This is my report as chair of Huntingdon Town Council’s planning committee for the annual town meeting 2025.
Local plan
Huntingdonshire District Council is conducting its quinquennial update of the Local Plan as is required by law. Although Huntingdonshire District Council looks set to be abolished as part of local government reforms, it seems likely that the local plan will still remain valid for some years. Given that the government has committed to more houses being built, the Local Plan update could set the shape of development in and around Huntingdon for decades to come.
Huntingdon Town Council made submissions in response to the Further Issues and Options and Land Availability Assessments consultations. Huntingdon Town Council’s response was supportive of more housing, but emphasised that housing had to be integrated with the existing town, environmentally sustainable, appropriate for the housing needs of Huntingdonians present and future, and built to make it easier for people to move around the town without private motor vehicles if they wish to.
The draft response is at here. It was amended before being passed; the minutes of that meeting are available at the time of writing.
Relatedly, Huntingdon Town Council has started the process for asking for a revision of the parish boundaries so that the town of Huntingdon is under one local council.
Bus franchising
Huntingdon Town Council also responded positively to the bus franchising consultation organised by the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority.
Edison Bell Way s106
Huntingdon Town Council declined to take on green space at Edison Bell Way because of the logistical and financial implications of doing so. We also declined to take on responsibility for some new bus stops for similar reasons and to avoid further confusion of responsibilities.
Northbridge s106
A working group put together, with the Clerk, a detailed response to the s106 for the Northbridge development to make a management company possible and we are awaiting responses.
Planning Applications Panel
We have recently restarted the Planning Applications Panel so that there is greater transparency and opportunity for public engagement in Huntingdon Town Council’s responses to planning applications. While we trialled an alternative process for laudable reasons, I think PAP or similar is a better way of doing it.
Development Management Committee
We have made several representations at meetings of the Development Management Committee. Although we were only successful in one of our interventions, we have secured various conditions and amendments to grants of planning permission. Our relationship with DMC has not always been ideal in the past but I have felt that both officers and councillors at HDC have made real efforts to make sure we get a fair hearing, for which I am grateful.
The future
There are three particularly important planning issues coming up.
Firstly, we must start work on a new Neighbourhood Plan as a matter of urgency. Our current plan runs out in 2026. We may already be too late to avoid a gap between the current plan a new plan if a referendum is necessary.
Secondly, in terms of the Local Plan Update, a draft Preferred Options Local Plan is due to be published this autumn. We must engage with and respond to it.
Finally, local government reform is likely to have impacts on the planning process and the government has started consultation on significant changes to the same; we must keep abreast of both.
Thanks
There are lots of people who deserve mention here – staff at HTC and HDC, members of the public, councillors – but I’d like to particularly thank our planning officer, Teresa Gilman, for her support, counsel, and inexhaustible patience.