Agenda and decisions

To receive any apologies for absence and notification of substitutions.

To approve the minutes from the previous meeting.

To receive and note any declarations of interests in respect of any matters included on the agenda for consideration at this meeting.

(The other registrable interests of Councillors of Somerset Council, arising from membership of City, Town or Parish Councils and other Local Authorities will automatically be recorded in the minutes: City, Town & Parish Twin Hatters - Somerset Councillors 2023 )

The Chair to advise the Committee of any items on which members of the public have requested to speak and advise those members of the public present of the details of the Council’s public participation scheme.

For those members of the public who have submitted any questions or statements, please note, a three minute time limit applies to each speaker.

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The Committee are asked to consider and note the update report.

Councillor Mike Rigby proposed the recommendations, which were seconded by Councillor Henry Hobhouse.

Having been duly proposed and seconded, the Strategic Planning Committee resolved to:-

a)    Note the content of the report and the activity across the three affected river catchments that fed into the Somerset Levels and Moors (Tone, Parrett, and Brue) which continued to unlock the delivery of housing to ensure development achieved nutrient neutrality.

b)    Note the spend to date in 2024/25 from the Local Nutrient Mitigation Capital Funding to deliver nutrient mitigation schemes in line with grant conditions.

c)    Note the commitment of spend of the Local Nutrient Mitigation Fund, as detailed in the Financial and Risk section of the report.

d)    Note that in order to demonstrate progress on phosphate related matters a further up-date report to be provided to the Committee in September 2025.

e)    Agree to delegate authority to the Head of Planning / Chief Planning Officer in consultation with the Chair of the Strategic Planning Committee to:

                        i.         Agree minor amendments to the contents of the revised delivery strategy, enclosed as Appendix 1.

                       ii.         Oversee the delivery to include approval of any documents (e.g. Section 106 agreements) needed to support implementation of the revised delivery strategy, enclosed as Appendix 1.

                      iii.         Remove the covenant between the owner of the site and the Council for planning applications that used River Tone P-Credits to commence development within a 3-month period. Removal of the 3-month commencement period was to apply to existing and completed S106 Agreements. The 3-month commencement period was no longer necessary given the establishment of 3rd party credit schemes in Somerset.

f)      Agree to instruct officers to develop a new policy to address nutrient neutrality in accordance with the new Counsel’s Opinion.

The Committee are asked to consider and note the update report.

Councillor Simon Coles proposed the recommendations, which were seconded by Councillor Andy Soughton.

Having been duly proposed and seconded, the Strategic Planning Committee resolved to note the contents of the report.