Councillor Alan Lafferty and Councillor Stewart Miller (both East Renfrewshire Council); Bailie Glenn Elder and Councillor Kenny MacLean (both Glasgow City Council); Councillor Jim Clocherty and Councillor David Wilson (both Inverclyde Council); Councillor Harry Curran and Councillor Agnes Magowan (both North Lanarkshire Council); Councillor Tom Begg (Renfrewshire Council); Councillor John Anderson and Councillor Alistair Fulton (both South Lanarkshire Council); and Councillor Lawrence O’Neill (West Dunbartonshire Council).

Councillor O’Neill, Convener, presided.

S Tait, Strategic Development Plan Manager and D McDonald, Assistant Strategic Development Plan Manager (both Strategic Development Plan Core Team); M Hislop, Glasgow and Clyde Valley Green Network Partnership Manager (Glasgow and Clyde Valley Green Network Partnership); G Shankland, Planning & Building Standards Manager (East Renfrewshire Council); S Taylor, Principal Planner (Glasgow City Council); S Jamieson, Head of Regeneration and Planning (Inverclyde Council); L Bowden, Business Manager (Strategic Planning) (North Lanarkshire Council); F Carlin, Head of Planning & Housing Services, K Festorazzi, Senior Accountant and E Currie, Senior Committee Services Officer (all Renfrewshire Council); T Finn, Planning and Building Services Headquarters Manager (South Lanarkshire Council); and P Clifford, Planning and Building Standards Manager (West Dunbartonshire Council).

Councillor Alan Moir (East Dunbartonshire Council).

Councillor Magowan joined the meeting during consideration of the following item of business.

Councillor Anderson joined the meeting during consideration of the following item of business.

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

There were submitted the Minutes of the meetings of this Joint Committee held on 14 September and 26 October 2020.

DECIDED: That the Minutes 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 13 November 2020. 

The report intimated that gross expenditure was currently £7,000 underspent and income was currently £38,000 over-recovered resulting in a net underspend of £38,000.  The projected year-end position was an underspend of £62,000, mainly due to the reduction in premises costs due to the move from West Regent Street to John Street 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 including the requisition of the constituent authorities for financial year 2021/22 and indicative planning figures for 2022/23 and 2023/24, as detailed in Appendix 1 and Appendix 2 to the report.     

The report intimated 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 reducing levels of grant support. It was anticipated that the Scottish budget and local government settlement, to be announced in early 2021, might again reflect a potential core revenue grant cut for local authorities.

 

The constituent authority contribution had now been held at £72,438 for the last nine financial years. The Planning (Scotland) Act 2019 removed the statutory requirement to prepare a strategic development plan and for 2021/22, the level of requisition would be reduced by £20,000 per constituent authority, on a one-off basis, reflecting the position whereby the ringfenced reserve being held to mitigate the costs related to the development and agreement of the strategic development plan was no longer required.

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 financial year 2021/22 and the related requisitions of the constituent authorities be agreed;

(b) That it be agreed that the Strategic Development Plan Manager, in conjunction with the Treasurer, present a report to a future meeting of the Joint Committee should its remit and finances materially change; and

(c) That the indicative estimates for financial years 2022/23 and 2023/24 be noted.

Under reference to item 4 of the Minute of the meeting of this Joint Committee held on 14 September 2020, there was submitted a report by the Strategic Development Plan Manager relative to the responses received to the consultation on the Draft Forestry and Woodland Strategy (FWS) for the Glasgow City Region and seeking approval of the Finalised FWS for the Glasgow City Region, a copy of which had been issued to members in electronic format.

The report intimated that the Finalised FWS sought to set an appropriate policy context to support forestry and woodland planting and management across the Glasgow City Region and would provide broad strategic locational guidance and environmental advice to those seeking to expand or manage woodlands. The preparation of a FWS for the City Region was one of the Scottish Ministers modifications to the current Clydeplan Strategic Development Plan and a requirement of The Planning (Scotland) Act 2019. This Finalised FWS would provide the strategic context for local FWS’s.

The Scottish Forestry Strategy 2019/29 set out the Scottish Government’s vision, objectives and priorities for the expansion of woodland and the development of the forestry sector to 2070 and set out targets for new woodland expansion across Scotland which were intended to contribute to increasing woodland cover to 21% of land area of Scotland by 2032. The Draft FWS for the Glasgow City Region had been developed in order to understand and establish an appropriate regional target for woodland expansion by making a sustainable and achievable contribution to the Scottish Government’s nation aspirations.

The role of forestry in contributing to the post COVID-19 Green Recovery including climate change had been recognised by the Scottish Government who had committed to continued investment in forestry and woodland planting and biodiversity protection and improvements as part of the delivery of nature based solutions to the crisis.

The consultation period closed on 11 November 2020 and Appendix 1 to the report detailed the 10 respondents to the Draft FWS and related Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) Environmental Report; and Appendices 2 and 3 to the report summarised the responses to the Draft FWS and the SEA Environmental Report. The Finalised FWS formed Appendix 4 to the report. 

