Defeat of the day: no 3 ... housing numbers

This afternoon, the Cabinet debated a draft of the Cornwall Local Plan, which will set out planning policies for the next twenty years.

As the Chairman of the Planning Policy Panel (PPAP), I addressed the content of the document which I believe still needs considerable work. I covered a range of topics including the weakness of the affordable housing policies, the lack of policies on the cumulative impact of renewable energy schemes, contradictions in the section on the historic environment, inconsistencies on the approach to eco-communities initiative, and the fact that the policies needed to be rigorously tested.

The key debate was housing numbers. The portfolio holder recommended a figure of 48,500 new properties for the period 2010-2030. I argued in favour of a figure of 38,000. This had been backed by members of PPAP at their recent meeting on 28th September and Cllr David Biggs also spoke in favour of the lower figure.

The Cabinet voted by four votes to three to support a housing target of 48,500. There was one abstention and two members were not present.