On 13 January 2020, Cabinet authorised the commencement of the compulsory purchase process for land at Blackfriars, subject to a further report.  The report detailed the process of issuing a Compulsory Purchase Order (CPO).

Issuing a CPO involved a two stage process.  Firstly, the Council would seek to exercise its compulsory purchase powers to acquire a number of interests in the land to enable the construction of the spine road to serve the Blackfriars residential development, with vehicular access off Harrier Lane and The Spinney, and secondly to construct up to 220 dwellings and associated works.

Outline planning permission was granted for the development at Blackfriars in October 2019, subject to the completion of a Section 106 Agreement.  The site was allocated in the 2006 Local Plan to provide at least 220 dwellings.  The Council’s Planning Core Strategy (2014) identified a need for 475-500 new homes to be delivered in Battle over the plan period until 2028, assuming that a proportion of these homes would be delivered on the Blackfriars site.  Construction of the site was a key element in the Council’s Corporate Plan (2014-2021).

The Council owned more than 50% of the site however three parcels of land were currently in third party ownership as identified at Appendix 1 to the report.  In order to progress housing delivery there was a need to acquire this land, therefore negotiations had commenced.  To ensure that the development was not delayed further, it would be necessary to use compulsory purchase powers.  In addition, Homes England had awarded a grant of £8.7m from the Housing Infrastructure Fund (HIF), which was subject to specific conditions, including timescale and milestones. The HIF grant was integral to progress the site and if the conditions were not met there was a risk that the funding could be withdrawn.  Furthermore, under the conditions of the HIF funding agreement, the Council was required to use all available powers including CPOs to progress the site.  Therefore it was recommended that the Council proceed with the CPO. 

At Appendix 4 to the report, the CPO powers and processes which included land referencing and a draft timetable were identified.  Once the land reference exercise had been completed, the CPO and map would be prepared and reported to Cabinet at a future meeting. 

Following approval, the CPO would be submitted to the Secretary of State for confirmation.  All those affected would be formally notified and advertisements placed in the local press.  Objections would need to be lodged within 21 days.  Once the CPO was formally approved by the Secretary of State, the Council had three years to exercise its compulsory purchase powers.

The proposed budget for the land acquisition was detailed at confidential Appendix 5.

Members were assured that a line of communication / consultation would be held with the local residents through relevant media platforms on progression of the site.  It was acknowledged that the site would provide much needed affordable housing to the district.

Cabinet supported the recommendation to amend the Capital Programme and agreed that a CPO be made and that the Executive Director be authorised to commence all preparatory work and complete the acquisitions and disposals of land.  It was agreed that the word “with” be replaced with “and” in Recommendation 1).    

RECOMMENDED: That the Capital Programme be amended to reflect the new Housing Infrastructure Fund grant of £8.7m and additional uplift budget as outlined in Confidential Appendix 5, to be funded by borrowing as part of the overall development costs.

AND

*RESOLVED: That:

1)     the Council seeks to exercise its power under Section 226(1)(a) of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 through the drafting of a Compulsory Purchase Order to acquire interests in land to enable the construction of a spine road to serve a residential development, with vehicular access off Harrier Lane and The Spinney, and up to 220 dwellings and associated works;

2)     the Executive Director be authorised to commence the preparatory work required for the making of the Compulsory Purchase Order including (but not limited to) the completion of land referencing;

3)     all reasonable endeavours continue to be used to acquire, by negotiation, the various land interests affected by the Compulsory Purchase Order and delegated authority be granted to the Executive Director to complete the acquisitions and disposals of land a necessary within the budget outlined at Confidential Appendix 5; and

4)     a further report be made at a later date to seek a recommendation to Council for authority to secure the making, confirmation and implementation of the Compulsory Purchase Order.

*The RESOLVED parts of this minute are subject to the call-in procedure under Rule 16 of the Overview and Scrutiny Procedure Rules.

(The Confidential Appendix in relation to this matter, as set out at Agenda Item 18 was considered exempt from publication by virtue of Paragraph 3 of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972, as amended.  In accordance with the Local Authorities (Executive Arrangements) (Meetings and Access to Information) (England) Regulations 2012 Cabinet did not consider it necessary to exclude the press and public whilst considering this matter).