Agenda item

Report of the Director of Climate Change, Environment and Transport (CET/24/18) outlining proposals for the submission of a Strategic Outline Case for M5 Junction 28 and a Town Centre Relief Road, attached.

An Impact Assessment has been prepared for the attention of Members, is attached, and can be found on the website at - M5 Junction 28 and Cullompton Town Centre Relief Road - Impact Assessment.

RESOLVED

(a) that the M5 Junction 28 and Town Centre Relief Road scheme, as shown in Appendix 1 of the Report, be endorsed as the preferred option for inclusion in the Strategic Outline Case submission to the Department for Transport (DfT); and

(b) that the submission of the Strategic Outline Case for the M5 Junction 28 and Town Centre Relief Road scheme to the Department for Transport (DfT), be supported, with any changes agreed by the Director of Climate Change, Environment and Transport in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Climate Change, Environment and Transport and Local Member for Cullompton and Bradninch.

(Councillors Berry and Leaver attended in accordance with Standing Order 25(2) and spoke to this item).

The Cabinet considered the Report of the Director of Climate Change, Environment and Transport (CET/24/18) which outlined proposals for the submission of a Strategic Outline Case (SOC) for M5 Junction 28 and a Town Centre Relief Road, circulated prior to the meeting in accordance with regulation 7(4) of the Local Authorities (Executive Arrangements) (Meetings and Access to Information) (England) Regulations 2012.

The Cabinet noted that congestion occurred regularly in and around Cullompton with queues extending outbound (from the M5) in the morning and inbound (towards the town) in the evening along the length of Station Road between the High Street and M5 Junction 28. Queuing on the northbound motorway off-slip (traffic heading towards Cullompton from Exeter) occurred regularly, with the back of the queue sometimes reaching the M5 mainline, which presented a serious safety concern.

Cullompton High Street was also dominated by vehicles, which impacted on bus journey time reliability and the pollution had led to the majority of the town being designated as an Air Quality Management Area (AQMA). The adopted Mid Devon Local Plan proposed significant growth of homes and jobs, including Culm Garden Village, and without a significant transport intervention, there was a risk that the housing could not come forward.

The first stage of mitigation was the Cullompton Town Centre Relief Road, which aimed to provide an alternative route bypassing the town.

The second stage of mitigation was junction improvements to M5 Junction 28.

The Government’s recent Network North announcement, which proposed reallocating HS2 funds to other schemes across the country, identified M5 Junction 28 as a potential scheme.

Following an extensive ‘option assessment’ process, the preferred scheme proposed a new motorway junction to the south of the existing M5 Junction 28. The new junction, as shown in Appendix 1, would be additional to the existing all-movements junction and would include south facing slip roads only enabling traffic access to or from the M5 motorway via a southbound on slip (towards Exeter) and northbound off slip (from Exeter).  The scheme would also provide a connection to the proposed Cullompton Town Centre Relief Road, unchanged from the 2021 planning-approved design.

This preferred option met all of the project objectives, was considered the most deliverable by the project team and key stakeholders and had strongest support from the public engagement sessions as detailed in section 5 of the Report. The reasons for rejecting the alternative scheme options were included in Appendix 2. A total of 25 improvement options had been considered, with detailed technical work carried out on each of them.

A full economic appraisal of the scheme had been carried out in line with the SOC requirements.

This scheme also included upgrades to the walking and cycling routes through the CCA fields and additional links along Meadow Lane to the Community College, increasing the attractiveness of walking and cycling in the town as well as allowing the building of all Local Plan development.

The submission of the SOC was the first of three stages in the Large Local Majors Fund Business Case process. If approved by the DfT, funding would be granted to allow the preparation of an Outline Business Case which would enable further development of the design and, subject to further approvals, additional funding to deliver the Full Business Case. It was only when the third stage was completed that funding was released to construct the scheme.

The Report outlined that public engagement on the scheme proposals had been held between 13 December 2023 and 5 February 2024. The full consultation process and outcome was reported in section 5 of the Report.

The scheme was also well aligned with a range of the Strategic Plan priorities, with the table in section 6 of the Report summarising how the proposals would impact achievement of relevant Strategic Plan actions according to a seven-point scale.

Funding for the development of the SOC had been secured by MDDC from Homes England. If the SOC was successful, the estimated cost of developing the Outline Business Case was £2.25m, which the DfT would fund.

An Environmental Appraisal had been undertaken to identify sensitive environmental features which might act as constraints on the scheme. This had considered noise, air quality, biodiversity and water environment. The scheme would be subject to an Environmental Impact Assessment to support the planning application and identify appropriate mitigation where required.

An Impact Assessment had been prepared for Members and could be found on the website at - M5 Junction 28 and Cullompton Town Centre Relief Road - Impact Assessment. This highlighted that no age group, ethnic group, gender or sexual orientation would be particularly negatively impacted by the scheme, which would improve the highway network for all users, with improved safety and health benefits due to the expected reduction in Town Centre traffic and congestion creating a better walking, wheeling and cycling environment and improved public transport connectivity.

The Cabinet noted that a detailed risk register had been developed for the scheme and would be submitted as part of the SOC.

In summary, a significant amount of work had been carried out to assess 25 different scheme options and there was strong support for the Town Centre Relief Road and the preferred scheme for M5 Junction 28. Delivery of these was essential to ensuring existing traffic demand was safely accommodated and enabled future growth in the area as set out in the Mid Devon Local Plan.

The matter having been debated and the options and alternatives and other relevant factors (e.g. financial, sustainability and carbon impact, risk management, equality and legal considerations and alignment with the Council’s Strategic Plan) set out in the Director’s Report having been considered:

it was MOVED by Councillor Davis, SECONDED by Councillor Hart, and

RESOLVED

(a) that the M5 Junction 28 and Town Centre Relief Road scheme, as shown in Appendix 1 of the Report, be endorsed as the preferred option for inclusion in the Strategic Outline Case submission to the Department for Transport (DfT); and

(b) that the submission of the Strategic Outline Case for the M5 Junction 28 and Town Centre Relief Road scheme to the Department for Transport (DfT), be supported, with any changes agreed by the Director of Climate Change, Environment and Transport in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Climate Change, Environment and Transport and Local Member for Cullompton and Bradninch.