Cabinet and SITs Costs

Shropshire Council Cabinet met on Monday 18th January. Several questions were submitted by members of the public and also council members. https://shropshire.gov.uk/committee-services/documents/g4147/Public%20reports%20pack%2018th-Jan-2021%2013.00%20Cabinet.pdf?T=10

• Question from Cllr Ed Bird
  “Regarding the regulation 19 pre-submission draft of the Shropshire Local Plan 2016-2038, I would like to reiterate the points made in the letter addressed to Edward West, Principal Planning Policy Officer at Shropshire council, from Shifnal Town Council, and ask the Cabinet, that given the current COVID restrictions and limited accessibility to documents for large groups of the population that the Council reconsider the consultation period. I would also draw attention to the Town Council’s previous responses to the consultation, which I support, which oppose the high housing growth figures for Shifnal, and the serious concerns that myself and a large number of residents have around the use of Green Belt in which Shifnal is clearly situated. Residents have already seen new housing estates developed recently in Shifnal, and have expressed the view that they wish Shifnal to retain its current character.”
• Response:
  The Council are particularly mindful of ensuring that everyone has a fair opportunity to engage with the Local Plan process, including as part of the current Regulation 19 consultation into the Local Plan which began on 18th December. On this basis it has been appropriate for the Council to review the consultation procedure in light of the new lockdown restrictions which came into force on 5th January, and in particular in light of the closure or more limited access to library services.
  In line with the Council’s Statement of Community Involvement (SCI) and national legislation, the Council considers that electronic means of communication will continue to be the primarily method of engagement on planning matters, including on statutory consultations such as the current Local Plan consultation. However, whilst the availability of consultation material in libraries is not required at this stage of plan preparation under the temporary amendments made to Regulation
  35 of the Town and Country (Local Planning) (England) Act 2012, Shropshire Council nevertheless has sought to make copies available at our network of libraries for the duration of the current seven week consultation into the Regulation 19 Draft of the Local Plan. With this in mind a review of the consultation arrangements has been undertaken to ensure that those without the ability to view and comment on the consultation documents electronically can still have a fair opportunity to engage in this process. It has been agreed that immediately, the Council will offer on a limited basis, paper copies of all or part of the Regulation 19 Pre-Submission Plan document on request. This provision will be targeted only to those who do not have access to the internet. Information about this provision is being made available at library branches and will be sent to all Parish and Town Councils, with a view for this information to be displayed on physical parish noticeboards where practical. A Press release will also be circulated. The Council will continue to keep under review whether any further action is required to support the current consultation in light of the current lockdown restrictions. The current consultation allows residents and other consultees to comment on the Pre-Submission version of the Local Plan on ‘soundness’ and legal compliance issues. All duly made comments made to the Council will be considered. Whilst the Council only has limited scope to make minor modifications to the Plan at this stage of the process, when the Council proceeds to the submission of the Plan to the Government – scheduled for April subject to full Council approval – all the responses made to the Regulation 19 consultation will be sent to the Planning Inspectorate to
  inform the Examination in Public. It is this Examination process where more significant changes to the Plan, known as Main Modifications, can be made should the Planning Inspector consider them necessary to make the Plan sound.

Whilst the council have made some accommodation for those individuals without access to the Internet, I am nevertheless very disappointed with the response. Shifnal library is currently closed, https://www.shropshire.gov.uk/libraries/find-a-library/shifnal-library/, therefore having paper copies made available is not practical.

In other news, I have again requested additional information on the Shifnal Integrated Transport Scheme (SITS), as I and members of the public had concerns about the costs incurred to date in the design stage and the council’s contractual agreement. I have requested the current project costs i.e. of design and planning and also to have either a copy of the agreement with the designers or an outline of how their pay is calculated i.e. daily rates, long term contract, payment as and when additional work/ re-work is requested and how they are overseen / line managed. Officers have agreed that following the tender in the next few weeks they will supply all costs at that point both going forward and retrospectively. I will be pressing for complete transparency over this project.

I also attended Tong Parish council and Donington Parish Council this week. We are hopeful that fast broadband will be installed in the area through a company called Airband, and work is already underway. I know a lot of residents in the area have struggled with slow internet connections.

There have been a lot of reports of fly-tipping around the whole district, including Tong and Shifnal. I have reported some of the incidents, however if you do see any near you, you can report it directly using this link https://www.shropshire.gov.uk/street-care-and-cleaning/environmental-maintenance/fly-tipping/