DIRECTOR OF PLACE (0.22.12)
Committee to receive an overview and presentation from the Director of Place on his service area and responsibilities.
Minutes:
The Director of Place gave an overview of his remit by way of a presentation which highlighted his remit, the purpose of the role, objectives and goals and how those would be achieved.
The Officer stated that this role was intentionally not a like-for-like replacement for the former Head of Planning and Regeneration role.
In response to questions he explained that engagement was key and that the people who knew a place best where those that loved and worked there. Fundamentally it was engaging early and at a local level and that Members could help with engagement of their communities.
He explained that to overcome the biodiversity crisis that the Council would need to try to plan methods to tackle this as part of the planning process.
With regard to questions regarding Masterplans he informed the Committee that there were touchpoints during developments which could take years and that Masterplans needed to be adaptable over time. In the first instance a conversation was required on where the Council was now and how it moved forward.
Consideration was given to:
· Junction 27 possibilities were being discussed by the Economy PDG who had requested further information on what development was being considered – Members were able to join the discussion through the PDG if required
· The Council had not been successful with a levelling up grant for the Cullompton Relief Road and this would have an effect on timelines so were not actively looking at land acquisitions at this point in time