Agenda item

Report of the Director of Climate Change, Environment and Transport (CET/24/25) seeking approval for delivery of a spine road and pedestrian / cycle bridge relating to the Plymouth and South Devon Freeport, attached.

An Impact Assessment has been prepared for the attention of Members and is also available on the web at - https://www.devon.gov.uk/impact/transport-infrastructure-plymouth-and-south-devon-freeport.

RESOLVED

(a) that the following schemes for tender, subject to the resolution of legal and land assembly agreements, and planning consents, be approved;

                        I.Spine road phase 1a as shown in Appendix 1

                      II.Spine road phase 1b as shown in Appendix 2

                     III.Pedestrian/cycle bridge as shown in Appendix 3;

(b) that any necessary Traffic Regulation Orders be advertised, and if no objections received, be made and sealed;

(c) that following receipt of planning consents, land acquisition is commenced by negotiation and approval given to use compulsory purchase powers, if required;

(d) that the Director of Climate Change, Environment and Transport be given delegated authority, in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Highway Management and the Cabinet Member for Climate Change, Environment and Transport to award the construction contract for delivery of the Schemes in Appendix 1, 2 and 3 with a combined cost of £18.908 million; and

(e) that the Director of Climate Change, Environment and Transport be given delegated authority, in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Highway Management, the Cabinet Member for Climate Change, Environment and Transport and the relevant Local Members to make minor amendments to the scheme, as required.

(Councillors Biederman, Leaver and Whitton 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/24/25) which sought approval for delivery of spine road and pedestrian/cycle bridge relating to the Plymouth and South Devon Freeport, 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 the Plymouth and South Devon (PASD) Freeport was one of eight current Freeports designated by Government. It was an ambitious programme aiming to create over 3500 jobs and play a crucial role in economic recovery and growth. The Council was leading on the delivery of key infrastructure, specifically an extension to the existing highway to deliver a spine road to serve the Langage employment development, a pedestrian/cycle bridge over the A38 at the Deep Lane junction and upgrades to access into the Langage employment area. 

The spine road was proposed to serve the Langage employment development and was to be delivered in two phases, referred to as phases 1a and 1b. Phase 1a of the spine road was shown in Appendix 1 and the Council was committed to delivering the scheme by March 2025.

Phase 1b of the spine road was a further continuation of the phase 1a spine road, with a planning application expected to be submitted in September 2024. 

The vision for PASD was to act as an exemplar to achieve net zero significantly ahead of 2050 and a new pedestrian / cycle bridge supported the decarbonisation of transport by improving active travel options for short to medium distance journeys in the local area. The bridge would connect Sherford and the growing Langage employment development, providing safer access for active travel across the A38 Deep Lane junction.  The bridge was to be located on the eastern side of the A38 Deep Lane junction, adjacent to the existing road bridge. A planning application had been submitted in December 2023, but was withdrawn to consider comments relating to the adequacy of safe crossing facilities for pedestrians and cyclists. Appendix 3 showed the revised design, which included widening on the slip road and signal crossings on both the slip road and B3416.  Once planning permission was granted, a tender would be progressed, with the works expected to start on site in December 2024, subject to the necessary approvals.

The schemes would be subject to formal consultation as part of the planning process, but consultation had taken place with relevant stakeholders as part of the proposals with the landowners and interested parties, and National Highways in relation to the A38 bridge.  As identified above, a consultation had also been undertaken on the preferred location for the bridge.

The proposals were well aligned with a range of the Strategic Plan priorities, and the table at section 7 summarised how the proposals would impact achievement of relevant Strategic Plan actions according to a seven-point scale.

The total estimated cost for the schemes was £18.908 million (excluding Sandy Road/Holland Road roundabout which was still in development), to be funded by a combination of seed capital funding from the Freeport programme and borrowing by DCC.  Approval was already in place for the Freeport programme including DCC borrowing. The Report contained a table of projected profile of expenditure and the 2024/25 figure included the approved 2024/25 budget of £2.568 million plus projected slippage of £2.786 million, from 2023/24. The Director of Climate Change, Environment and Transport clarified that the first column of the table at page 11 of the agenda pack should have read £’000 not £m.

There were a number of legal considerations outlined in the Report relating to funding agreements, subsidy control tests, section 6 agreement (Highways Act 1980), Traffic Regulation Orders and agreements for a license for the land. The Cabinet also noted that the planning applications submitted, and to be submitted, would consider the environmental impacts of the schemes and would all include the statutory ecological, landscape and environmental assessments.

Risk registers were also in place for the schemes and were reviewed and updated regularly.

An Impact Assessment had been prepared for the attention of Members at the meetings and was available on the web at - https://www.devon.gov.uk/impact/transport-infrastructure-plymouth-and-south-devon-freeport. This highlighted that improvements to the walking and cycling infrastructure was expected to support increased participation in active travel amongst less represented groups and was detailed in the Report. More broadly, the employment development supported by the infrastructure would provide new jobs and opportunities, including increasing female representation in science, technology engineering and mathematics (STEM).

In summary, approval of the recommendations would enable schemes to be delivered to support the PASD Freeport.  It provided facilities for sustainable travel, in line with Freeport aims to achieve net zero carbon ahead of 2050.  In developing the schemes, consideration had been given to the needs of future development and ensuring the schemes maximised development potential and avoided impacting on future planned infrastructure upgrades, including at the A38 Deep Lane junction.  Progression of the schemes would allow the Freeport seed capital funding to be spent within the funding availability period.

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 Hughes, SECONDED by Councillor Davis, and

RESOLVED

(a) that the following schemes for tender, subject to the resolution of legal and land assembly agreements, and planning consents, be approved;

                        I.Spine road phase 1a as shown in Appendix 1

                      II.Spine road phase 1b as shown in Appendix 2

                     III.Pedestrian/cycle bridge as shown in Appendix 3;

(b) that any necessary Traffic Regulation Orders be advertised, and if no objections received, be made and sealed;

(c) that following receipt of planning consents, land acquisition is commenced by negotiation and approval given to use compulsory purchase powers, if required;

(d) that the Director of Climate Change, Environment and Transport be given delegated authority, in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Highway Management and the Cabinet Member for Climate Change, Environment and Transport to award the construction contract for delivery of the Schemes in Appendix 1, 2 and 3 with a combined cost of £18.908 million; and

(e) that the Director of Climate Change, Environment and Transport be given delegated authority, in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Highway Management, the Cabinet Member for Climate Change, Environment and Transport and the relevant Local Members to make minor amendments to the scheme, as required.