To consider any questions submitted by Members.  (The deadline for questions is 4.30 pm on the Monday the week before the meeting – please contact Democratic Services by e-mailing democraticservices@swale.gov.uk or call 01795 417330).

The Mayor advised that two questions had been received from Members.

Given the requirement for the timely determination of planning applications and the observed significant volume of applications currently awaiting a decision, could the Chair please explain the reasons for the recurring cancellation of scheduled Planning Committee meetings, with 3 of the 5 scheduled meetings between June & October being cancelled, and what immediate, action is being taken to address the subsequent backlog and ensure the statutory timetable for decisions is met going forward?

I will break this question down into separate elements , which are not as interrelated as they might appear. 

In terms of the general ‘backlog’ of applications and volume of applications that are awaiting decision, this is reducing.  We work to a definition of ‘backlog’ as any application that has not had any activity for over  a year.  This has reduced from 189 cases in February to 21 now.  There are still over 200 out-of-time planning applications with the Council but we can see from the activity that is recorded that these cases are being worked on and the number of such applications is also reducing.  This has been achieved through a variety of measures but, in the face of other commitments, such as the Highsted Inquiry, three other large scale strategic applications being with the Council, historic and legacy staffing challenges, and oft-changing requirements such as BNG, this significant progress.

A measure that is being introduced that is expected to support in further reducing the backlog is the introduction of charging to make amendments to planning applications, as approved by Full Council very recently.  Moving forward, as amendments to planning applications will be less common, officers can expect to determine more applications within the conventional time periods, with a reducing reliance on agreeing extensions of the determination period with applicants.  Working more frequently within statutory timeframes will reduce the flow of applications into the backlog, with existing older applications gradually being reduced in number. 

With this in mind, the cancellation of scheduled Planning Committee meetings is only partly related to the number of older applications that remain undetermined. 

We maintain a list of applications that are due to be presented to Planning Committee.  At this time the list comprises 25 items.  8 of those are applications related to the occupancy period of caravan parks on the Isle of Sheppey that will be presented to committee this year, having only been validated in September 2025.  Of the remaining 17, three are strategic major applications for over 1,000 dwellings and, as members will be aware from a recent briefing, they are being worked on with the expectation that they will all be presented to Planning Committee in early 2026.  Of the remaining 14, there are a mixture of applications from this year or older applications where there have been on-going discussions or problems identified that an applicant is attempting to address.  It is anticipated that 4 or 5 of these will be presented to the Planning Committee meeting in December.  The “backlog” of committee items is therefore relatively small but being worked on continually in most cases.

In each case where a Planning Committee has been cancelled, officers have sought my view as Chairman of the Planning Committee as to whether it should proceed. In each case, I have deemed that there have been too few items ready to be presented to justify the resource that would be required.  I have made a judgement in respect of each Committee about the need for it to proceed based on the number of items, the urgency of those items, the potential risks of not proceeding with the Planning Committee and the best use of resources.  As a mirror example of this, I recently agreed to an extraordinary Planning Committee being added to the calendar.

It is regrettable that planning applications do not arrive in a steady, even flow, but given that they cannot and do not, I am pleased to be agile when considering Committee members’ time.

There is, therefore, a link between the elements of the question, but they are also separate, moving parts.  Overall, I am confident officers are committed to determining as many applications as possible, in the timeliest manner, without reducing the soundness or robustness of either their decision-making or their recommendation-making. As Chairman, I echo this commitment and would end on noting the balance to be made – as with all things planning – in bringing items to the soonest practical Planning Committee with also having an eye on the best use of resources.

Thank you, I share your confidence in the officers’ ability and thank them. Do you share my concern over the increase in contact from residents who have made planning applications and are now considering appeals for non-determination due to the time that has lapsed. Are you also concerned of the impact that might have on the budget going forward?

As stated at a number of Planning Committee meetings, the decisions made by Members of the Committee are based on a Member’s technical knowledge, their heart and the financial impact that might impact the Council, and I share your concerns. I have regular conversations with senior officers at the Planning Committee and we discuss the impact. It is mindful that all members of the Committee take that onboard.

Could the chair provide details of the current number of pipeline affordable homes secured through planning section 106 agreements without a confirmed partner Registered Provider in place, and confirm if the council is encouraging use of the Homes England Section 106  affordable housing clearing service?

A report on affordable housing delivery was presented at Housing, Health and Communities Committee on 28^th October.  That report highlighted that there are currently 15 approved sites with a total 236 s106 homes with no associated registered provider.  Developers and Registered Providers are regularly signposted to Homes England to enable delivery and additional grant funding has been enabled via Affordable Homes Programme 2021-2026 AHP, Homes England Strategic Partnership (HESP) and Recycled Capital Grant Funding (RCGF).   

I will do everything possible to encourage Registered Providers to invest in Swale. As Chair of Housing, Health and Communities Committee, do you have a message for the Registered Providers and those seeking to invest private funds in affordable and sociable housing?

The message is quite simple. We really want to work with Registered Providers. The people of Swale deserve to have those affordable houses in place and operational. Officers and Councillors are already really invested and reaching out to RP’s. If anyone is interested in investing in Swale, we would encourage those conversations.