Provost Jim Fletcher (East Renfrewshire Council); Councillor Jim Clocherty (Inverclyde Council); Councillor Harry Curran (North Lanarkshire Council); Councillor Alistair Fulton (South Lanarkshire Council); and Councillor Jonathan McColl (West Dunbartonshire Council).

There were no declarations of interest intimated prior to the commencement of the meeting.

There was submitted the Minute of the meeting of this Joint Committee held on 13 September 2021.

DECIDED: That the Minute be approved.

There was submitted a joint revenue budget monitoring report by the Treasurer and the Strategic Development Plan Manager for the period 1 April to 12 November 2021. 

The report intimated that gross expenditure was currently £26,000 underspent and income was currently £18,000 over-recovered resulting in a net underspend of £44,000.  The projected year-end position was an underspend of £71,000, mainly due to the reduction in premises costs due to the move from West Regent Street to John Street, reduced spend due to COVID-19 and working from home arrangements and an over-recovery in income.

DECIDED: That the report be noted.

There was submitted a joint report by the Treasurer and the Strategic Development Plan Manager relative to the revenue estimates of the Glasgow and the Clyde Valley Strategic Development Planning Authority (Clydeplan) and the Green Network Partnership, including the requisition of the constituent authorities for financial year 2022/23 and indicative planning figures for 2023/24 and 2024/25, as detailed in the appendix to the report.     

The report intimated that for 2022/23, both Clydeplan and the Green Network Partnership budgets were presented together in recognition of their shared activity and resources. 

The report advised that the financial environment in which the Joint Committee and constituent authorities operated continued to be characterised by significant demand and cost pressures, compounded by constrained grant support. It was anticipated that the Scottish budget, to be announced in December 2021, would again reflect a settlement for local government which potentially did not meet the levels required.

The report further advised that the requisition for Clydeplan was proposed at £68,375 per constituent authority. This maintained the gross requisition at 2021/22 levels but reflected a reduced use of reserves and a discount in recognition of operational changes affecting spend, as well as the agreement of the Joint Committee on 13 September 2021 to fund a £30,000 contribution to Sustrans from reserves. Further, that the allocation basis for the Green Network Partnership was a per capita allocation which differed to Clydeplan. The proposed net requisitions for 2022/23 and beyond had been held at the 2021/22 level. 

The report provided information on the assumptions that the budget had been based on and a financial overview for Clydeplan.

DECIDED:

 

(a) That the revenue estimates for 2022/23 as set out in the appendix to the report, including the planned use of reserves, be approved;

(b) That the transfer of reserves from Clydeplan to the Green Network Partnership to cover the two-year Green Network Development Officer post be approved; 

(c) That the proposal that one requisition would be invoiced to constituent authorities, covering Glasgow Clyde Valley and Green Network Partnership activities be approved; and 

(d) That the indicative estimates for 2023/24 and 2024/25 be noted.

There was submitted a report by the Strategic Development Plan Manager relative to the Scottish Government consultation on the Draft National Planning Framework 4 (NPF4).

The report advised that the Draft NPF4 consultation would close on 31 March 2022 and it was intended that a formal response would be submitted to the meeting of the Joint Committee scheduled to be held on 14 March 2022. It was noted that the proposed response would also be taken through the Glasgow City Region governance structures for endorsement. 

The report intimated that once approved by the Scottish Government, NPF4 would form part of the statutory Development Plan with the current Clydeplan Strategic Development Plan no longer being part of the Development Plan.

The report noted that the Draft NPF4 consisted of four parts and set out the six overarching principles in relation to where development should be located and these were detailed in the report. 

The report provided further detail in relation to Central Urban Transformation which broadly covered central Scotland form the Glasgow City Region and the Ayrshires in the west to Edinburgh City Region in the east, including the Tay Cities, the Forth Valley and Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park. It was noted that the Indicative Regional Spatial Strategy submitted in June 2020 by Cldeplan to support the development of the Draft NPF4, the regional spatial themes and key elements of the Spatial Investment Framework had all been reflected in the Draft NPF4.

 

In relation to housing, the report noted that as part of the development of the Draft NPF4, all local authorities had to supply a 10-year Minimum All-tenure Housing Land Requirement (MATHLR) and that for the City Region, this process had been undertaken by the Glasgow City Region Housing Market Partnership (HMP). The report advised that the figure submitted by the HMP of 50,350 had not been amended by the Draft NPF4 and provided a breakdown by council area.

The report provided further detail in relation to the National Planning Policy Handbook; the Regional Economic Strategy; the delivery of NPF4 and the role of Regional Spatial Strategies.

The Strategic Development Plan Manager gave a presentation providing further information to members.

DECIDED: 

(a) That the publication of the Draft National Planning Framework 4 be noted;

(b) That the consultation timeline be noted; 

(c) That the intention to prepare a formal response to be considered by the Joint Committee at its meeting on 14 March 2022; and 

(d) That the presentation be noted.

There was submitted a report by the Green Network Development Officer providing an update on progress towards delivery of the Green Network Blueprint.

The report intimated that at the meeting of the Joint Committee held on 14 June 2021 it was noted that the Glasgow and Clyde Valley Green Network Partnership would evolve into the Strategic Environment Partnership (SEP) with a remit to support the delivery of the Green Network Blueprint and local and regional spatial planning.

The report advised that the SEP comprised officer representation from each of the Glasgow and Clyde Valley local authorities and agencies Nature Scot, Scottish Forestry, SPA, Public Health Scotland, Glasgow Centre for Population Health, and Strathclyde Partnership for Transport. Also, that the new Green Network oversight and support role of SEP coincided with the retirement of the Green Network Programme Manager and line management of the remaining Green Network Development and Communications officers being taken on by the Clydeplan Manager.

The report provided an update on these new working arrangements and progress towards securing the necessary resources for delivery of the Green Network Blueprint.
The Green Network Development Officer gave a presentation providing further detail in relation to SEP and the Blueprint delivery projects.

DECIDED: That the report and presentation be noted.

DECIDED: That it be noted that the next meeting of this Joint Committee would be held at 11.15 am on 14 March 2022.