RESOLVED:
-
That subject to the signing of a flow down agreement
with Runnymede Borough Council as detailed in recommendation 2,
it be approved that Surrey County Council
(SCC) confirms acceptance of the funding award of £41.8
million for the A320 North of Woking Housing Infrastructure Fund
(HIF) Forward Funding scheme allocated by the Ministry of Housing,
Communities & Local Government (MHCLG), by agreeing to proceed
to sign the relevant Homes England Grant Determination Agreement
(GDA);
-
That either prior to or concurrently with signing
the GDA agreement, it be approved that SCC enters into a side
agreement / Flow Down contract with Runnymede Borough Council (RBC)
regarding any GDA conditions which relate not to the delivery of
the infrastructure but instead to those elements particularly
associated with housing, alongside a cost sharing arrangement. The
signing of the GDA be delegated to the Executive Director
Environment, Transport and Infrastructure and the Executive
Director of Resources in consultation with the relevant Cabinet
Member and the Leader.
-
That the scheme be moved from capital pipeline to
capital budget immediately post-GDA signature but prior to the
targeted receipt date for the HIF allocation of October 2020 in
order to allow for the project to progress in line with the target
timescale for completion be approved.
4.
That provision for a contingency of £2m from
the Council’s capital programme to support any project cost
overruns should they arise be approved.
-
That delegated authority be given to the Executive
Director Environment, Transport and Infrastructure and the
Executive Director of Resources in
consultation with the relevant Cabinet Member
to approve any further decisions relating to the forward funding
conditions.
-
That the necessary authority and permission be given
to officers to proceed to facilitate land purchase through
Compulsory Purchase be approved in the event that any initial
attempts through direct negotiation prove to be unsuccessful,
subject to the signing of the GDA by SCC.
Reason for Decision:
-
SCC’s acceptance of the grant funding will
facilitate the delivery of the road infrastructure to support the
additional housing identified in RBC’s Local
Plan.
-
The proposed flow-down/side agreement will ensure
that SCC and RBC are held to account for those elements of the
project and related outcomes for which they are
responsible.
-
Moving the scheme funding from pipeline to capital
budget will release funds for further scheme development and
thereby enable SCC to commence work on the scheme as early as
possible considering the limited time now available within which to
deliver the full improvements. The cost of expenditure incurred
pre-signature will be fully rechargeable to the Scheme once funding
is released.
-
The additional contingency provided by SCC will
ensure that should any cost overruns are able to be met, and that
these are met in a way that is shared with RBC in accordance with
the methodology set out in this report.
-
Delegation on decisions relating to the forward
funding conditions is sought to enable timely decisions to be taken
on the operational aspects of delivering the scheme.
-
Beyond Cabinet’s previous resolution that
authority be given to officers to commence early discussions with
landowners with respect to acquisition by negotiation, Cabinet is
also now asked to provide authority to commence land acquisition
with through compulsory purchase where such negotiations are
clearly failing. The provision of such authority will allow the CPO
process to progress in a timely manner should the need arise
particularly where the designed future alignment requires land that
cannot be acquired by negotiation.
[The
decisions on this item can be called in by the Communities,
Environment and Highways Select Committee]