PUBLIC CABINET 7 APRIL 2009 BELVEDERE EMPLOYMENT AREA LINK ROAD SCHEME, ERITH COMPULSORY PURCHASE ORDER ISSUES The Belvedere Employment Area Link Road Scheme will require land not owned by the Council. A Compulsory Purchase Order (CPO) is likely to be needed to acquire the necessary property interests. In August 2008, the Cabinet Member (Regeneration and Housing) gave approval for the Assistant Director (Strategic Planning and Regeneration) to administer the external funding for the scheme and acquire land as necessary, make planning applications and secure any other Consents as necessary, and negotiate transactions or contracts in relation to the scheme. The Assistant Director (Highways and Amenities) was authorised to design and construct the link road and associated works and the Assistant Director (Legal Services) was authorised to prepare a draft Compulsory Purchase Order and to submit the draft Order for consideration by the Cabinet and Council as necessary, publish appropriate notices, and complete any contracts or other agreements or other legal documentation required. Copies of the latest draft CPO, plan and Statement of Reasons are attached as Appendices A and B to this report. The draft CPO has now been completed and the Council will soon be in a position formally to make the order following the process set out in section 2 of the report. External funding has been secured for the scheme. The Cabinet does not have delegated powers, the Council will be requested to approve the making of the CPO. OPTIONS (a) Not to make the CPO at this time and reconsider plans to create a link road which will allow circulation of traffic, including public transport, around the Belvedere Employment Area and make the area more attractive to business employers and employees. (b) To make the CPO now. PROPOSED DECISIONS To make the following recommendations to Council on 22 April 2009: (i) to make a Compulsory Purchase Order pursuant to Sections 239, 240, 246, 249 and 250 of the Highways Act 1980, the Acquisition of Land Act 1981 and all other enabling powers, to be cited as The London Borough of Bexley (Belvedere Employment Area Link Road) Compulsory Purchase Order 2009 for the acquisition of all outstanding land and property interests as indicated by the areas coloured pink and blue as shown on Plan No Bex/002/P/103 as presented to the Cabinet; (ii) to authorise the Assistant Director (Legal Services) and Assistant Director (Highways and Amenities), in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Regeneration and Housing, to make the Compulsory Purchase Order at the appropriate time;
(iii) to authorise the Director of Environmental and Regeneration Services and the Assistant Director (Legal Services) to:- (a) finalise the Compulsory Purchase Order including any amendments consistent with the objectives set out in this report and comments received from the appropriate central government department administering compulsory purchase orders; (b) take all necessary steps including the serving of notices and the making and submission of the Compulsory Purchase Order, Statement of Reasons, Statement of Case and all supporting documents to the Secretary of State for Transport, for confirmation; (c) take such steps as are necessary and appropriate to promote the Compulsory Purchase Order and take it forward including presenting the case for it at a Public Inquiry; (d) apply for any additional planning applications required to achieve the link road scheme and associated works including upgrading of adjoining roads; (iv) to authorise the Head of Property, in consultation with the Assistant Director (Legal Services) and Assistant Director (Highways and Amenities), to negotiate and agree terms for the acquisition of land and mutual land swaps to obtain the land needed for the scheme using available funds and that the Assistant Director (Legal Services) be authorised to complete the transactions. REASONS The Belvedere Employment Area Link Road Scheme has been proposed as one of a number of proposals to help in the regeneration of vital employment areas in the Belvedere Employment Area. The scheme has received planning permission and consideration has been given to measures to ensure all the land required is available when needed. Only a confirmed CPO will guarantee the availability of land. Negotiations alone would not and the scheme might be delayed, which is important given that the scheme funding is time limited. Approval now will enable the CPO to be made to enable the scheme to be started before the cut-off date for external funding and before the planning permission expires. Signed Councillor Teresa O Neill, Leader of the Council LAST DATE FOR CALL-IN: Date..
PUBLIC CABINET 7 APRIL 2009 BELVEDERE EMPLOYMENT AREA LINK ROAD SCHEME COMPULSORY PURCHASE ORDER 1. Introduction The Belvedere Employment Area Link Road Scheme has been proposed as one of a number of proposals to help in the regeneration of vital employment areas in the Belvedere Employment Area. A planning application for the scheme was made in October 2008 with permission being granted in January 2009 and consideration has been given to measures to ensure that all the land required is available when needed. External funding has been secured to cover the cost of acquiring the land need for the road and the construction of the road. 2. Issues In August 2008, the Cabinet Member for Regeneration authorised the Assistant Director (Strategic Planning and Regeneration) to administer the external funding for the scheme and acquire land as necessary, make planning applications and secure any other Consents that are required, and negotiate transactions or contracts in relation to the scheme. The Assistant Director (Highways and Amenities) was authorised to design and construct the link road and associated works and The Assistant Director (Legal Services) was authorised to prepare a draft Compulsory Purchase Order (CPO) and to submit the draft CPO for consideration by the Cabinet and Council as necessary, publish appropriate notices, and complete any contracts or other agreements or other legal documentation required. It is now possible to report to Cabinet the draft CPO, which identifies all the land required for the scheme. The Council must approve the Order before it can be made. External funding of over 10 million has been secured from three sources (Homes and community Agency (HCA) 5.7m, European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) 3m and London Development Agency (LDA) (London Thames Gateway Parklands) 1.8m) and this will cover the cost of acquiring the land for the road, the construction of the road and a large number of other regeneration projects in the Belvedere Employment Area. The funding is time limited and has to be spent by the end of March 2011 and therefore it is imperative that all the land needed for the scheme is acquired in good time to allow the scheme to be completed by then. Progress and future programme for Draft Compulsory Purchase Order An initial land referencing exercise has been completed which has allowed the draft CPO to be prepared. The draft CPO and Statement of Reasons, will be sent to Government Office for the North East (GONE) for their observations and advice. This is a service GONE offer for draft CPOs. It is envisaged that following their reply some adjustment to the individual plots will be required as a result of GONE s comments. The CPO will then be finalised, sealed by the Council and public notification given. Individual owners of plots affected are given separate notification of the making of the
