Agenda item

To consider the call-in of executive decision ED1656.

The Scrutiny Committee was informed that on 16 December 2014 the Executive had considered an update on progress with delivering the various phases of the SEMMMS (South East Manchester Multi Modal Strategy) Road Schemes, and resolved:-

(1)  “That in relation to the Poynton Relief Road scheme

·         the findings of the Public Consultation report at Appendix 2 be noted;

·         approval be given to the Green route being taken forward as the preferred route as set out in the Preferred Route Assessment Report;

·         approval be given to taking the necessary steps to protect the preferred route shown in Appendix 4 from future development including introducing the necessary modifications into the Local Plan Core Strategy at the earliest opportunity;

·         Reemphasis be given to Stockport Council’s recommendation that appropriate mitigation be provided to ensure that the impact of the Green route on properties within Stockport is managed to a level similar to that for the existing (extant) protected route and that Council officers be requested to work with Cheshire East Council’s officers to implement this recommendation;

·         the extant route protection for the former route of the road be removed from the Council’s Local Plan policy once the new preferred route has been fully protected;

·         approval be given to the alignment of the preferred route being further developed to enable the submission of a planning application, reflecting where possible feedback received through consultation, and that the business case for the scheme be developed to the next level and that work is commissioned for the Phase 2 A523 multi-modal study;

·         officers work with Cheshire East Council’s officers to develop the scheme, undertake further consultation and develop any necessary mitigation in Stockport and also take part in the A523 study;

·         that officers work with Cheshire East Council’s officers to develop a Section 8 Agreement which would allow Cheshire East Council to take the lead and responsibility for managing the scheme within the Borough of Stockport, be responsible for delivery of any necessary improvements within the Borough of Stockport and accept liability for compensation aspects of the scheme within the Borough of Stockport and that developing the detail of this agreement and signing be delegated to the Corporate Director for Place Management and Regeneration in consultation with the Executive Councillor (Communities & Sustainability);

·         officers be requested to establish a Local Liaison Forum for the residents closest to the proposed Poynton Relief Road scheme to allow them the opportunity to have a greater input into the scheme as it developed.

(2) That in relation to the A6 to Manchester Airport Scheme:

·         having previously approved the making of The Metropolitan Borough of Stockport (Hazel Grove (A6) to Manchester Airport A555 Classified Road) Compulsory Purchase Order 2013 and The Metropolitan Borough of Stockport (Hazel Grove (A6) to Manchester Airport A555 Classified Road) (Side Roads) Order 2013, authority be given for the Chief Executive and Corporate Director for Corporate and Support Services to –

-       take all necessary steps to bring the aforementioned Compulsory Purchase Order and Side Roads Order into operation, provided that the Orders were confirmed by the Secretary of State for Transport, and to continue to enter into negotiations and to agree terms for the Council to acquire by voluntary means all the land and other interests and the rights needed to facilitate the proposed A6 to Manchester Airport Relief Road Scheme and

-       where applicable, to exercise compulsory purchase powers to open negotiations and to acquire such interests and to create such rights necessary to enable the relief road to be implemented, subject to there being no material change in circumstances that would mean that the Council and its partnering local authorities were unable to properly implement the Orders and proceed with the Relief Road Scheme;

-       to carry out and enter into arrangements to secure where necessary, the appropriation for planning purposes of land required for the Relief Road in order to utilise the power contained in Section 237 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990;

·         officers be requested to develop and consult on the Traffic Regulation Orders to support the scheme and its construction;

·         approval be given to the submission of the final business case once the statutory powers process has been completed and that the Chief Executive in consultation with the Executive Councillor (Communities & Sustainability), be authorised to give final approval to the document; and that the Corporate Director for Corporate and Support Services as Section 151 Officer be authorised to sign off the business case;

·         approval be given to the delegation to the Chief Executive in consultation with the Executive Councillor (Communities & Sustainability) of authority to decide all matters relating to the Department for Transport grant offer and its terms, and any implications for the Scheme and the agreement with Greater Manchester Combined Authority;

·         the Chief Executive in consultation with the Executive Councillor (Communities & Sustainability), be authorised to approve the final design, programme and contract to build the scheme;

·         the proposed Stakeholder Engagement Strategy be approved; and

·         officers be requested to develop and consult on the proposed mitigation and complementary measures”.

