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

One million pounds in additional mitigation grant secured from High Speed Two for Steeple Claydon area

It is excellent news that Steeple Claydon and the surrounding villages have secured £ 1m to cover additional local environmental mitigation from High Speed Two.

From the HS2 final report:

'The Secretary of State, recognising the particular situation at this location with the introduction of major infrastructure (the Infrastructure Maintenance Depot) into an environmentally sensitive area, will make
available the sum of £ 1m (to be paid within 90 days of Royal Assent) to Aylesbury Vale District Council to
support further local environmental mitigation which is over and beyond that proposed in the Environmental Statement or related detailed design subject to Aylesbury Vale District Council confirming and agreeing such proposals with the Promoter.     Proposals for this additional mitigation will be discussed further at the Community Liaison Group, including with the representatives of Aylesbury Vale District Council, Buckinghamshire County Council, and the four parish councils of Steeple Claydon, Calvert Green, Charndon and Twyford attending that meeting.'

I look forward to receiving more details about the criteria and process of allocating this funding.

Government confirms its commitment to East West Rail

From the East West Rail website:

The Government has confirmed its commitment to delivering the East West Rail links from Oxford to Bedford and Milton Keynes via Bletchley, and Milton Keynes to London Marylebone via Aylesbury.

Sir Peter Hendy, chairman of Network Rail, published his review of the nationwide Railway Upgrade Plan on 25th November 2015.  His report confirms that the second phase of the Western Section of East West Rail will go ahead with development work continuing and delivery starting as soon as possible before March 2019 (referred to as Control Period 5 or CP5), for completion in the following five-year railway control period (Control Period 6 or CP6).

Sir Peter’s report states:

“During CP5 development work will continue into the full re-opening of the route between Bicester and Bletchley – a project which will enable trains to operate between Oxford/Aylesbury and Milton Keynes/Bedford (East West Rail Phase 2) and delivery will be started as soon as possible.”

Further development work, now being done by the newly-appointed EWR2 Alliance, is needed before final delivery dates can be confirmed.

Cllr Rodney Rose, Deputy Leader of Oxfordshire County Council and chairman of the Joint Delivery Board for East West Rail, said:

“We have met with Sir Peter Hendy of Network Rail. The vital importance of East-West Rail to improve connectivity within our region, as well as part of the national strategic rail network, is well understood. The new train services on East West Rail are vital to support economic growth, planned housing developments and the creation of thousands of new jobs. We understand the challenges ahead. Our joint delivery approach means that we are using the combined expertise of Network Rail and the local authorities within the East West Rail Consortium to accelerate the delivery process.”

Martin Frobisher, Network Rail, route managing director, said: “The railway is vital to Britain’s economic health. We are carrying out East West Rail (EWR), part of our national Railway Upgrade Plan, because we care about giving train passengers what they want and about building a strong economic future for people in the regions this scheme will connect.

“Such is our commitment to delivering East West Rail as soon as possible, we have just awarded alliancing contracts for Phase 2 (EWR2). An alliance of Atkins, Laing O’Rourke, VolkerRail and Network Rail will design and construct EWR2, linking Oxford to Bedford and Milton Keynes via Bletchley, and Milton Keynes to London Marylebone via Aylesbury.

“A connection from Oxford to Ipswich via Milton Keynes, Bedford and Cambridge is a vital missing piece in our country’s rail network. That’s the end goal of EWR. Phase 2 will be major step towards making that a reality.”

Martin added: “As the development work continues to finalise the scope and develop more detailed designs, we will be able to give more precise dates for construction. We recently completed a successful first round of public consultation, which showed a high level of public support and yielded valuable feedback on our initial proposals. The project team will now refine these proposals ahead of a second round of consultation in 2016.”

AVDC Garden waste services

From the AVDC website:

Garden Waste Service

Arrange a garden waste collection

Correction to Aylesbury Vale Times garden waste collection dates

Easter weekend has been printed wrongly in the garden waste section of page 12 
of the Aylesbury Vale Times.

Any garden waste collections which would have taken place on Easter Monday, the 28 March, 
will now take place on Saturday 2 April.

Garden waste collections on Monday 4 April will still happen and remain unaffected.

The revised dates for the May bank holiday garden waste collections are correct, 
as are the revised dates for Good Friday collections of normal waste.

We apologise for the error and any confusion it may cause.

How does the service work?

We provide a large brown wheeled bin that we empty fortnightly between February
and November.
We will collect your garden waste bin on the Monday of the same week as your
household waste bin.

