Agenda and minutes

Venue: To be held at the Town Hall, Pinstone Street, Sheffield, S1 2HH

Contact: John Turner, Committee Secretary  Email: John.Turner@sheffield.gov.uk

Media

Items
No. Item

1.

Apologies for Absence

Additional documents:

Minutes:

1.1

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Neale Gibson and Martin Smith, with Councillor Mike Levery attending as Councillor Smith’s substitute.

 

 

2.

Exclusion of Public and Press

To identify items where resolutions may be moved to exclude the press and public

Additional documents:

Minutes:

2.1

No items were identified where resolutions may be moved to exclude the public and press.

 

 

3.

Declarations of Interest pdf icon PDF 129 KB

Members to declare any interests they have in the business to be considered at the meeting

Additional documents:

Minutes:

3.1

There were no declarations of interest.

 

 

4.

Minutes of Previous Meeting pdf icon PDF 169 KB

To approve the minutes of the meeting of the Committee held on 10th November, 2021

Additional documents:

Minutes:

4.1

The minutes of the meeting of the Committee held on 10th November 2021, were approved as correct record and, arising therefrom, (a) the Chair reported that he had recently met with Councillor Douglas Johnson and relevant officers to discuss a work programme for the Committee, details of which would be shared with the Committee at a future meeting, and (b) the Policy and Improvement Officer (Alice Nicholson) reported that a document containing responses to all the public questions raised at the meeting had been circulated to the questioners.

 

 

5.

Public Questions and Petitions

To receive any questions or petitions from members of the public

Additional documents:

Minutes:

5.1

The Committee received questions from members of the public, and responses were provided as follows:-

 

 

5.2

Jenny Carpenter 

 

 

 

As a member of South Yorkshire Climate Alliance, I am anxious to find out how successful the Council has been in rolling out Carbon Literacy Training to its Members and officers.  The rapid reduction in carbon emissions that we need will only be achieved if each contemplated decision is taken with this as a priority.

 

 

 

I wish to put the question " Have all the Members of this Committee undergone Carbon Literacy training?

 

If not, will they do so as soon as possible to equip them better to serve in this capacity?

 

What steps are being taken to offer such training to all members and senior officers?"

 

 

5.2.1

In response, the Chair reported that online training on carbon literacy had been offered to all Council Members, and that refresher training would be offered on an annual basis. He added that a carbon literacy event had recently been organised for all Council employees.

 

 

5.2.2

Councillor Chris Rosling-Josephs reported that carbon literacy training had recently been provided by the South Yorkshire Pensions Authority for all its members.

 

 

5.2.3

Councillor Douglas Johnson reported that a carbon literacy training event had recently been held for all senior Council officers, at which around 120 had attended, and that the feedback in respect of the event had been very positive.

 

 

5.2.4

Councillor Dianne Hirst reported that any Council Members who had not been able to access the online training were able to view the material on the Members’ online portal.

 

 

5.2.5

The Chair stated that the questions would be referred to Mark Whitworth (Sustainability and Climate Change Service Manager), with a request that he provides a detailed, written response to Mrs Carpenter, to include details of the content of the online training.

 

 

5.3

Anne Ashe

 

 

 

I’m involved with South Yorkshire Climate Alliance, which very much wants to see climate issues embedded fully in the Sheffield Local Plan: my question encompasses this topic.

 

 

 

I’d like to ask whether there has been any assessment of the contribution that each spatial option would make towards tackling climate change through:

 

 

 

(i)       supporting the Council’s 2030 net-zero carbon target - eg using sustainable design;

 

(ii)       maintaining a net-zero situation after 2030 (and beyond the Local Plan horizon of 2039);

 

(iii)      facilitating renewable energy provision;

 

(iv)      enabling sustainable travel patterns;

 

(v)      reducing the impact of climate change and tackling its impact - eg maintaining a green cover to counter the urban heat island effect that is associated with rising temperatures (especially in the core urban area), protecting against extreme weather events, and ensuring a reduction in flood risk; and

 

(vi)      enhancing Sheffield’s ecological status and achieving net biodiversity gain.  

 

 

 

Related to this is the question of whether such assessments would form part of the site selection process for determining allocated sites once the spatial option has been chosen.

 

 

 

I agree with the Council’s sequential approach for determining site allocations as set out in this  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.

6.

Sheffield Local Plan Spatial Options pdf icon PDF 600 KB

Report of the Head of Planning

Additional documents:

Minutes:

6.1

The Committee received a report of the Head of Planning (Michael Johnson) setting out the overall spatial options for meeting future development needs in Sheffield, in the period to 2039.

 

 

6.2

Also in attendance for this item was Simon Vincent (Local Plan Service Manager), who introduced the report, highlighting a number of key areas

 

 

6.3

The report contained information on the Local Plan process, a summary of comments following consultation on the Sheffield Plan issues and options, housing need and land supply, employment land needs and land supply, alterations to the Green Belt boundary and spatial options.  The report also set out five spatial options for accommodating future development, based on the identification of land supply.

 

 

6.4

The report indicated that it was the intention for full Council to approve a draft Plan in September 2022, before further public consultation took place in October/November 2022.  The approved Plan would then be submitted to the Government for public examination by April 2023.

 

 

6.5

Members of the Committee raised questions, and the following responses were provided:-

 

 

 

·        If the preferred option chosen did not achieve the number of homes as prescribed by the Government, the Council would need to hold further discussions with the Government. The Council had passed a motion at its meeting on 8th September 2021, which had highlighted a number of the concerns raised as part of the workshops held to discuss the Local Plan, particularly regarding the uplift of 35% required by the Government. A letter setting out the concerns raised by Sheffield residents had been sent to the Government, and the Government had sent a very detailed response which, amongst other things, indicated that housing need figure (including the 35% uplift) was just the starting point for setting the housing requirement in the Local Plan. The Government accepted that not all areas would be able to meet their full housing need. The Council would be able to take account of its land supply and constraints, including Green Belt, prior to making a decision on the city’s housing requirement.

 

 

 

·        Weighing up all the options, particularly taking into account the need to provide a better supply of employment land, deliver more affordable homes and protect the environment where possible, officers believed that Option 4 offered the best way forward for the city. This would not result in large areas of the Green Belt being released. The Council would have to go through the site selection process to look at which sites would best meet the city’s needs.  Site specific exceptional circumstances would still be needed to justify taking land out of the Green Belt. There were significant risks/impacts with some of the other options. Current evidence showed that the Council could provide a housing requirement figure which supported the city's economic growth aspirations, and there would be no harm caused in setting a figure lower than that prescribed by the Government.

 

 

 

·        With Option 4, officers did not anticipate the wholesale release of Green Belt land. It was more likely  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

7.

Responses to Public Questions Raised at the Meeting held on 10th November 2021 pdf icon PDF 450 KB

To note the responses to the public questions raised at the meeting held on 10th November. 2021 – For Information Only

Additional documents:

Minutes:

7.1

The Committee received and noted a schedule produced by the Policy and Improvement Officer (Alice Nicholson) setting out the responses to the public questions raised at its meeting held on 10th November 2021.

 

 

8.

Date of Next Meeting

Additional documents:

Minutes:

8.1

It was noted that the next meeting of the Committee would be held on Thursday, 10th February 2022, at 10.00 am in the Town Hall.