Agenda item

The Council is recommended to make the resolutions set out in the report at agenda item 11.

Co-Portfolio Holder for Housing (Delivery)

114.1   The Chair of the CIL Board asked Cllr Peter Clark to introduce the item.

114.2   Cllr Clark advised that after four years of consultations on numerous proposals and designs he was pleased to have got to this stage.  He explained that the FIP was an unusual project as it was the first time all three tiers of local Authority had worked together in this way.  He advised that the recommendation made by the Executive to Council was not to address any technical aspects of the project but to approve the bid to partially fund the Town Centre improvements in Farnham. He explained that last year £14 million of funding was approved but that funding could only be drawn down once match funding had been secured via strategic contributions from both Waverley and Farnham.

114.3   It was explained that the FIP was formed in 2019 to agree the vision which was supported by three objectives for Farnham. These were: to provide well-connected communities across the town and the surrounding area; support the economic vitality of the town; and thirdly to improve the quality of place with clean air and less dominance of traffic. He explained that Farnham, like other towns in the Borough, had seen significant Housing Development both within the town and the surrounding area with no investment in its infrastructure. In Waverly's Local Plan Farnham had a housing target of over 2,000 additional homes and the NPPF stated local planning authorities should work with other authorities to assess the quality and capacity of the infrastructure and transport. This had not happened.

114.4   Members were advised that the Local Plan was supported by the infrastructure delivery plan which identified an infrastructure requirement for Farnham town centre, funded from a mix of funding from CIL and strategic. This had not happened yet. This lack of investment in Farnham, over many years, had left its road network struggling to cope with the increase in traffic. This has resulted in significant congestion and a severe impact on the town's air quality. Waverly had a legal duty to provide an air quality action plan and the latest one has three priorities - two of which specifically relate to the FIP: To work with Surrey County Council to ensure that the Farnham infrastructure project was agreed and delivered and secondly to report on an annual basis the impact the Farnham Infrastructure Project would make on Waverley's clean air strategy.

114.5   Cllr Clark recommended that members give the green light to this recommendation.

114.6   Cllr Beaman welcomed the Executive Working Group’s recommendation. He explained that there had been many studies which had put forward proposals to resolve Farnham’s traffic problems but to date none had been implemented. He highlighted that the geographical and historical restraints restricted what could be done without materially affecting the character of the town. Whilst the ultimate answer would be a western relief road to allow the town centre to be pedestrianised it was recognized that this would generate even greater traffic and would be unlikely to meet climate change objectives. He emphasised that whilst the proposals that had been identified in the FIP may not be perfect they were realistic and achievable and improved the situation for the Town Centre.

114.7   Cllr Beaman gave credit to the County Council, as the Highway Authority, in particular the leader Cllr Tim Oliver, who had shown that three levels of local government, all under different political control, could work together to achieve real overall benefits. He hoped that all members would support the group's recommendation.

114.8   Cllr Cockburn advised it was with great relief we had got this far. She gave her full support to the proposals and reiterated Cllr Beamans comments around the work and support of Cllr Tim Oliver.

114.9   Cllr Palmer highlighted the range of projects that had been considered and how some had not evidenced the wider community benefit and wider community support.  He welcomed the long term vision on how the costs for the project would be covered in the long term.

114.10 Cllr Macleod highlighted the issues around Farnham having four ‘A’ roads going through it and the large amount of traffic going through. He recommended Members support this proposal.

114.11 Cllr Murray welcomed the fact the proposal was so straight forward and not controversial. He acknowledged this was a project long in the planning and approaching its final hurdle. He thanked everyone involved for their commitment and urged Members to approve the recommendation.

114.12 Cllr Alan Earwaker expressed his delight, as Mayor of Farnham Town Council, for the unanimity within the Chamber.

The Mayor moved to the vote and Council voted unanimously to approve the recommendation.

RESOLVED:

The Council approves to award £3,253,726.00 CIL funding to Surrey County Council for the Farnham Infrastructure Programme (Town Centre Improvement Scheme) to Council, split equally across the financial year 2023/24 and 2024/25 (£1,626,863.00).