Order. There is a period for making objections to the Secretary of State and at the end of this period the CPO is sent to the Secretary of State with a request for confirmation of it. If there are unresolved objections to the CPO from landowners then it is likely that the Secretary of State will hold a Public Inquiry into the CPO. The period from making the CPO to holding the Public Inquiry could be 4 months and possibly confirmed after a further 3 months. Copies of the latest draft CPO, plan and Statement of Reasons are attached as Appendices A and B to this report. The planning permission is valid for three years and it would, therefore, be possible to delay the start of construction until January 2012, although funding will have expired by then. This means that the funding restriction, and the construction period of about 12 months, jointly determine the latest estimated date for making the CPO and there is very little spare time available. It is therefore, proposed that the Council is recommended to make the CPO as soon as possible to enable the scheme to be completed before the funding expires. Land and Related Issues Only a confirmed CPO will guarantee the availability of land as negotiations alone would not and the scheme might be delayed beyond the period for which the scheme funding is available. The CPO will be used as a last resort if negotiations fail. While the CPO is being progressed officers will negotiate with private landowners to agree terms for the acquisition of the land required. Early acquisition of all the plots would negate the need for the CPO, but in any event purchase of some plots early will reduce the number of plots required for the CPO and hence remove the number of potential objectors and consequently reduce the preparation work required for any Public Inquiry. There will, however, be some risk to the Council should the scheme not proceed and the Council is required to return the funding spent. All the land required for the scheme is contained in the schedule to the draft CPO. A total of 8 separate plots of permanent land take have been identified. In addition there are 10 temporary plots needed for working space during construction. Property Services have prepared preliminary estimates for each of the plots of land required for the scheme and all but one of the plots are of low value, which it is considered could be acquired for minimal expenditure. Entering into negotiations with land owners to agree terms for acquisitions and options to buy will demonstrate the Council s commitment to the scheme and has been used as a successful strategy in previous CPO schemes which has resulted in each Public Inquiry lasting for a minimum period of time. One plot of land (Plot 7) has been expanded to include a privately owned length of Church Manorway, which links the scheme to the southern public highway section of that road. This length of private road is subject to a planning agreement requiring certain improvements and its adoption as highway when an adjacent site is redeveloped. It had been assumed that this development would have occurred by now, the road improved and adopted as highway, however the current market position has delayed the development and therefore this length of road needs to be added to the CPO to make sure it is available when needed so that there are no gaps in the public
highway between the southern end of Church Manorway and Mulberry Way. The improvements to this 220m length of Church Manorway can not be carried out under the existing planning agreement without all the other requirements of that agreement coming into force and the landowner is currently unwilling for that to happen in the current economic climate. Therefore to ensure that the scheme can continue without prejudicing the landowner, a new, stand alone, planning application is required to cover the improvements to this length of road and immediate adjacent land. The cost of improving this length of road has been included in the overall scheme costs and will be met by the funding already secured. The Assistant Director (Strategic Planning and Regeneration) and the Head of Property are already authorised to acquire land needed for the Scheme within the available funding. The Environment Agency (EA) is proposing to construct a new pumping station which will be sited adjacent to the line of the new Link Road and for which a planning application has already been approved. There has been close liaison with the EA and the London Borough of Bexley to ensure compatibility between the projects and the road project provides for adjustment to the pumping station infrastructure to accommodate the new drainage regimes. The Environment Agency (EA) are also promoting a CPO to ensure that they get the land needed when required. Because the specific site of the pumping station is important to enable the EA s proposed pumping design to operate efficiently, the Council s sustainable drainage system (SUDS) associated with the link road has been designed around the pumping station and this can be seen within plot 8 of the Council s CPO. 3. Consultation with Environment & Regeneration Scrutiny Committee (A) Consultation Proposed [before decisions are taken affecting the Policy Framework] Statutory consultation took place as part of the planning process. (B) Consultation Undertaken [where applicable] The scheme is a corporate project and an integral part of Bexley Regeneration Framework 2007-2016 endorsed by the Invest Bexley Board The Local Implementation Plan (LIP) March 2006 Bexley, River Cray and Southern Marshes Green Grid Framework endorsed by Councillor John Waters. This is an investment document which forms the basis of funding bids. All 3 documents will form part of the evidence base for the Local Development Framework. 4. Summary of Financial Implications
The total estimated costs of the scheme of 10.5m, including land acquisition, compensation and construction, are fully covered by the external funding that has been obtained. The funding will cease on 31 March 2011 and therefore the scheme must be completed by then or there is a risk that some of the funding may have to be repaid. 5. Summary of Other Implications (a) Environmental Impact The environmental impact of the scheme was dealt with as part of the town planning process. (b) Community Safety There are no known issues for community safety arising from this scheme. (c) Equal Opportunities There are no known issues for equal opportunities arising from this scheme. (d) Human Rights The Human Rights Act 1998 incorporates Article 1 of the First Protocol of the European Convention on Human Rights providing the entitlement to peaceful enjoyment of a person s possessions except in the public interest. This requires that a fair balance be struck between the public interest in seeking to construct the Church Manorway Link Road and an individual s rights to peaceful enjoyment of his possessions. Any interference, such as compulsory acquisition, must be necessary and proportionate. LOCAL GOVERNMENT ACT 1972 SECTION 100D List of Background Documents None. Contact officer: John Wilkinson, Senior Valuer Ext: 2398 Reporting to: Suzanne Jackson, Head of Property