Agenda item

Report by the Service Director for Economy and Enterprise.

The South Wiltshire Core Strategy is enclosed separately for members of the Council and available on the Council’s website.

The Chairman in introducing this item reminded Council that the Inspector’s Report into the South Wiltshire Core Strategy was binding on the Council. Council was invited to consider whether the Inspector’s findings were palatable and acceptable to this Council and on that basis whether Council was minded to accept the report as a whole.

At the Chairman’s invitation, Cllr Fleur de Rhé-Philipe , Cabinet member for Economic Development and Strategic Planning presented a report for Council’s consideration along with the Inspector’s Report and draft South Wiltshire Core Strategy.

The report invited Council to consider the views of Cabinet which had considered both documents at its meeting on 17 January 2011 and recommended Council to adopt the South Wiltshire Core Strategy as amended by the changes identified in the Inspector’s Report. The relevant extract of minutes of Cabinet was presented.

Cllr de Rhé-Philipe summarised the history of the development of the South Wiltshire Core Strategy and explained that should the Council be minded to adopt the Strategy as she was proposing, it had been subsumed into the draft Wiltshire Core Strategy Pre-Submission document which would be considered later in this meeting (minute no. 9 below). This would, subject to Council’s approval, ensure delivery of a single Core Strategy for Wiltshire.

During debate, a number of questions were asked to which Cllr de Rhé-Philipe responded. Cllr Jeans specifically expressed concern over the number of affordable houses that would be built in the Mere Community Area and asked if the remaining allocation of 25 houses were not built in the Mere Community Area if they could be provided for in the Town of Mere. Cllr de Rhé-Philipe explained that Core Policy 17 of the Wiltshire Core Strategy would not preclude what he was seeking if demand dictated it in the future.

Following debate, it was

Resolved:

That following recommendation by Cabinet at its meeting on 17 January 2012, Council:

a)    adopts the South Wiltshire Core Strategy, as amended by the changes identified in the Inspector’s Report, as part of the statutory development plan for Wiltshire and

b)    agrees that the Service Director for Economy and Enterprise in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Economic Development  and Strategic Planning, undertakes the final stages associated with the formal adoption of the Core Strategy.

Cllr Ian McLennan requested that his vote against the above decision be recorded.

Declarations of interest

Please refer to minute no. 2 abovefor details of interests declared in this item.