Issue - meetings

Report of Head of Development Management

Purpose of report

To consider whether the Council should become a “qualifying authority” (‘Qualified Authority’) or a “non-qualifying authority” for the purposes of the High Speed Rail 2 Hybrid Bill.

Recommendations

The meeting is recommended to:

1.1      Authorise

(i)        Cherwell District Council becoming a Qualifying Authority in relation to the High Speed Rail (London to West Midlands) Hybrid Bill and authorises the signing of the HS2 Planning Memorandum and the Service Level Agreement between the Council and HS2 that will provide the costs of implementing the consequent planning regime, and

(ii)       Recommend to Full Council to agree that constitutional and scheme of delegation changes will be necessary to ensure the satisfactory implementation of the Planning Memorandum.

Resolved

(1)          That authorisation be given to Cherwell District Council becoming a Qualifying Authority in relation to the High Speed Rail (London to West Midlands) Hybrid Bill and the signing of the HS2 Planning Memorandum and the Service Level Agreement between the Council and HS2 that will provide the costs of implementing the consequent planning regime.

(2)          That Full Council be recommended to agree that constitutional and scheme of delegation changes will be necessary to ensure the satisfactory implementation of the Planning Memorandum.

The Head of Development Management submitted a report to consider whether the Council should become a “qualifying authority” (‘Qualified Authority’) or a “non-qualifying authority” for the purposes of the High Speed Rail 2 Hybrid Bill.

Resolved

(1)          That authorisation be given to Cherwell District Council becoming a Qualifying Authority in relation to the High Speed Rail (London to West Midlands) Hybrid Bill and the signing of the HS2 Planning Memorandum and the Service Level Agreement between the Council and HS2 that will provide the costs of implementing the consequent planning regime.

(2)          That Full Council be recommended to agree that constitutional and scheme of delegation changes will be necessary to ensure the satisfactory implementation of the Planning Memorandum.

Reasons

Becoming a Qualifying Authority involves a commitment by the Council to deal with applications appropriately and within specified timescales, in return for greater control over a wider range of matters than would otherwise be the case.

It is considered important that the Council retains as much control as it can over the detailed matters relating to the HS2 proposals, and to do so it is recommended that it would be in the Council’s interests to become a Qualifying Authority.

Alternative options

The alternative option is to not become a qualifying authority. This has been rejected in our assessment and is not recommended as the Council would not be able to exercise the maximum control over elements of this contentious scheme.