Decision details

The Cabinet:

1.    Approved the land assembly strategy for the City Centre Road project as attached at Appendix 1.

2.    Gave delegated authority to the Director of Regeneration on the advice of the City Solicitor in consultation with the Leader with Portfolio responsibility for Planning, Regeneration & Economic Development to negotiate and complete acquisitions of legal interests, on the basis of the statutory CPO Compensation Code, in land required for the delivery of the City Centre Road scheme.

3.    Gave delegated authority to the Director of Regeneration to procure and appoint specialist advisers for:

·           Land referencing Agents

·           Specialist compulsory purchase surveyors

4.    Approved the progress of all work necessary to establish a case for compulsory purchase of land required for the City Centre Road scheme.

5.    Approved, in principle, the use of compulsory purchase powers for the acquisition of land to deliver the City Centre Road scheme (indicatively shown in red on the attached plan at Appendix 2) and note that the making of any compulsory purchase order will be subject to Members being satisfied in all respects that the criteria in paragraphs 3.19 have been met.  Members are also asked to note that the redline area shown on the plan is currently widely drawn around the entire City Centre Road scheme application site area.  It is not anticipated that all land/interests shown will need to be acquired to deliver the scheme however, a degree of flexibility prior to detailed technical approval of the scheme and its mitigation, is required at this stage.   Officers will take all reasonable measures to minimise the need to acquire third party interests in accordance with CPO Guidance and the existing design approach to the scheme.

6.    Noted that Officers will need to seek a future resolution to grant the Director of Regeneration and the City Solicitor authority, in accordance with section 122 of the Local Government Act 1972, to declare that any land acquired or held and required for the delivery of the City Centre Road scheme may, where they conclude that it is no longer needed for its present purpose, appropriate the land for such statutory purpose as necessary to deliver the City Centre Road scheme, and to authorise the overriding of such easements, rights, or other adverse matters burdening the land, where that is needed to deliver the scheme, in reliance on section 203 of the Housing and Planning Act 2016.