Agenda item
Question Time
To deal with any questions submitted under Council Procedure Rule A2.2(vi).
Three questions have been received (report attached).
Minutes:
Three questions had been received. The Mayor read aloud the first question as shown below.
1) Local Plan
To the Leader of the Council (Councillor Munsif Dad BEM JP)
Submitted by Councillor Zak Khan
“The Council has a proposed replacement Local Plan which it endorsed for statutory (Regulation 19) consultation in late 2023. The plan is due for final submission to the Planning Inspectorate in coming weeks.
Does the Leader and Labour Group intend to continue with the submission, or scrap the Local Plan in order to replace it?”
Response:
The Leader indicated that work was at an advanced stage on the development of the Local Plan 2021 – 2040. The site allocation stage had supported the need for development of some 194 dwellings per year and around 70 hectares of employment land over the lifespan of the Plan. To date there had been three rounds of consultation under Regulation 18 and two Regulation 19 consultations under the Town and Country Planning (Local Planning) (England) Regulations 2012.
The current draft version of the Local Plan supported the Council’s settled view on certain matters, including the following:
- Huncoat Garden Village;
- The Spatial Strategy;
- Climate change;
- Housing numbers;
- Whitebirk (employment land);
- Cut Lane, Rishton (residential development); and
- Clayton-le-Moors and Altham (employment land).
This version would be sent to the Planning Inspectorate in November – December 2024 and would be subject to examination in March – April 2025. At the examination stage there would be a hearing and further public consultations. If the Plan was sound its was likely to be adopted in late 2025 or early 2026.
The Council had recently received the Government’s consultation on proposed changes to the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) 2024. This included proposals to change the standard methodology for calculating annual housing need. The new standard method generated an annual housing need figure of 313 dwellings. It was mandatory to use this in any new Plan, but the Council could use the draft Local Plan figure if it continued to progress the existing draft Plan, given that this was at an advanced stage. The NPPF also included the Government’s proposals on its approach to brownfield, green belt and the new policy definition of “grey belt”, as well as possible increases to fees for householder applications.
At the Annual Council Meeting the controlling group had announced that all major plans were under review. A working group had been set up to carry out this review and the matter should be determined within the next few months.
Councillor Khan asked the following supplemental question in accordance with Council Procedure Rule A2-2.2(vi):
“Who are you consulting and how will you examine their comments? What factors will you take into consideration?”
The Leader responded that the working group would primarily look at the options in relation to Huncoat Garden Village, which was a major part of the Local Plan. The controlling group would listen to residents. The Leader had already attended Huncoat Forum to listen to local concerns. The Council had also been involved in a dialogue with Homes England. The final decision would need to be in the best interests of Hyndburn.
2) Oswaldtwistle Civic Theatre
To the Leader of the Council (Councillor Munsif Dad BEM JP)
Submitted by Councillor Josh Allen
“Back in January this Council committed, unanimously to reopening the Civic Theatre.
Please could the Council Leader/Portfolio Holder provide an update on Oswaldtwistle Civic Theatre? The centre is a vital asset to Hyndburn and its residents and has now been closed for over a year.”
Response:
The Leader indicated that this was an important venue. The background was that Hyndburn Arts Limited had signed a lease to operate the Theatre to 2030. However, in 2023 the charity had gone into liquidation and the building had been handed back to the Council.
Council officers had immediately carried out intensive health and safety work to ensure the Council complied with its legal and insurance obligations. An independent survey was carried out in February 2024, but was not conclusive and further investigations would be required before an accurate scope of the works and costs could be ascertained.
As a comparison, a similar project at Colne Municipal Hall had an original budget of £1.56M, but an additional £700k had been required to complete the project. This scheme had not included the new heating and lighting systems expected to be required at Oswaldtwistle Civic Theatre.
In 2023/24 the Council had spent £52k on a number of surveys and immediate health and safety works at the Civic Theatre. In the current financial year over £14k had been spent on repairs, maintenance, energy and security. No further work would be carried out until instructions were received from Cabinet about the future of the building. However, the Council was already talking to organisations who might potentially lease the building.
The controlling group had inherited many financial priorities, but did want to see the building re-open. The theatre must be properly managed and safe to use.
Councillor Allen asked the following supplemental question in accordance with Council Procedure Rule A2-2.2(vi):
“The theatre was close to the hearts of all of Hyndburn. Councillor Judith Addison had raised a concern with him, namely that any deal made with a new operator should not overburden them with the full maintenance costs of the property. It was important to properly re-evaluate the terms of any new lease.
In addition, residents would not wish to see the theatre’s primary use changed.”
The Leader agreed with the comments made above. He noted that Councillor Addison had been a member of the charity’s board, but that Hyndburn Arts Limited had not let the Council know of their financial difficulties soon enough. In summary, this building required a lot of investment, but did remain a high priority.
3) Huncoat Garden Village
To the Leader of the Council (Councillor Munsif Dad BEM JP)
Submitted by Councillor Steven Smithson
“Is there an update on the Huncoat Garden Village housing project?”
The Leader commented that he had recently read out a statement on this matter at Cabinet. The main details were repeated as follows:
The Council had now received an offer from Homes England of £30m from the Brownfield, Infrastructure and Land Fund (BIL) to advance the Huncoat Garden Village (HGV) project.
The Cabinet was committed to reviewing all major projects under development to ensure that they met the Borough’s needs. Accordingly, a Cabinet Working Group would be established to lead on engagement with all relevant stakeholders, including Homes England.
The Council wished to thank all stakeholders for their contributions to date. Any decisions taken would ultimately need to be in the best interests of Hyndburn.
The Leader had recently been invited to a meeting of the Huncoat Forum by Councillor Dave Parkins, at which residents had posed some challenging questions. One criticism from residents was that their views had not been taken on board so far. However, they did recognise the need for new local housing generally. The community had expressed its thanks that the Leader had taken time to meet with them.
The Cabinet would review this important decision in the very near future.
Councillor Smithson asked the following supplemental question in accordance with Council Procedure Rule A2-2.2(vi):
“Would the Huncoat Garden Village project allow the development of over 300 new homes per year? This was a shovel ready project and a perfect opportunity to achieve this and to achieve the housing aims of the Labour Government.”
The Leader responded that the local target was 194 homes per year in the emerging Local Plan. However the controlling group wished to talk to residents first and, if this was the right project, the controlling group would take it forward.
Supporting documents: