Executive Member Regeneration & Culture 20 December 2007
INDIVIDUAL EXECUTIVE DECISION MAKING MEETING
EXECUTIVE MEMBER OF REGENERATION AND CULTURE
RECORD OF DECISION
An Individual Executive Decision-Making meeting was held on 20 December 2007 at 11.00 am.
PRESENT:
Councillor D Budd
**OFFICIALS:
P Clarke, J Lewis and L Starrs
residents’ charter
The Director of Regeneration submitted a report that sought approval for the Gresham/Middlehaven Residents’ Charter.
The submitted report highlighted that the Older Housing Visionary Master Plan was adopted by the Council in July 2005 and involved a strategic approach to improving the longer term sustainability of inner Middlesbrough. The Strategy was based on a combination of area management, renovation and redevelopment. The area where most of the significant intervention would take place was in Gresham/Middlehaven, west of Linthorpe Road. The programme of change would take place within the context of a Neighbourhood Action Plan (NAP) that covered the area bounded by Linthorpe Road, Newport Road, Borough Road and Crescent Road. The Nap was under preparation and it was proposed that a draft would be presented to the Executive early in the New Year.
As part of the ongoing engagement with residents in the Gresham/Middlehaven NAP area a consultative body, known as the Community Sounding Board, was established. The Board had been preparing a Residents’ Charter, which was appended to the submitted report. The main purpose of the Charter was to provide a set of commitments to residents of the NAP area that had been negotiated and agreed between the Board and the Council. These commitments related to the relationship between the Council and the residents over the delivery of the proposals for Gresham/Middlehaven. In June 2007 a consultation draft of the Charter was circulated to every household in the NAP area. A number of responses were received and some minor changes were incorporated into the revised version. It was proposed that the Charter be signed by representatives of both the Council and the Community Sounding Board and distributed in the area.
The Charter incorporated an annual review process to ensure it was responsive to residents’ needs and changing circumstances. The submitted report outlined the areas the Charter covered.
ORDERED
- That the Gresham/Middlehaven Residents’ Charter be approved.
- That the Executive Member for Regeneration and Culture signs the Charter on behalf of the Council.
REASON
The decisions were supported by the following reason:
Signing the Charter would confirm the Councils’ commitment to the residents of the Gresham/Middlehaven NAP area.
hambledon local development frameworkallocations preferred options report
The Director of Regeneration submitted a report that sought approval of representations on the Hambleton Local Development Framework (LDF) Allocations Preferred Options Report.
Hambleton’s LDF Core Strategy was adopted in April 2007. It set out the district requirement for housing and employment for the five sub-area of Bedale, Easingwold, Northallerton, Stokesley and Thirsk. The proposals for the Stokesley sub-area were considered to be of greatest relevance to Middlesbrough, given the geographic proximity. The Core Strategy identified the Stokesley sub-area as an area of development restraint, where a reduced scale of new housing was proposed in order to resist further in-migration from Tees Valley. Middlesbrough was supportive of the Core Strategy during the consultation stages.
Hambleton District Council was consulting on the proposed site allocations in the LDF. The allocations were for housing, employment, town centre and community uses. Following this current round of consultation, the representations received would be considered and would help inform the preparation of the Submission Allocations Development Plan Document (DPD). The DPD would be submitted to the Secretary of State and was likely to be subject to an examination. The Allocations DPD was required to be consistent with the Core Strategy.
The submitted report detailed housing allocations including the potential oversupply of housing and the over-reliance on Greenfield housing sites and the report also outlined employment allocations.
ORDERED
That the representations on the Hambleton LDF Allocations Preferred Options Report, which are attached as Appendix 1 to the submitted report, be endorsed.
REASON
The decision was supported by the following reason:
The decision ensured that the development in Hambleton was not detrimental to the housing regeneration in Middlesbrough.
stockton on tees local development frameworkcore strategy preferred options report
The Director of Regeneration submitted a report that sought approval of representations on the Stockton-On-Tees Local Development Framework (LDF) Core Strategy Preferred Options Report.
Stockton Borough Council’s Preferred Options Report was published for consultation. It built on the earlier consultation on the Core Strategy issues and options (May/June 2006), which raised no significant issues for Middlesbrough.
The Core Strategy set out a vision for Stockton that took advantage of its position on the River Tees and built upon the success of the town’s economic regeneration activities. The submitted report highlighted the elements included in the vision. The document provided recognition of the importance of maintaining and developing links with Middlesbrough, and the potential benefits of working in partnership. However, the document would benefit from providing more clarity regarding the role of Stockton in taking forward the development of the Tees Valley City Region. In this respect, policy CS1 of the preferred options document would benefit from providing more detail regarding the relationship between Stockton and Middlesbrough in creating a vibrant and successful heart to the City Region. The draft Policy CS5 described Stockton’s preferred options for the regeneration of the Borough’s town centres. The objectives of this policy were to focus and promote development in Stockton town centre and should be supported. However, it would be appropriate to strengthen the policy stance for out-of-centre developments at Teesside Park and Portrack Lane, further details were provided in the submitted report.
Draft Policy CS7 presented the preferred options regarding the distribution and phasing of housing development in Stockton. The policy identified the addition of a flexible element of 20% above the proposed Regional Spatial Strategy (housing allocation). The policy would be more robust if the document provided some evidence as to how this figure had been reached. Furthermore, an explanation of how the additional housing element would be used would be appropriate.
It would be useful if the Core Strategy included an assessment of how the Council’s policies/proposals impact upon wider housing market renewal activities, including those being conducted in Middlesbrough. Such an approach, sympathetic to wider HMR activities, would help support the policy objectives of the Middlesbrough Core Strategy in tackling HMR issues and wider regeneration activities.
ORDERED
That the comments in paragraphs 5 to 8 of the submitted report as the representations of Middlesbrough Council to the Stockton-On-Tees Core Strategy Preferred Options be endorsed.
REASONS
The decision was supported by the following reasons:
- The decision ensured that Stockton’s Core Strategy provided clarity regarding the role of Stockton in taking forward the development of the Tees Valley City Region.
- The decision ensured that the policies contained within Stockton’s Core Strategy did not give support to retail developments which may undermine the role of Middlesbrough and Stockton town centres, and did not give support to proposed residential developments which could potentially impact on wider housing market renewal and regeneration activities.
The decisions will come into force on 02 January 2008, which will be five working days after the publication of the decisions, unless the decisions become subject to the call-in procedure.
669941