Accessibility settings

In order to remember your preferences as you navigate through the site, a cookie will be set.

Color preference

Text size

Agenda item

Garden Community Programme - Garden Town Status for Tewkesbury at Ashchurch

To agree the decision-making process regarding the delivery of the Garden Town at Ashchurch Tewkesbury as part of the government’s Garden Community Programme.

Minutes:

18.1           The report of the Head of Development Services, circulated at Pages No. 12-17, advised Members that the Council had been successful in its bid for Garden Town Status for Tewkesbury at Ashchurch. Members were asked to make the necessary decisions to put in place arrangements for the delivery of the Garden Town for Tewkesbury at Ashchurch as part of the government’s Garden Communities Programme.

18.2           The Head of Development Services explained that, in August 2018, the government had announced a third round of its Garden Communities Programme and local authorities had been invited to bid for Garden Community Status. Tewkesbury Borough Council had submitted its bid based on the concept masterplan for Ashchurch. In April 2019, the Council had heard that its bid had been successful which would allow the Council to engage additional resources to develop the garden community. Further reports and presentations would be made on the programme in due course but this report was the first stage of what promised to be an extremely exciting opportunity.

18.3           In proposing the recommendation within the report, the Leader of the Council felt this was an exciting opportunity for the Borough and was a huge project. He considered it to be a considerable achievement to have been awarded Garden Community Status and the report before the Council was an important element, and necessary step, to ensure the initial work was undertaken and effectively delivered to progress the project. In seconding the proposal, the Deputy Leader felt this was an exciting opportunity to develop a twenty first century town for twenty first century living without exacerbating problems in existing communities. A Member suggested an amendment, which was agreed by the proposer, so the third recommendation would read ‘…are to be made by the Council and those that relate to the determination of any planning applications) to deliver develop the necessary plans to support the delivery of the Garden Town for Tewkesbury at Ashchurch…’. In response to a query, the Chief Executive advised that the Member making the amendment wanted to ensure the resolution at this stage was about development of plans rather than actual development which was perfectly acceptable; for that reason, the project would remain within the remit of the Executive Committee as set out within the report.

18.4           During the discussion which ensued, a number of Members questioned what the outcome of the consultation on the Ashchurch masterplan had been; they considered that it would be difficult to make a decision on the current project without having seen the results of that important consultation. In response, the Head of Development Services advised that the Garden Town programme and the Ashchurch masterplan were separate processes which had just so happened to start to align. The Ashchurch masterplan consultation had closed approximately two months ago and Officers were still going through the responses to bring to Members. In terms of the area of the designation, Officers would be in conversation with all stakeholders across the entire site.  The Ashchurch masterplan looked at a phasing strategy for development which was not prescriptive so it was impossible to say at this stage whether the Ministry of Defence (MoD) site or other greenfield/brownfield sites would come forward first. In terms of capacity funding and other government funding, the Head of Development Services advised that the Council had received £750,000 for the Garden Town funding and almost £500,000 from the Local Sites and Infrastructure Fund.

18.5           In respect of the amount of development suggested for the area, the Head of Development Services explained that, in the broader masterplan, there was consideration given to the different elements involved, the amount of development that was possible and the amount that would be required for the Garden Town bid and a broad discussion had been held in relation to one-bed, two-bed properties etc. The work undertaken had been very indicative and had looked at the potential in line with JCS policies; that detail was not in the masterplan but was in the concept of design within the JCS.

18.6           There was a lot of concern expressed about the fact that the Council’s membership had changed by almost half at the recent local elections and this was the first time that many Councillors would have heard anything at all about this important project, so it may have been helpful to include a map to show them where the site in question was located. In response, the Head of Development Services indicated that the current report was about the governance arrangements of the project rather than the detail of the masterplan which was why there was no map included. She felt it was important to recognise the fantastic opportunities offered by being part of the Garden Communities Programme and, accepting that the report was not about planning status, the recommendations within the report would help move the project forward and investigate the opportunities which may be available. There would be consultation going forward and that would include Parishes which could be affected more widely than just those in the immediate area, including Bishop’s Cleeve Parish Council. There was concern expressed by Members that asking the Council to make a decision at this stage was too soon and that more information was needed before a fully informed decision could be made. In response, the Chief Executive indicated that he understood the concerns expressed but reminded the Council that the government was looking for a commitment from Councils that they wanted to be in the Garden Communities Programme. It was understood that the Council needed government support for off-line improvements to the A46 and it was felt that Garden Town Status should help with that. At this stage, the Council had been invited by government to attend induction meetings in June and July in respect of the Garden Communities Programme and, through that process, the government was looking for commitment to be demonstrated by Councils. The reason for the current report was to set up the initial governance arrangements and Members would be fully involved in the details of the project going forward. He offered reassurance that the Council was not committing to anything in terms of the shape of the area at this stage and there would be many more discussions going forward; the purpose of the Garden Town bid was to get ahead of speculative development, to try and shape the major development of the Borough and get exemplar development. The programme was likely to run to at least 2050 so it had to be right.

