Report of the Head of Planning, Transportation and Environment (PTE/17/32) seeking approval to the design and construction of Phase 1 of the access junction with the A361 to the east of Tiverton to allow access to the new Tiverton Eastern Urban Extension (EUE) to facilitate the development of that site, attached.
Minutes:
(Councillors Connett and Hannaford attended in accordance with Standing Order 25(2) and spoke to this item).
(The County Solicitor recused herself from the Cabinet’s consideration and determination of this matter by virtue of being a resident of the area affected by the scheme thereby having a conflict of interest that would preclude her from advising the Cabinet if called upon so to do.)
The Cabinet considered the Report of the Head of Planning, Transportation and Environment (PTE/17/32) seeking approval to the design and construction of Phase 1 of the access junction with the A361 to the east of Tiverton to allow access to the new Tiverton Eastern Urban Extension (EUE) and to facilitate the development of that site, outlining the background to the scheme development.
The Tiverton EUE development site had been allocated in Mid Devon District Council’s Local Plan for up to 2,000 dwellings and a major employment allocation. Traffic Calming measures undertaken on Blundell’s Road in 2016 had allowed the first 300 dwellings to be developed on the EUE site.
The scheme as now proposed had been reflected in the Masterplan for the EUE site to accommodate all the development in the Local Plan and future development in that area. The A361 was the strategic link to northern Devon and it was important to ensure the junction was future proofed to operate during peak traffic flows. The junction was required not only to permit the development of the whole of the EUE site but to remove traffic from unsuitable roads and address the safety issues associated with additional traffic using Blundell’s Road where, inter alia, there were over 3,000 pedestrians crossings every day. Failure to address those matters would preclude the development of the site.
The schemes were also delineated in Mid Devon District Council’s masterplan for the EUE site and the Local Plan Review which had been submitted to the Planning Inspectorate following two stages of public consultation. A detailed planning application had also been submitted to the District Council in 2014 providing a further opportunity for public consultation.
Notwithstanding the aforementioned, the Cabinet Member for Infrastructure, Development and Waste and the Head of Service reported that the Local Transport Board (LTB) on 13 June 2017 had not - as anticipated - approved the contribution of £1,500,000 to this scheme. It had only approved a contribution in the sum of £250,000 at this stage, indicating that it might be in a position to approve the remainder of the sum in December of this year.
Members expressed their concerns at this decision – and their reservations over the Local Enterprise Board’s decision making process in this regard - which would inevitably delay the implementation of a much needed scheme that had already been acknowledged by Government as desirable.
The Cabinet Member confirmed nonetheless that the scheme would proceed as planned, albeit necessarily phased over a longer period of time.
The Head of Service’s Report referred to an Impact Assessment relating to the possible impacts of the proposal which had been circulated previously for the attention of Members at this meeting in order that as part of its determination of the next steps in the process the Cabinet might have full regard to the responsibilities placed upon it to exercise its Public Sector Equality Duty, under s149 of the Equality Act 2010, where relevant. The Assessment acknowledged that the environmental aspects of the proposals would be fully assessed through the separate Environmental Impact Assessment process while concluding that the scheme would make a positive impact on the wider community through improving safety and access to for employment, residential and educational use.
The matter having been debated and the options and/or alternatives and other relevant factors (e.g. financial, environmental, risk management, equality and legal considerations and Public Health impact) set out in the Head of Service’s Report and/or referred to above having been considered:
It was MOVED by Councillor Davis, SECONDED by Councillor Hart, and
RESOLVED
(a) that approval be given to the junction design shown on drawing C11017/53 embodied in Report PTE/17/32 at an estimated cost of £5,700,000;
(b) that approval be also given to increasing the capital programme for 2017/18 (and subsequent years as necessary) by a total of £2,514,193, funded by developer contributions from the County Council (£14,193 advance funding); from Mid Devon District Council (£1,000,000 advance funding) and external grant, phased accordingly;
(c) that the Head of Planning, Transportation and Environment be authorised, in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Infrastructure Development and Waste and the local County Councillor to make minor amendments to the scheme design.
[NB: The Impact Assessment referred to above may be viewed alongside Minutes of this meeting and may also be available at: http://new.devon.gov.uk/impact/].