Minutes:
Simon Bevan, Acting Director of Planning, gave a general introduction to the planning process in Southwark. Planning law required that applications for planning permission must be determined in accordance with the development plan unless material considerations indicated otherwise.
Simon explained that there was a National Planning Policy Framework. Planning decisions were generally a presumption in favour of sustainable development. The other main documents were the Mayor’s London Plan and Southwark’s own core strategy, adopted in 2011.
Southwark was generally very pro-development with targets for delivering new homes of just over two thousand per year. The developments tended to be concentrated mainly in the north and centre of the borough.