Vale of Aylesbury Plan timetable update

Local Plan timetable update

The timetable for preparing the Vale of Aylesbury Local Plan (VALP) is being extended to ensure that all essential evidence is in place, before it gets sent for government approval.
The plan, which will help to accommodate national growth demand, allows for around 27,000 new homes in the Vale by 2033 – around half of this housing requirement is either already completed or has planning permission.
 This is an incredibly complex plan, which will affect the Vale for generations to come and getting it right is Aylesbury Vale District Council’s priority.
 The main reason for the extension to the timetable is a slight delay to the final Sustainability Appraisal which is being carried out by external consultants. This is a critical piece of evidence which will feed into the breadth and depth of the plan’s content and it is vital that sufficient time is allowed for it to be completed properly.
Cllr Carole Paternoster, Cabinet Member for Growth Strategy said: “Our teams are working incredibly hard to ensure VALP delivers growth responsibly. We believe this short extension is essential to making absolutely sure we have all the necessary evidence to support us in this goal. Central government have informally advised that their priority is to ensure we are progressing with a sound plan, and that they understand the need for a short extension. ”
Work on the plan will continue during the summer, including continuing discussions with key stakeholders to ensure we have addressed all potential issues.
Following the new timetable, there will be changes to some key meeting dates. VALP Scrutiny on 11 July will still take place to receive an update on the key evidence documents. .
The proposed submission plan will be considered by VALP Scrutiny on 26 September, Cabinet on 10 October and Council on 18 October. The plan will then be published for public comment, before being submitted for independent examination in January - two months later than previously publicised.
News of all updates can be found at www.aylesburyvaledc.gov.uk/valp

East West Rail Public Consultation 2017

Latest information from the East west Rail Consortium:

 Network Rail is proposing to improve the railway between Oxford and Bedford, and Milton Keynes, Aylesbury and Princes Risborough by upgrading disused and underused rail track to provide a new rail link between these important conurbations, and provide additional routes and capacity for both passengers and freight. On completion, this new rail link will connect the Great Western, Chiltern, West Coast and Midland Main Lines north of London and become a vital strategic rail link in Britain’s rail network.

In September 2015 Network Rail consulted on plans to upgrade and reconstruct existing and mothballed sections of line linking Bedford-Bicester and Milton Keynes-Princes Risborough as part of the East West Rail Western Section Phase 2 project. We will require statutory powers under a Transport and Works Act Order (TWAO) granted by the Secretary of State for Transport in order to construct, maintain and operate the project.

We have undertaken further development following the first round of consultation and will be holding a second round of consultation beginning on 30 June and ending on 11 August 2017. 

We will be holding a number of public exhibitions to give local communities and local residents a chance to view our plans and give feedback.  The project team will be available at all events to answer any queries.

These events will take place at the following times and venues: 

Location	Date	Time	Address
Bicester	10 July	12-8pm	John Paul II Centre, Henley House, The Causeway, OX26 6AW
Bletchley	11 July	12-8pm	Scots Sports and Social Club, Selbourne Avenue, MK3 5BX
Winslow	12 July	12-8pm	Public Hall, Elmfields Gate, MK18 3JG
Launton	13 July	12-8pm	Sports and Social Club, Bicester Road, OX26 5DP
Waddeson	14 July	12-8pm	Waddesdon Village Hall, Baker Street, HP18 0LQ
Newton Longville	17 July	3-7pm	2 Paradise, MK17 0AQ
Bedford	18 July	12-8pm	Harpur Suite, St. Paul’s Square, MK40 1SJ
Marston Moretaine	19 July	12-8pm	The Forest Centre, Station Road, MK43 0PR
Charndon	20 July	3-7pm	Community Centre, Charndon Playing Fields, Steeple Claydon Road, OX27 0BL
Princes Risborough	21 July	12-8pm	Elim Church@Risborough, 9 Bell Street, HP27 0DE

Update from Transport for Bucks

Latest news from Transport for Bucks:

 Multi-million pound road improvements scheme launched

Buckinghamshire County Council has announced this week (Tuesday March 22) a spend of £11 million in the coming year on surfacing work on over 50 miles of roads and pavements across the county.

It's part of the Council's £15.9m package of investment in road improvements in 2017/18, and is in addition to nearly £9m on routine maintenance - pothole filling, safety fencing, gulley emptying, street lighting - by Transport for Buckinghamshire (TfB).

This brings to around £110m the amount the County Council has invested since 2011 on road surfacing to improve, maintain, and prolong the life and condition of Buckinghamshire's network.

The work identified for 2017-18 continues this rolling programme of priority work, and similar programmes are planned for future years.
More than 100 roads in Buckinghamshire will be surfaced in 2017-18, and preparatory work is due to start in early April followed by the main surfacing treatments from May onwards.

The list of roads, to be finalised by the end of March, is a combination of surfaces needing priority treatment through condition testing, and roads chosen by local councillors under the guidance of TfB engineers.