New Customers

You can sign up to the service via the Aylesbury Vale My Account at any time of the year.
Your service will automatically continue each year unless you ask us to cancel it.

How much does the garden waste service cost?

One annual payment of £38, payable by direct debit. (on Friday 1 April the price
will increase to £40)

A £4.50 admin fee will be applied to any other payment method.

What can I put in my garden waste bin?

• grass and hedge cuttings
• garden plants and fallen fruit
• leaves
• small branches and twigs (up to wrist thickness – about 10cm)
• tree and shrub prunings
• most weeds, except noxious weeds such as :
• Japanese Knotweed, Ragwort and Giant Hogweed

How much garden waste will you collect?

You can order up to six garden waste bins per household (each bin is charged separately).

If you don’t think you’ll fill a bin each fortnight, consider sharing it with a neighbour.
We’ll register the account with one resident and collect from that address.

How else can I dispose of my garden waste?

You can compost garden waste at home or take it to your local Household Waste and 
Recycling Centre.

Please don’t put garden waste in your household waste bin.

Report a missed collection

If we’ve missed your bin, let us know within 24 hours of your collection date and we’ll
empty it that same week.

Gladmans appeal against planning decision and new application for 60 houses North End Road

Gladmans the developers have appealed against the refusal of permission for their application to build 80 houses off North End Road, and the public enquiry for this appeal will be held on 12th Jan 2016.

They have also submitted a new application for 60 houses on the same site which in my view does not address any of the issues which caused the original application to be refused.

I have sent a written representation to AVDC on this new application as follows:

As District Councillor for Steeple Claydon I oppose this application on the following grounds:

- the reasons for rejection remain the same as for the previous application for 80 houses on the same site and the new application does nothing to mitigate the issues and concerns previously raised.

- the site is outside the settlement pattern of the village and extends into open countryside. There would be a harmful environmental impact on surrounding properties and loss of the attractive perspective of the village on approaching from the north. There is no connection between this site, which is surrounded by green spaces, and the existing settlement area in the village.

- approval of this application would pre-empt the local decision making process through the neighbourhood plan which is in development. It should be for local residents to determine where new developments should be located.

- a number of recent small-scale developments have been competed in West St, Oak Leys and Addison Road which have blended in with the surrounding area. The size, scale and density of this proposed development is out of scale with the existing village settlement and would not benefit or enhance the village.

- the development is not sustainable: there is very limited local employment and a poor public transport system. 95% of the village residents commute out by car to work and the development would add to the traffic pressure on the limited rural road network which is already under strain. - there would be additional pressure on local facilities such as the surgery and school. - there has been a long history of flooding and drainage problems at the northern end of the village and this development would exacerbate the problems.

- North End Road is quite unsuitable to cope with the additional traffic which this development would generate - there is no pavement, there are parked cars on both sides, and there are two sharp bends. There is no safe or suitable pedestrian access to the centre of the village.

Threatened delay to East West Rail reopening

I am very concerned to hear of the threatened delay in the timetable for reopening the East West Rail line which passes through the Claydons, and which was scheduled to reopen in March 2019.

From the East West Rail website:

Statement from East West Rail Consortium
3rd November 2015

Local authorities in the East West Rail Consortium are concerned that the project to create a new railway for services between Oxford and Bedford, Aylesbury and Milton Keynes may be delayed by between three and seven years.

The Consortium understands that there is a draft recommendation for East West Rail to be delivered in three phases, with Bedford to Oxford being rescheduled for completion in 2022; Aylesbury to Milton Keynes in 2024; and enhancements to the line between Aylesbury and Princes Risborough in 2026.

This recommendation by Network Rail is understood to be based on both cost and deliverability issues. It came to light shortly after a first round of public consultation by Network Rail on emerging proposals for the project, which revealed a high level of support from the public and businesses.

Sir Peter Hendy, Chairman of Network Rail, is re-planning all railway enhancements projects that were due to be delivered by March 2019, the end of the current five-year investment period (known as CP5). This review was requested by the Secretary of State Patrick McLoughlin, as a result of escalating costs on major enhancement schemes such as the Great Western Electrification Programme. (See News 2 July 2015)

Local authorities within the East West Rail Consortium are now seeking discussions with Sir Peter Hendy and Government.

I am taking every opportunity to lobby our local MPs and government ministers about the importance of East West Rail to our local communications and economy, and to keep to the original timetable.