It was noted that a number of the respondents welcomed the Draft FWS and supported the potential identified within the document for the delivery of sustainable, multi-functional woodlands. The contribution that the FWS could make to reducing the impacts of climate change and improving biodiversity was also recognised. Local authorities welcomed the strategic context for the development of forestry strategies.  Only one formal objection had been received and this had been resolved though a small text change which provided further clarity on how the document would relate to specific development management proposals that did not involve forestry.

DECIDED: 

(a) That the Joint Committee note and consider the consultation responses to the Draft FWS and the SEA Environmental Report; and

(b) That the Finalised FWS and its publication along with the publication of the associated Post Adoption Statement for the SEA Environmental Report be approved.

Under reference to item 1 of the Minute of the meeting of this Joint Committee held on 11 May 2020, there was submitted a report by the Strategic Development Plan Manager providing an update on the Scottish Government’s development of the National Planning Framework (NPF4) including the publication of the NPF4 Position Statement and the contribution of the indicative Regional Spatial Strategies (iRSS).

The report intimated that the Scottish Government were in the process of developing NPF4 under the terms of The Planning (Scotland) Act 2019 and had requested that groupings of local authorities submit an iRSS for their area by June 2020. This deadline had been extended to September 2020 however, the iRSS for the Glasgow City Region had been submitted meeting the original June 2020 deadline.

The Scottish Government held a ‘Show and Tell’ event on 2 October 2020 to take stock of where the various local authority groups were with their iRSS and had published a Position Statement on 26 November 2020 which sought to bring together the thoughts and ideas received to date along with wider Scottish Government commitments.

The Position Statement stated that NPF4 would be a plan for four themes being net zero emissions; resilient communities; a wellbeing economy; and the creation of better, greener places. It set out current thinking now that the Scottish Government had considered submissions to its ‘Call for Ideas’ earlier in the year and aimed to inform further discussions as work continued towards a consultation draft NPF4 in Autumn 2021. The Position Statement was not approved policy, NPF3 and SPP remained in force until NPF4 was adopted by Scottish Ministers, anticipated to be in the summer of 2022.

The report detailed the most significant changes expected to be explored in the development of NPF4 and advised that the Scottish Government had invited comments on the current thinking and the general direction of travel set out in the Position Statement by 19 February 2021.  The timeline for further development of the NPF4 and iRSS was set out in the report.

 

Clydeplan would continue to actively support and engage with the Scottish Government in terms of the development of NPF4 and Scottish Planning Policy, the iRSS and future RSS guidance.

DECIDED: That the report and the latest position with regard to the Scottish Government’s development of the National Planning Framework 4 and the contribution of the indicative Regional Spatial Strategies be noted.

There was submitted a report by the Glasgow and Clyde Valley Green Network Partnership Manager providing an update on the Glasgow and Clyde Valley Green Network Partnership (GCVGNP) Business Plan 2020/23 and seeking approval for local authority contributions to support the Programme Plan and budget for 2021/22. 

The report intimated that the GCVGNP was formed in 2006 and comprised of the eight Glasgow city region local authorities, Scottish Forestry, NatureScot, SEPA, Public Health Scotland and the Glasgow Centre for Population Health. The purpose of the Partnership was to facilitate the delivery of the GCV Green Network, a key component of the Strategic Development Plan’s Spatial Development Strategy. The GCVGNP was a key regional partner in the Central Scotland Green Network, a ‘National Development’ in NPF3.

The GCVGNP had been successful in generating increased recognition of the role of the Green Network in delivering a successful city region.  Current work was providing strategic guidance for the delivery of the Green Network and green infrastructure to deliver healthier lifestyles, climate change resilience, training and employment opportunities and placemaking developments.

The GCVGNP Business Plan provided guidance to the GCVGNP Board on the delivery of the Glasgow and Clyde Valley Green Network Programme for the three-year period 2020/23. 

The Programme Plan for 2020/21 formed Appendix 1 to the report; the GCVGNP Programme Management Board budget for 2020/21 formed Appendix 2 to the report; and the Business Plan 2020/23 formed Appendix 3 to the report. 

The report highlighted that the budget for the GCVGNP in 2021/22 was £200,000, which comprised contributions from partner agencies and local authorities. The local authority contribution to the 2021/22 budget was £96,187 and the contribution from each authority was calculated pro-rata based on population size.  A breakdown of the individual authorities’ contribution was detailed in paragraph 4.6 of the report.

The Glasgow and Clyde Valley Green Network Partnership Manager delivered a presentation which highlighted the work of the Partnership.
 
DECIDED: That the contents of the GCVGNP Business Plan be noted and that the allocation of local authority contributions to support the delivery of the Programme Plan 2021/22 be approved.

DECIDED: That it be noted that the next meeting of the Joint Committee would be held at 11.15 am on 8 March 2021.