Decision Maker:

Outcome:

Is Key Decision?: No

Is Callable In?: Yes

Date of Decision: March 12, 2025

Purpose:

Content: Salford City Council - Record of Decision   I, Councillor Mike McCusker, Lead Member for Planning, Transport and Sustainable Development, in exercise of the powers contained within the Council Constitution, do hereby:   (i)           Approve the establishment of a Design Review Forum for Salford and the actions required to facilitate this; (ii)          Approve the full cost recovery charges associated with the service proposal; and (iii)        Delegate authority to the Executive Director of Place to set charges for the service in the future, and such actions as may be required to facilitate the effective operation of the Design Review Forum.   The reasons are: In 2024 the Council was awarded funding from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) as part of the Planning Skills Delivery Fund to develop design and heritage skills and outcomes, the scope of which included the development of a design review process for Salford.   A design review panel typically comprises a range of built environment professionals with design expertise (including architects, urban designers, masterplanners, landscape architects, and heritage specialists) who provide independent advice on design matters. Design review panels are well established across many local authorities, particularly those within London and the south east of England. There are also design review panels which operate regionally across England. There are considered to be a series of benefits to establishing a Design Review Forum (DRF) for Salford.   Following the award of funding, officers have worked to develop and trial the DRF approach. This has been informed by best practice learning from design review panels hosted by other local authorities, and by trialling a series of mock DRF sessions as a means of iterative learning and refinement. Having undertaken this extensive trialling and development, it is considered that we are now in a position to proceed to the next stage with the formal establishment of the Salford Design Review Forum.   Options considered and rejected were: ·         Direct applicants towards third party providers such as Places Matter for design review services. ·         Proposed schemes would not be subject to independent design review.   Assessment of risk: Whilst the fee associated with taking a scheme to the DRF represents an additional cost to be borne by the developer, in the context of the larger scale major schemes which will be reviewed by the DRF, the fee is considered to represent a very small component of the typical fees associated with submission of a planning application and the commission of the necessary supporting documents. The fee level is commensurate with the fees associated with other design review services, and as such it is not considered that this would represent a barrier to development. The benefits associated with the introduction of a Salford DRF are considered to demonstrably outweigh any limited risk in this regard.   The source of funding is: The service has been designed to achieve full cost recovery, with the fee payable by developers to take a scheme to the DRF covering the cost of payments to forum members, officer resourcing, and associated overheads including venue and catering costs.   Legal Advice obtained: Supplied by Justin Hobson, Shared Legal Service 21 February 2025 The establishment of the Salford Design Review Forum would fall within the Council’s general power of competence under section 1 of the Localism Act 2011, which includes the ability to charge for the Forum’s services.   Financial Advice obtained: Supplied by Martin Anglesey, Accountant 19 February 2025 Commencing in financial year 2025/26, Salford City Council’s Planning Department will charge applicants £2,950 (plus VAT) in respect of a scheduled review, and £5,570 (plus VAT) for a bespoke review service. These charges have been fully costed based on officer time and other forum members expenses / associated overheads including venue and catering costs. It is anticipated that income received will recover these costs, and fees will be subject to change over future financial years to ensure that cost recovery continues to be achieved on the Planning revenue budget. The fees to be implemented are comparable with other Local Authorities / Third Parties who operate similar schemes throughout the country (Annex B). Project Innovate is not applicable due to the unique nature of the work undertaken.   Procurement Advice obtained: Not applicable   HR Advice obtained: Not applicable   Climate Change Implications: Resource efficiency and sustainable design will be one of the core areas covered in the scope of the DRF review, and as such the establishment of the DRF will seek to champion and encourage high quality sustainable design which has the potential to result in improved outcomes in terms of the climate change implications of new development.   The following documents have been used to assist the decision process: Development Plan (Salford Local Plan: Development Management Policies and Designations, and Places for Everyone Joint Development Plan Document).   Contact Officer: Gareth Clegg               Email: gareth.clegg@salford.gov.uk   This decision is not subject to consideration by another Lead Member.   The appropriate scrutiny panel to call-in the decision is the Growth and Prosperity Scrutiny Panel.     Signed: Councillor Mike McCusker                                               Dated: 12th March 2025 Lead Member for Planning, Transport and Sustainable Development     This decision was published on 14th March 2024.   This decision will come into force at 4.00 p.m. on 21st March 2025, unless it is called-in in accordance with the decision-making process rules.