Agenda, decisions and minutes

There were no apologies for absence.

To receive and record any declarations of interest.

Cllr Inkster declared that he had a site promoted in the Borough, but he did not believe it to be impacted by The Housing Delivery Action Plan.

RESOLVED That Cabinet recommended to Council the following:

1) that the 2020/21 Council Tax Support Scheme is retained for 2021/22 but with the following amendments:

(i)            the Allowances and Premiums used in determining entitlement for working age claims are changed as set out in paragraph 5.3 of this report

(ii)          the Non-Dependant deductions used in determining entitlement for working age claims are changed as set out in paragraph 5.4 of this report.

2) that the necessary amendments are made to the Council Tax Support Scheme document and that it is then published in accordance with Local Government Finance Act 1992 Section 13A(2)

Cllr Inkster introduced the report and proposed that it be recommended to Council that the 2020/2021 Council Tax Support Scheme be retained for 2021/2022, albeit with the amendments as detailed in the report.

Cabinet discussed other Council Tax Support Schemes that were available, the Hardship Fund and the expected increase in caseload due to the current pandemic.

Cabinet was supportive of the recommendation and thanked officers for the work they undertook to ensure that members of the community and businesses had the support they required.

Proposed by Cllr Inkster and seconded by Cllr Bowerman it was RESOLVED that Cabinet recommended to Council:

1) that the 2020/21 Council Tax Support Scheme is retained for 2021/22 but with the following amendments:

(i)             the Allowances and Premiums used in determining entitlement for working age claims are changed as set out in paragraph 5.3 of this report

(ii)            the Non-Dependant deductions used in determining entitlement for working age claims are changed as set out in paragraph 5.4 of this report.

2) that the necessary amendments are made to the Council Tax Support Scheme document and that it is then published in accordance with Local Government Finance Act 1992 Section 13A(2)

RESOLVED that Cabinet:

a. noted the need to publish an action plan as a result of the anticipated 2020 Housing Delivery Test results for Havant Borough, together with the December 2020 Five Year Housing Land Supply Update and the implications of both of these for determining planning applications for housing;

b. approved the publication of a Housing Delivery Action Plan which is attached at Appendix 1;

c. delegated authority to the Planning Policy Manager in consultation with the Cabinet Lead for Planning, Hayling Seafront Strategy and Commercial Services to make any necessary amendments to the action plan; and 

d. noted the inclusion of the action plan as a submission document with the Havant Borough Local Plan for independent examination.

Cllr Hughes introduced the report as the relevant Cabinet Lead and explained that a Housing Delivery Action Plan was required as the Housing Delivery Test will indicate that delivery had fallen below 95% of the Council’s housing requirement over the previous three years.  This was due to factors outside of the council’s control, including the need for nutrient neutral development and the Covid-19 pandemic.

Cllr Pike delivered a deputation, highlighting the importance of the subject.  He believed that the Council had a duty to speed up the delivery of housing in the Borough and that these be built as sustainably as possible on brownfield and allocated housing sites.

He suggested a number of improvements to the document, including accelerating plans for council owned sites contained within the Regeneration Strategy, the need to work more closely with developers to remove any delays in the process for the delivery of housing, the need to progress the site at Southleigh and the need for clear dates for the completion of sites and when the five year land supply would be restored.

Cabinet discussed the plan and in response to questions was advised that the five-year land supply was based upon predicted completions during that period in line with the National Planning Policy Framework test and published Government guidance on which sites can be included.

Cabinet noted the significant external factors that had delayed housebuilding within the Borough, however dwellings were continuing to be built and planning permissions were continuing to be granted.

Cabinet believed that the plan represented a good starting point to put the authority on the right course to achieving its housing targets and encouraged pro-active engagement with developers to facilitate the delivery of approved sites.

Proposed by Cllr Hughes and seconded by the Leader it was RESOLVED that Cabinet:

a. noted the need to publish an action plan as a result of the anticipated 2020 Housing Delivery Test results for Havant Borough, together with the December 2020 Five Year Housing Land Supply Update and the implications of both of these for determining planning applications for housing;

b. approved the publication of a Housing Delivery Action Plan which is attached at Appendix 1;

c. delegated authority to the Planning Policy Manager in consultation with the Cabinet Lead for Planning, Hayling Seafront Strategy and Commercial Services to make any necessary amendments to the action plan; and 

d. noted the inclusion of the action plan as a submission document with the Havant Borough Local Plan for independent examination.