Agenda and draft minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Roger Marsh, Sharon Squires and Councillors Denise Jeffrey, Richard Lewis and David Carr. 

No Disclosable Pecuniary Interests were declared.

There were no exclusions of the press and public at the meeting.

Under matters arising, it was noted that officers intend to bring a report on the Planning Delivery Fund to the next meeting.

Resolved:  That the minutes of the Land and Assets Panel held on 5 January 2018 be approved.

The panel was updated on the Combined Authority’s progress on developing a Leeds City Region Accelerating Housing Delivery Prospectus, a Strategic Pipeline and a Housing Vision.

Members suggested that data be compiled identifying where ‘land banking’ has occurred, the level of viability of current available land, and the current level of housing supply to compare against strategic ambitions and deliverability. It was noted that the Strategic Pipeline workstream aims to address those issues, but officers are still awaiting the availability of raw data from 2017/18. Work is currently underway to assess viability, though that is on a site by site basis rather than across the entire region.

Resolved: That the progress made on the Combined Authority’s housing work be noted.

The panel was presented with a report setting out the ways Homes England can help the Leeds City Region ambition to deliver homes and highlighting progress on key initiatives and projects in the region. It was further reported that the HIF bids made by Leeds City Region teams scored highly on technical and strategic parameters – and must now seek to deliver what they said they could.

Members discussed the government’s perceived priority of increasing housing supply by focusing on high demand areas, preferred by developers, in contrast to many local authorities’ local plans which focus on areas of social need. Homes England’s organisational purpose was still in development, but members were informed that affordability and need would be taken into account as part of a place based approach to housing. Homes England also noted that Secretary of State of Housing is supportive of local authorities’ ambitions around affordability and is willing to use CPO powers to support that.

Market intelligence sharing was also discussed with members noting a recent case where smaller developers were not aware of each other’s connecting stakes in the area and, once they were connected, the value of the land nearly double, which made the development more viable and attracted more investment. Developing these networks amongst SME could increase housing supply. Some members suggested that local plans were already the best intelligence sharing platform which accurately account for all sites within an area and that developers already communicate and cooperate tactically to ensure they do not crowd the market at the same time.

Resolved: That Homes England’s update be noted.

The panel was presented with a report updating them on the next steps in relation to the now completed ‘West Yorkshire Textile Mills – Feasibility and Investment Framework’ by Cushman & Wakefield.

It was reported that Historic England has offered to second an officer for 6 months to progress work in this area and Combined Authority officers intend to report back to the panel in October 2018 on progress. After concerns were raised that a part time post could not make a quick enough impact, it was reported that resources were limited without extra funding for the project.

Some members suggested expanding the project’s remit to include warehouses and other heritage buildings. The panel agreed that mills are long term projects and the focus should be on what was deliverable and should not stretch Historic England’s limited resources too far, considering the number of heritage buildings in the region. It was agreed that the focus should be on mills which have the highest impact to their area and should fit in with the wider place based regeneration strategy and not focus solely on residential development.

Members also suggested including architects in the Mills Working Group – which aims to develop delivery models – as the design can make a huge difference to cost and feasibility of heritage buildings.

Resolved:

(i)            That the offer of a dedicated resource from Historic England be accepted.

(ii)          That the Mills Working Group be established and coordinated by the Combined Authority with support from local authorities, Homes England and private sector members, particularly architects.

The panel was presented with a report requesting that the Combined Authority prepare a response to the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) consultation and that the final approval for the response be delegated to the Chair of the Land and Assets Panel, due to time constraints.

After a discussion about the draft revisions to ‘place making’ and town centres, it was reported that a proposal to move the Land and Assets Panel into a Place Panel to consider wider strategic issues was currently being considered by the Combined Authority and it was hoped that there would be a greater focus on developing town centres, particularly in smaller towns. 

The panel also noted that the most of the previous issues with the Objectively Assessed Need (OAN) have been addressed by new guidance, specifically that local authorities can exceed their allocation.

Resolved:

(i)            That the Combined Authority prepares a response to the National Planning Policy Framework consultation in partnership with Leeds City Region Local Planning Authorities.

(ii)          That the principles of the consultation response outlined in paragraphs 2.6 and 2.7 of the report be endorsed.

(iii)         That the final draft of the West Yorkshire Combined Authority’s response to the consultation be delegated to the Chair of the Land and Assets Panel for approval. 

The panel was presented with a report updating them on the outcome of the One Public Estate (OPE) phase 6 funding allocations to the West Yorkshire Combined Authority.

It was also reported that OPE’s scope was revised to include health land. The West Midlands Combined Authority have employed Arcadis to act as project managers to deliver OPE programme in their region. The programme director sits on the local NHS Trust Board and has been very successful unlocking health assets and land. The panel agreed to invite Arcadis to give a presentation at a future panel meeting.

Members reiterated concerns about the difficulty of engaging with the Department of Health and other national bodies about land in the region and suggested that health land be linked with the separate Health Memorandum of Understanding being developed. Homes England noted that health land is usually good land that is very viable for residential development and confirmed that all government departments have housing targets – but would check the Health Department’s target and report back.

The panel also agreed that the OPE programme should be accelerated and a further more detailed report be brought to the next meeting.

Resolved:

(i)            That the details of allocations under phase 6 of the OPE programme be noted.

(ii)           That a report on the OPE programme be brought to the next meeting.

(iii)          That Arcadis be invited to give a presentation at a future meeting.

Resolved: That the Workplan be noted.