Agenda item

Report of Councillor Bridger (attached)

Councillor Bridger presented the report.  He advised that the Compulsory Purchase Order (CPO) process was running in parallel with the planning application process and that this report sought authorisation to use CPO powers to secure the land and rights required to deliver the additional mitigation requested by Natural England to support the local bat populations.  He added that negotiations with land owners would always be the preferred route but the CPO process was required by Homes England in order to draw down the funding at Stage 2.  He advised that it was anticipated that the planning application would come to the Planning and Regulatory Committee for determination in March.

Councillor Bridger highlighted the current funding position and noted that the council was working with Homes England to determine the effect of inflationary pressures and higher construction costs on the costs of the scheme but that the authority sought in the report had no material impact on the funding available to the council to deliver it.  He expected the resolution for a decision on Stage 2 funding to come later in the summer.

Members were encouraged to attend the meetings of the Place Policy and Scrutiny Panel where further details of this scheme and others related to the Housing Infrastructure Fund were given by officers. 

Motion: Moved by Councillor Bridger, seconded by Councillor Crew and

Resolved: that Council:

a)    noted that following decision COU37 taken on 12 July 2022 and decision of the Leader of the Council and the Executive Member for Major Infrastructure Projects 22/23 DP241, the Council made the North Somerset Council (Banwell Bypass and Southern Link) (Side Roads) Order 2022 (“SRO”), and the North Somerset Council (Banwell Bypass and Southern Link) Compulsory Purchase Order 2022 (“CPO”) (together, “the Orders”) on 6 October 2022 in order to deliver the Scheme.

b)    approved the area to be the subject of a supplemental compulsory purchase order (“the Supplemental CPO”) edged red on the plans at Appendix 1 (“the Supplemental CPO Plan”), which identifies the outline area of the additional land and rights to be acquired for the Scheme (“the Supplemental CPO Land”) by voluntary acquisition or compulsory purchase;

c)    authorised the making of the Supplemental CPO by the Council under sections 239, 240, 246 and 250 of the Highways Act 1980 in respect of all or part of the Supplemental CPO Land, which includes any land or rights that may be required for environmental enhancement and mitigation, flood compensation, replacement land provision or otherwise needed for the Scheme;

d)    authorised all necessary steps to be taken to secure the making, confirmation and implementation of the Supplemental CPO, including the publication and service of all notices, requisitions for information, statement of reasons and the preparation and presentation of the Council’s case at any public inquiry required to secure confirmation of the Supplemental CPO by the Secretary of State;

e)    noted, and gave due regard in determining whether or not to authorise the making of the Supplemental CPO, the public sector equality duty contained in section 149 of the Equality Act 2010 and the requirements of the Human Rights Act 1998, as detailed further in sections 5 and 11 of this Report;

f)      authorised agreements to be entered into with landowners to secure the withdrawal of objections to the Supplemental CPO and to authorise the Director of Place and the Director of Corporate Services to take all necessary steps to acquire by agreement land and/or rights over the Supplemental CPO Land, subject to any consideration payable being within the Scheme budget as set out in section 7 of this Report;

g)    subject to confirmation of the Supplemental CPO, delegated the authority to the Director of Corporate Services, the Director of Place, and the Assistant Director Legal & Governance and Monitoring Officer to acquire all the land and rights over the Supplemental CPO Land, including service of a general vesting declaration, notice to treat and/or notice of entry, subject to any compensation to be paid being within the Scheme budget as set out in section 7 of this Report;

h)    delegated to the Executive Member for Major Infrastructure, in consultation with the Director of Place, the authority to make any necessary amendments to the Supplemental CPO;

i)      delegated to the Director of Corporate Services, the Director of Place and the Assistant Director Legal & Governance and Monitoring Officer (or the Executive Member for payments of over £500,000) the authority to negotiate and settle all necessary compensation and professional fees (including interim payments) either as agreed with landowners or as determined by the Lands Chamber of the Upper Tribunal in relation to the acquisition of land or rights forming part of the Supplemental CPO Land in accordance with the Land Compensation Act 1961, the Compulsory Purchase Act 1965 and the Land Compensation Act 1973 provisions in force at the relevant time and the body of case law relevant to the assessment of compensation, where any compensation to be paid is within the Scheme budget as set out in section 7 of this Report;

j)      delegated to the Senior Responsible Officer (Alex Fear) the authority to enter into agreements with landowners to secure the withdrawal of objections to the CPO and/or the Supplemental CPO and to negotiate and settle all necessary compensation and professional fees (including interim payments) by agreement with landowners in relation to land interests included in the CPO and/or the Supplemental CPO (for any financial threshold), subject to the delegation being limited to applying only:

                        i.         prior to the closing of any public inquiry required for the CPO and/or Supplemental CPO;

                       ii.         where the approval of the agreement terms and the compensation value is required on an urgent basis in order to secure the withdrawal of objection(s) to the CPO and/or the Supplemental CPO; and

                      iii.         where any compensation to be paid is within the Scheme budget as set out in section 7 of the Report.

k)    authorised the instruction of the Scheme Project Team’s legal advisers, Burges Salmon LLP, to prepare and serve such documentation as may be required for the Supplemental CPO.