Deputy Burford, Scrutiny president last term, assumes the presidency of the body responsible for planning for a second time, after doing so in the States term from 2012 to 2016.
She said the focused review of the IDP was the most pressing workstream facing the DPA, with housing and employment land supply at the heart of it.
‘Crucially, the zero-rating of [planning policy] GP11 in the last term means that designating sites for affordable housing is now a top priority, as these homes were not and will not be delivered under the previous policy,’ she said.
‘The need for affordable and diverse housing is urgent, and the focused review will be the committee’s first priority.’
Highly relevant to all this, she said, would be the Assembly’s approval of a policy letter to streamline and simplify the process for amending the IDP.
Preparation of the relevant legislation was ‘well under way’, and this would be followed by statutory guidance, which would enable ‘substantial’ relaxations to the plan amendment process, she said.
‘Taken together, the focused review and the new ability to make standalone changes mean the 10-year comprehensive review due next year should be deferred, and with the committee’s support, I would bring proposals to the Assembly to that effect,’ Deputy Burford said.
She aimed to preside over a DPA which was not only ‘efficient and fair’, but also ‘ambitious and imaginative’.
‘I recognise that land use policy is interconnected with housing, transport, environment, economic development and our island’s prosperity. I will work with other committees to understand their perspectives, while retaining the necessary independence of a statutory authority.’
You need to be logged in to comment. If you had an account on our previous site, you can migrate your old account and comment profile to this site by visiting this page and entering the email address for your old account. We'll then send you an email with a link to follow to complete the process.