18.7           In response to a query regarding the funding, the Head of Development Services confirmed that the Council would have to demonstrate it had done all it could to try and provide an opportunity for development in order that it would not have to return the funding if development was not achieved for any reason. It was important to remember this was a long-term plan and the Council would need to maintain a relationship with the government and demonstrate there was an emphasis on bringing sites forward. In addition, the Chief Executive explained that the government was reluctant to confirm whether further funding would be available, but the Council had been advised that any additional funding would be performance related, so the Council would be expected to move it forward. He felt it was important to remember that, when achieving something like growth, the pieces of the jigsaw did not always come in the right order but, as particular pieces were important in the wider context, they had to be taken as they were available. There was debate about the possible opportunities that may be lost if the Council delayed a decision on this matter and, in response, the Head of Development Services explained that, if the Council could not demonstrate its commitment to the programme, it would not be able to take part as that was what the government was looking for at this stage. In addition, the Chief Executive advised that one of the issues was that the initial tranche of funding would help set up a programme team and Homes England would expect to see this happening as quickly as possible; if this could not be agreed it would be impossible to put a programme team into place as the Council did not have the internal resources to do so. A Member noted that, whilst the Leader and Deputy Leader had indicated that this was an exciting opportunity, he felt residents who had previously flooded would see it as a worrying and frightening development as it was the water flowing from the east of the town which flooded areas such as Newtown. He also felt the J9 Area Member Reference Group had been presented with the bid rather than having any say in whether or not a bid should have been made. In response, the Leader of the Council asked Members to remember that this was not about plan-making at this stage; however, it was an exciting opportunity to set in place structures to allow plan-making in the right way, in the long-term, to meet the demand for housing. The report was not about planning but was about using the funding effectively to move forward and start the planning process and authorising the correct people to work on the plan. Another Member agreed with this view and indicated that, even though he was a new Member, he did not think the decision was rushed as Councillors and Officers had put a lot of work into this already in terms of the bid. He understood there was a need to develop capacity for the Council to be able to obtain the answers as to whether development in the area was the correct way forward. He felt concerns about flooding gave all the more reason to take the funding and move forward with the investigations.

18.8           The Member who had proposed the amendment confirmed that her reason for the amendment was to make it very clear that the current stage was not about delivery but about support for planning for the development. It was generally agreed that a seminar was required for all Members to be brought up to speed on the project and Officers undertook to ensure that was actioned as soon as possible.

18.9           It was proposed and seconded that consideration of the report be deferred to allow for Members to attend a seminar and gain a more thorough understanding of the issues. Upon being put to the vote, the proposal was lost. Accordingly, it was proposed, seconded and

                  RESOLVED          1. That authority be delegated to the Chief Executive, in                                         consultation with the Leader of the Council, Lead Member for                                 Built Environment and the S151 Officer, to use the capacity                               funding to fund resources (including recruitment of key staff)                                  and associated work, to help develop the necessary plans to                                support the delivery of the Garden Town programme for                                               Tewkesbury at Ashchurch.

2. That it be NOTED that Officers will continue work to develop a delivery programme in relation to the Garden Town for Tewkesbury at Ashchurch in discussion with Members (through the established Tewkesbury Borough Council governance structure), along with the relevant key stakeholders including Homes England, the local community, the parishes, Wychavon District Council, the highways authorities, and the relevant landowners/developers.

3. That authority be delegated to the Executive Committee to make all necessary decisions, along with establishing appropriate governance structures (other than those that, as a matter of legislation, are to be made by the Council and those that relate to the determination of any planning applications), to develop the necessary plans to support the delivery of the Garden Town for Tewkesbury at Ashchurch and, if successful, to make all necessary decisions to deliver the West Cheltenham Garden Village and receive further status reports as each project progresses.

Supporting documents: