Agenda item

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 was no mechanism for properties within the redevelopment area to be dealt with on a piecemeal basis.  The Cabinet Member added that to attempt to do so would very likely be counterproductive to the delivery of the comprehensive scheme to transform the area, which had been an aspiration within the Council’s Town Centre Area Action Plan since 2011.

In line with the public participation procedures, the four speakers were invited to ask a supplementary question stemming from their original question and the Cabinet Member’s reply.  The points made and the response from the Cabinet Member included the following:

Ø  A requirement for only 10% of affordable properties as part of the redevelopment would mean many local people would be forced to move out of the area.  The Cabinet Member acknowledged that some local residents would be displaced as a result of the redevelopment but he alluded to the Council’s new social housing programme across the Borough which meant that more new homes were now being built than were being lost through the Right To Buy scheme;

Ø  A phased approach to the redevelopment would enable existing businesses to stay within the Town Centre.  The Cabinet Member suggested that phasing would undermine the feasibility of the project although there was potential for ‘pop-up’ premises to be established to enable some businesses to maintain their presence during the delivery of the project;

Ø  As the outline planning consent included proposals for a new hotel there was an opportunity, with slight modifications to the existing planning consent, to include the Barking Hotel in the scheme and for the proprietors to join the redevelopment team discussions.  The Cabinet Member advised that it was unlikely that the planning consent would be revisited, although he invited the representatives of the Barking Hotel to submit proposals to Mr Harley for consideration. 

The Chair thanked the speakers for their contributions and invited the Cabinet Member for Regeneration and Social Housing to present the report.

The Cabinet Member advised that outline planning approval for the mixed-use scheme was granted in April 2017 and included plans for 855 homes, retail and office space, a hotel, a primary school, new healthcare facilities and leisure uses, with the redevelopment due to commence in early 2020.  He reiterated that the use of CPO powers by the Council would be the last resort and every effort would be made by the Council, Be First and Lagmar (Barking) Limited, the development company, to reach satisfactory agreements with land and property owners.

The statutory provisions relating to the use of CPO powers under the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 (as amended) required the Council to demonstrate that a proposal was “likely to contribute to the achievement or the promotion or improvement of the social, economic and / or environmental wellbeing of the area” and the Cabinet Member referred to the perceived benefits of the project to the regeneration of Barking Town Centre and the wider economy.  The Cabinet Member pointed to the specific provisions, as set out in paragraph 2.20 of the report, which must be demonstrated before CPO powers could be used and he expressed his confidence that the Vicarage Field redevelopment scheme would fulfil those requirements. 

Cabinet Members spoke in support of the proposals, commenting on the improved retail offer that the new development was expected to bring, the visual and environmental improvements to the area and the new, modern health, education and leisure facilities that formed part of the overall scheme.  Members also conveyed their sympathy to those who would be negatively impacted by the redevelopment and explained that the Council had to look at the wider benefits that such a development could bring to the Borough and to realise the aspirations that underpinned the Growth Commission report from 2016 and the recent Borough Manifesto.  The Cabinet Member for Regeneration and Social Housing was also urged to ensure that the new employment opportunities associated with the redevelopment were targeted towards Borough residents.

The Cabinet resolved to:

(i)  Agree, subject to consideration of the matters set out in the report and the prior completion of the proposed Compulsory Purchase Order Indemnity Agreement (“CPOIA”), to make a Compulsory Purchase Order (CPO) pursuant to Section 226(1)(a) of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 and section 13 of the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1976 for the acquisition of land and new rights in respect of the area identified in Appendix 1 to the report "draft CPO Plan" and the Schedule, to facilitate delivery of the Vicarage Field regeneration proposals detailed in the report;

(ii)  Note that a full Statement of Reasons supporting the CPO had been substantially progressed and to delegate authority for its final approval to the Director of Inclusive Growth.

(iii)  Delegate authority to the Director of Law and Governance, in consultation with the Director of Inclusive Growth, to:

(a)agree minor amendments to the CPO Plan and CPO Schedule before the making of the CPO (if required);

(b)take all steps to secure the making, confirmation and implementation of the Compulsory Purchase Order (“Order”) including the publication and service of all notices and the promotion of the Council’s case at any public inquiry;

(c)negotiate, agree terms and enter into agreements with interested parties including agreements for the withdrawal of blight notices and/or the withdrawal of objections to the Order and/or undertakings not to enforce the Order on specified terms, including (but not limited to) where appropriate seeking the exclusion of land or rights from the Order, making provision for the payment of compensation and/or relocation;

(d)in the event the Order is confirmed by the Secretary of State, to advertise and give notice of confirmation and thereafter to take all steps to implement the Order including, as applicable in accordance with the CPO Indemnity Agreement to execute General Vesting Declarations and/or to serve Notices to Treat and Notices of Entry in respect of interests and rights in the Order Land;

(e)take all steps in relation to any legal proceedings relating to the Order including defending or settling claims referred to the Upper Tribunal and/or applications to the courts and any appeals.

(iv)  Agree that, where required to assist in the delivery of the Vicarage Field regeneration proposals, the Council shall appropriate land for planning purposes pursuant to Section 122 of the Local Government Act 1972 to enable Section 203 of the Housing and Planning Act 2016 to be utilised to override any third-party rights; and

(v)  Agree that the making of the CPO be conditional upon the terms for the land agreement(s) between the Council and Lagmar (Barking) Ltd. being in accordance with the arrangements set out in paragraph 2.48 of the report and subject to the approval of the Cabinet at a future meeting.