Issue - meetings

To consider a report of the Head of Planning, Economy and Regeneration updating Members on the latest position with regard to the Housing Infrastructure Fund (HIF) bid for Cullompton and to seek approval to pursue opportunities to use this Government investment on an amended transport intervention to bring forward housing development and address congestion and air quality problems in the Cullompton area and seek approval to fund related work.   

The Cabinet had before it a report* of the Head of Planning, Economy and Regeneration updating Members on the latest position with regard to the Housing Infrastructure Fund (HIF) bid for Cullompton and to seek approval to pursue opportunities to use the Government investment on an amended transport intervention to bring forward housing development and address congestion and air quality problems in the Cullompton area and seek approval to fund related work.  

The Cabinet Member for Planning and Economic Regeneration initially asked the Monitoring officer if she felt that he was predetermining the outcome of the discussions and the decision that would be made today.  The Monitoring Officer advised that as long as the Member was satisfied that he was willing to listen to the discussion then predetermination was unlikely.  He therefore outlined the contents of the report stating that in July 2017 the Government launched its £2.3 billion Housing Infrastructure Fund to finance infrastructure to unlock housing delivery.  

The Marginal Viability part of the fund would be used to provide the final, or missing, piece of infrastructure funding in order to get existing sites unblocked quickly or new sites allocated. The Government expected the infrastructure to be built soon after schemes had been awarded funding and for the homes to follow at pace.

Bids to the fund were assessed against three criteria:

·         Value for money

·         Strategic approach to delivering housing growth

·         That the scheme and homes could be delivered.

Mid Devon District Council submitted marginal viability bids in relation to two schemes for highways infrastructure which would unlock development sites identified within both the adopted Local Plan and the emerging Local Plan Review:

1.    J28 M5 Cullompton - A £10m scheme for  improvements at the junction itself to increase its capacity through the creation of an additional lane on the bridges, new footbridges and full signalisation.

2.    A361 junction east of Tiverton – A £8.2m scheme for phase 2 covering the bridge across the A361, the north side slip roads and associated landscaping.

The Government announced the success of both schemes in early 2018. This was subject to a process of further assessment and due diligence by Homes England which was still ongoing. Assessment was currently focussed on value for money (cost/benefit) and delivery. A final decision over whether the funding would be awarded was expected within the next few months.

Since the original bid submission, further transport analysis and further discussions had taken place with Devon County Council officers and Highways England over the proposed scheme for Cullompton. This has resulted in advice that:

1.    The scheme at the junction would not achieve the benefits to traffic flows and junction operation initially expected.

2.    The highway authorities had expressed strong concern over the ability for the scheme as submitted to be constructed.

3.    Neither authority therefore wished to take responsibility for the delivery of the scheme which was now considered to be undeliverable and not to represent value for money.

Officers therefore concluded that the scheme as  ...  view the full minutes text for item 16