The decision of the Executive had been ‘called in’ by Councillors Lisa Walker, John McGahan and Oliver Johnstone.

Councillor Walker explained her reasons for ‘calling-in’ the decision, namely that with regard to the Poynton Relief Road Scheme she was not satisfied that residents had been adequately consulted, that the proposed development at the former Woodford Aerodrome site had not been taken into consideration and that the Executive Councillor (Communities and Sustainability) had not fully explained the reasons for his recommendation to the Executive, particularly his decision to recommend that the Green Route be taken forward as the preferred route as set out in the Preferred Route Assessment Report. This was contrary to the recommendation of the Bramhall and Cheadle Hulme South Area Committee on 11 December 2014 who had recommended the Executive to reiterate to Cheshire East Council this Council’s preference for the ‘Blue Route’ alignment for the scheme.

Councillor Walker also expressed concern that the Executive Councillor had been unable to attend this meeting of the Scrutiny Committee.

Councillor Walker contended that the consultation on the Poynton Relief Road scheme had not taken into account the perspective of residents who lived in Bramhall and Woodford, or the extra noise and air pollution which would result from the development at the former Woodford Aereodrome site. The Green Route would disproportionately affect residents who lived in Bramhall and Woodford. The reasons Cheshire East Council was proposing the Green Route was from the perspective of residents from Poynton, not Stockport. The cost between the two proposed routes was not excessive (approximately £3million) with regard to the overall cost of the scheme and extra mitigation measures would be required for the Green Route. It had been easier for residents from Poynton to access the consultation document Although the consultation document had been distributed to every community hub in Poynton, this had not been the case in Stockport.

The Leader of the Council (Councillor Sue Derbyshire), the Deputy Leader of the Council (Councillor Iain Roberts), Jim McMahon (Service Director, Major Projects) and Sue Stevenson (Investing in Growth Manager) responded to the issues raised. There had been the opportunity for Members of the Scrutiny Committee to debate the issues at the last meeting of the Scrutiny Committee held on 4 December 2014. The consultation in Stockport had been equally as extensive as in Cheshire East, with the Council’s Area Committees and this Scrutiny Committee having been consulted. Woodford Community Council had been consulted. A public exhibition had been held at Woodford Community Centre and consultation leaflets had been distributed to residents in Bramhall, Woodford, Hazel Grove and High Lane.

The responses to the consultation did not indicate that the Council had ignored the wishes of local residents as of the 1577 responses who had expressed a preference for a particular route:-

·         73.0% had expressed a preference for the Green Route Option

·         5.9% had expressed a preference for the Blue Route Option.

·         21.1% had not expressed a preference.

Spatial analysis of the responses had indicated a similar pattern in the Woodford and Bramhall and Hazel Grove areas. In both areas there was strong support for the scheme and a preference for the Green Route option, however Woodford and Bramhall were also the areas which indicated the strongest support for the Blue Route option.

Residents who lived closest to the road had different views than residents who lived elsewhere. Approximately forty properties on Bridle Road in Woodford would be affected by the Green Route. Approximately 2,000 properties would be affected by Blue Route on the ‘Birds’ estate in Poynton. Therefore a higher level of mitigation would be required for the Green Route for the benefit of residents from Stockport. 

The Service Director (Major Projects) highlighted that the purpose of the consultation exercise was to consult on the horizontal alignment of the proposed road. The detailed work required for a planning application to be submitted had not been carried out, for example with regard to noise and visual intrusion. Both the Green and the Blue routes would require a significant amount of mitigation. It was possible that the alignment of the Green Route might change in the future as a result of environmental issues which arose as part of the statutory consultation process.

RESOLVED- (Three for, One against, Five abstentions,) That no further action be taken and this Committee endorses the implementation of Executive Decision Record reference ED1656.