Mark Kemp, Director of Growth, Strategy and Highways at the council said:

"What we don't do with that sort of money is just go round filling in individual potholes. We do do some of that, but a lot of it is spent on more proactive work patching up a range of areas."

"This is prioritised by the condition of the ground underneath the road, how well the road is performing and how busy it is."

Some of the questions BCC ask when deciding which roads take priority are:

• How many people are affected by that road?

• What is the volume of traffic on it?

• What are the types of traffic travelling on that road?.

• Is it in a cycle lane?

• Are the potholes in a place where people are likely to hit them?

The council also grade road conditions so they can be proactive in doing maintenance work. Mark added:

"For the overall condition of the road, we grade it green, amber or red. What we try and do is spend money on roads in the amber area that are heading towards the red. This is because we can then spread the money much further spending it on those roads, instead of doing a total reconstruction of them."

Managing Director of East West Rail appointed

From the East West Rail website

Network Rail and Abellio have announced that Phil Verster will be moving to become managing director of the East West rail project that was announced by Transport Secretary Chris Grayling last month.

He will take up his new post in the spring.

Phil’s successor has been agreed and will be announced in the coming days.

Mark Carne, chief executive of Network Rail said: “Phil has done a great job setting up the ScotRail Alliance and overseeing the delivery of one of the largest programmes of rail modernisation in Scotland since Victorian times. I am delighted that a leader of Phil’s calibre will be heading up the new East West rail project, recently announced by the Secretary of State. We have agreed a replacement to succeed Phil and will be making an announcement shortly.”

Dominic Booth, managing director, Abellio UK said: “Phil has played a key role in helping us create the ScotRail Alliance, the first time an operating company has come together in such a deep alliance with Network Rail to deliver the very best for our customers. We are currently investing in a fleet of 70 new trains, which will transform the rail travel experience of our customers.”

Phil Verster said: “Over the last two years I have worked with my team to launch the ScotRail Alliance, delivering hundreds of commitments and laying the ground for the exciting new train fleets that will start to arrive later this year. The opportunity to build on these same principles with the creation of a new business such as East West Rail is great for me and my family, and I wish the ScotRail Alliance team all the best for the future.”

The photo above was taken at the site of the new Winslow Station scheduled to open in 2022.

Verney Junction Garden Village

A proposal for a new 'Garden Village' of 6,500 houses rising to 13,000 was submitted to AVDC the day after the public consultation on the draft VALP closed.

It was submitted by a consortium including A2 Dominion and Garden Cities LLP and the details can be seen on their website:

http://www.verneyjunction.com/

From their website:

The site is located between Bicester and Bletchley and centred on the former Verney Junction railway station on the old Varsity Line, which connected Oxford and Cambridge. The former station is located on the proposed line for the new East West Rail route.

The site is within the Steeple Claydon and Winslow wards at District Council level and is covered by East Claydon, Middle Claydon and Steeple Claydon Parish Councils. 

Needless to say I am totally opposed to these appalling proposals which would destroy our beautiful unspoilt villages and landscape and will fight tooth and nail against them if they ever threaten to become reality.

County Council role following HS2 Royal Assent

Following Royal Assent, relevant local authorities (including BCC) now have a role in “approving” matters of detail relating to the design of the railway, which will place a number of new burdens on the county council.

Negotiations on the Service Level Agreement (SLA) and subsequent Funding Agreement – the mechanism for HS2/DfT to fund local authorities – have been on-going for many months and is still not finalised. 

Currently HS2 Ltd has agreed to fund two highway posts officers via the Funding Agreement but the detail on funding on other elements (flood, ecology, administration, management) have yet to be agreed. Unfortunately HS2 are not being consistent or transparent in the discussions and have changed their position on the funding. This makes planning difficult and risks that we will not have secured enough resource to deal with applications when they are submitted.

We have undertaken and provided an analysis to demonstrate the resource that would be required to fulfil our future duties. This analysis includes a large number of assumptions and caveated as a result of the uncertainty and lack of clarity of their programme.

·         Quick agreement needed on the Funding Agreement & SLA – work in progress and confirmation expected in the next 2 weeks.

·         HS2 to provide the necessary resource to cover the new burdens

·         HS2/DfT cover all BCC’s project management costs of delivering HS2 Assurances to ensure they are successfully delivered 

The County Council role post Royal Assent

The hybrid Act gives HS2 Ltd a lot of power. The County Council has limited/ little power or recourse now that HS2 is an Act. Legislation refers to “approvals” which is not a true reflection of the process because if the Council fail to respond within the timeframe set out in the Act it is deemed approved.

Our role:

•      To inform not to consult or engage (this is HS2 project not the Council’s and we are not resourced to do so) however we have the skills and experience to support

•      To consider lorry routes

•      To consider temporary and permanent highways works

•      To coordinate across disciplines

•      To oversee delivery of Assurances

Campaign Leaflet for the Bucks County Council Elections May 4th 2017