme planning meetings.

The Chair introduced this item, noting that each work programme.

It was agreed that fly-tipping will come to OSC and circulated to the Environment and Climate Action Scrutiny Panel to monitor.

Claire Johnson will contact the Committee Chairs over the next few weeks to develop terms of reference.  Action: Claire Johnson

The next meeting of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee is scheduleed for 21 July 2021.

Dates of future meetings were agreed.