Issue - meetings

The Committee considered a report which explained that, prior to the commencement of works within the Council house building programme, land must be ‘appropriated’ for the correct statutory purpose. In this respect, the report identified three sites that needed to be appropriated for planning purposes. An amendment to the Committee’s scheme of delegation was also proposed, whereby such appropriations could be resolved by the Committee without having to be recommended to Full Council.

Regarding the scheme at Wolfs Wood (Hurst Green) the Committee was advised that a new arboricultural consultant would have to be sought to undertake the tree survey due to the original consultant falling ill. Furthermore, residents’ concerns about the development would be considered by the Council’s appointed architect when designing the scheme before and following the public consultation. 

            R E C O M M E N D E D  – that

A.    in respect of the following sites, Officers commence the process of

                   appropriating the land from housing to planning purposes:

·           106 - 128 (even numbers) Wolfs Wood, Hurst Green

·           Garage site at Hollow Lane, Dormansland

·           63 - 78 Featherstone, Blindley Heath

B.    in respect of the site at 63-78 Featherstone, Blindley Heath, Officers commence the process of appropriating a part of the land known as Featherstone Open Space from the General Fund to planning purposes; and

C.    the Housing Committee’s terms of reference be amended to include the

       appropriation of land (subject to any statutory consents and procedures)

       identified for Council housebuilding for planning purposes and the

       Committee be empowered to approve the appropriation process in

       connection with future schemes within the Council house-building programme.