Issue - meetings

Further to Minute 111 (20 March 2018), the Cabinet received a progress report on the potential use of the Council’s statutory compulsory purchase order (CPO) powers to support and facilitate the redevelopment of the Vicarage Field site in Barking Town Centre.

Prior to the presentation of the report, the Cabinet received questions from four members of the local community who had registered to speak on the item.  The questions covered the following issues:

a)  The Council’s consideration of the long-term effect that a CPO would have on traders within the shopping centre as the proposals would reduce retail space in the Town Centre at a time when more shopping facilities were needed, rather than high density and often unaffordable housing;

b)  The negative impact that the Vicarage Field redevelopment proposals were already having on existing businesses and the support to be offered to those businesses to ensure that they were no worse off as a result of the Council’s plans;

c)  Concerns that the negative impact and suffering caused by previous CPO plans relating to Vicarage Field in 1982 would again the felt by long-standing, committed business people in the area; and

d)  Whether existing businesses that had their own plans to expand / redevelop could be allowed to do so separately from the main project.

In response to the questions, the Cabinet Member for Regeneration and Social Housing commented that:

·  The Vicarage Field redevelopment was aimed at securing the long-term future of the Town Centre area;

·  Extensive public consultation had been undertaken as part of the planning approval process for the redevelopment and the overwhelming majority of almost 1,300 respondents were in favour of a ‘modern retail, restaurant and leisure offer with more choice and variety’ which the plans would deliver together with a new school and improvements to the local environment;

·  There would be a short-term loss of retail space while the redevelopment took place but the final scheme would still provide 25,000 sq.ft. of space which would hopefully offer a much wider choice to customers;

·  High-density housing in Town Centre areas was the way forward and while the current plans for the redevelopment only included 10% ‘affordable’ homes, the Council would monitor the situation and may press for a greater percentage as the project progressed;

·  The Council was committed to negotiations with affected businesses and residents and the CPO powers would only be used as a last resort should those negotiations fail to achieve a satisfactory outcome.  To that end, the Cabinet Member invited the speakers to contact David Harley, Head of Regeneration at Be First, to discuss their specific cases;

·  The CPO process was based on the principle of ‘equivalence’ to ensure that affected businesses and residents were no worse off in financial terms after an acquisition than they would have been before, which would ultimately be determined by the independent Lands Tribunal;

·  The Council would meet the reasonable costs of professional independent advice sought by the affected parties during the negotiation / CPO processes;

·  There  ...  view the full minutes text for item 16