Agenda item

NORTHSTOWE: s.106 Heads of Terms and Civic Hub

Decision:

Cabinet AGREED to:

(1) Endorse the draft requirements for a Section 106 Agreement for the Northstowe Phase 2 Outline Planning Application, which will be considered by the Northstowe Joint Development Control Committee (NJDCC), including: the list of items and triggers; and draft outline specifications for the health centre and library with community use, and the community hub.

(2) Delegate to the Portfolio Holder for Strategic Planning and Transportation, in consultation with the Director of Planning and New Communities, the authority to make any minor changes to the draft requirements prior to inclusion in the Northstowe Joint Development Control Committee report for the Phase 2 development.

Minutes:

Cabinet considered a report which set out the draft requirements for a Section 106 Agreement for the Northstowe Phase 2 Outline Planning Application.

Councillor Tim Wotherspoon, Portfolio Holder for Strategic Planning and Transportation, presented the report and reminded Cabinet that this item provided Members with an opportunity to consider any corporate implications arising from the draft requirements for Northstowe Phase 2. He added that it was essential to ensure that development of Northstowe Phase 2 secured appropriate provision of services and infrastructure to meet its needs properly and to ensure that development was acceptable in planning terms. This included financial contributions towards the provision and maintenance of infrastructure, services and facilities.

Councillor Wotherspoon referred Members to Appendix 1 of the report which set out an indicative timeline for delivery of community resources and anticipated housing trajectory for Northstowe. He also presented Appendix 2 which listed proposed Section 106 items and triggers for phase 2 of the Northstowe development, which comprised of the following four categories:

· education;

· civic hub and community support;

· sport and open space;

· transport.

Referring to the Community Hub, Councillor Wotherspoon reported that by the time this building was designed there would be a substantial number of Northstowe residents. It was therefore proposed that the Section 106 agreement was written so that Northstowe residents, potentially through a future town council or a community trust, would be able to steer the design and specification of the actual building and set their own priorities.

It was noted that the Homes and Communities Agency’s costings and assumptions for Northstowe Phase 2 had been tested and accepted by Her Majesty’s Treasury as part of the Government’s process for granting approval to its agencies to deliver particular projects. Through negotiation, the following positon was recommended:

· various items would be provided as part of the site infrastructure and therefore not secured through Section 106 payments;

· clear identification of contingency items;

· £73 million funding towards the Section 106 package;

· a review of viability to assess whether the level of affordable housing may be increased, to take place part way through the build-out of Phase 2.

In respect of affordable housing, the District Council’s policy requirement was for 40% subject to viability. The planning application stated 20% and this had been tested through the viability assessment. It had been agreed with the Homes and Communities Agency that the level of affordable housing should be reviewed in order to re-assess the viability and determine whether the level of affordable housing may be increased. It was proposed that such a review took place in 2019, if development had not commenced by this time, and also three years following implementation of the permission.

Discussion ensued and the following points were noted:

· it was suggested that the Homes and Communities Agency at a recent meeting of the Northstowe Joint Development Control Committee had made a commitment regarding the area of the town park in the town centre that contradicted the combined area of 1.2 hectares as stated in the report. Councillor Wotherspoon indicated no recollection of this point at the meeting, but did confirm that a letter of intent had been received from the Homes and Communities Agency to bring forward the burial ground and provide a timetable;

· the £73 million would be indexed linked over the time period up to 2030 in accordance with standard practice;

· it was very positive that a review mechanism had been included with regard to affordable housing as part of negotiations;

· reference was made to a letter that had been received from the Homes and Communities Agency in respect of existing surface water flood risk to Oakington and the surrounding area. The letter stated that the solution to localised flooding relied upon collaborative working between the Homes and Communities Agency, South Cambridgeshire District Council, and the Environment Agency, along with members of the Oakington Parish Council Environment Sub-Group of the Village Plan Committee to scope, identify and plan a series of interventions to address the issue of flood risk. Councillor Edwards made the point that Oakington Parish Council was a key body that needed to be consulted as part of this collaborative working and not solely the Environment Sub-Group;

· in requesting that the future maintenance of flood attenuation ponds in Oakington be included in the Section 106 items list, it was noted that this could not occur as the ponds did not form part of the Phase 2 planning application. It was noted, however, that consideration could be given to maintaining the Dry Drayton Road ponds out of the £3 million allocated for the long term maintenance and maintenance of onsite Sustainable Urban Drainage systems;

· the overall total of the Section 106 items, including capital, revenue and contingencies, totalled £75,590,196, which was more than the £73 million that was proposed to be provided.

Cabinet AGREED to:

Supporting documents: