Agenda item

Cabinet considered a report about the updated Streetscape guidance document which would assist developers and support the aims of the LTP4.

The Cabinet Member for Highways highlighted the new policy on parking standards. Improving parking was a key way of tackling congestion, one of the main concerns for residents and the interim guidance from 2016 needed updating. The new guidance required all new developments to supply off road parking and the concept of car free developments had been abandoned and replaced with the more relevant term parking free developments. The guidance would be subject to annual review so it could be updated if necessary. There would be a minimum level of parking based on the number of bedrooms and that standard would be the same for social and affordable housing. This guidance recognised that people would continue to have cars and the need for parking spaces was increasing.

In the ensuing discussion the following main points were made:

·       The Cabinet Member for Economy and Infrastructure commented that green infrastructure, ecology and biodiversity were also covered in the design guide

·       Members of the Cabinet felt that the report was important to help with parking problems and damage to footpaths from cars parked on them. However they were concerned whether local planners and District Councils would follow the guidelines. It was then clarified that it was developers who needed to be encouraged to follow the guide although it was unclear whether developers could be made to adhere to the guidance

·       A member from outside the Cabinet was disappointed that the guide seemed to be all about cars and parking with nothing about cycling or public transport. The Cabinet for the Economy and Infrastructure pointed out that public transport was not in decline. Priority for pedestrians was included in the LPT4 and the design guide, however the issue of cars and insufficient parking still needed to be addressed

·       A further concern from a member outside the Cabinet pointed out that developers seemed to think the guidance was too onerous and there was a contradiction as the NPPF (National Planning Policy Framework) encouraged developers to look at individual circumstances rather than follow the design guidance

·       The Cabinet Member for the Environment pointed out that extra parking spaces would mean fewer cars parked along roads or in potentially dangerous places and therefore mean safer roads for pedestrians and cyclists

·       The Cabinet Member for Children and Families welcomed the pragmatic approach to parking. He highlighted the situation in Warndon where parking around the roads was a problem due to cars which couldn’t park at the hospital

·       A member from outside the Cabinet congratulated the Cabinet Member for Highways and felt that the guidance should be implemented across the whole county

·       The Director of Economy and Infrastructure felt that the key to getting developers to use the design guide was to work with them at an earlier stage of the planning process. He offered to produce a written answer regarding the queries to do with the NPPF

·       The Leader welcomed the pragmatic report and while people should be encouraged to use public transport this was a sensible sustainable policy.

RESOLVED that:

a)     the Streetscape Design Guide for Worcestershire as a guidance document supporting the aims of LTP4 be adopted; and

b)    the Director of Economy and Infrastructure be authorised, in consultation with the relevant Cabinet Members with Responsibility, to review the above Guide annually and routinely update it as appropriate from time to time, short of fundamental change to it.