Hillingdon Council Cabinet Member and Officer Decisions
New Allocation & Capital Release of S106 Contributions 2023/24: Bakers Road, Uxbridge Improvement Works (Release No 2)
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Democratic Services Location: Phase II Ext: 0693 DDI: 01895 250693 CMD No: 827 To: COUNCILLOR MARTIN GODDARD CABINET MEMBER FOR FINANCE COUNCILLOR JONATHAN BIANCO CABINET MEMBER PROPERTY, HIGHWAYS AND TRANSPORT c.c. All Members of the Property, Highways and Transport Select Committee c.c. Nicola Wyatt – Place Directorate c.c. Perry Scott – Corporate Director of Place c.c. Ward Councillors for Uxbridge Date: 02 June 2023 Non-Key Decision request Form D NEW ALLOCATION OF S.106 CONTRIBUTIONS & CAPITAL RELEASE 2023/24: Bakers Road, Uxbridge – Improvement Works Release No 2 Dear Cabinet Member Attached is a report requesting that a decision be made by you as an individual Cabinet Member. Democratic Services confirm that this is not a key decision, as such, the Local Authorities (Executive Arrangements) (Meetings and Access to Information) (England) Regulations 2012 notice period does not apply. You should take a decision on or after Monday 12 June 2023 in order to meet Constitutional requirements about publication of decisions that are to be made. You may wish to discuss the report with the Corporate Director before it is made. Please indicate your decision on the duplicate memo supplied, and return it to me when you have made your decision. I will then arrange for the formal notice of decision to be published. Steve Clarke Democratic Services Officer Title of Report: New Allocation of S.106 Contributions & Capital Release 2023/24: Bakers Road, Uxbridge – Improvement Works - Release No 2 Decision made: Reasons for your decision: (e.g. as stated in report) Alternatives considered and rejected: (e.g. as stated in report) Signed ……………………………………………………… Date…………………….. Cabinet Member for Finance / Cabinet Member for Property, Highways And Transport Capital Release Report – 02 June 2023 Part 1 - Public NEW ALLOCATION OF S.106 CONTRIBUTIONS & CAPITAL RELEASE 2023/24: Bakers Road, Uxbridge – Improvement Works Release No 2 Cabinet Members Councillor Martin Goddard Councillor Jonathan Bianco Cabinet Portfolios Cabinet Member for Finance Cabinet Member for Property, Highways and Transport Officer Contact Nicola Wyatt - Place Directorate Papers with report Appendix A - Capital release requests for approval Appendix B – Proposed works HEADLINES Summary To seek Cabinet Member approval to allocate and release funds from the s106 contributions held at PT/226/438A towards measures which will improve bus operation and enhance passenger experience and the public realm. Putting our Residents First Delivering on the Council Strategy 2022-2026 This report supports our ambition for residents / the Council of: Live active and healthy lives. This report supports our commitments to residents of: A Green and Sustainable Borough. This report supports the delivery of the Hillingdon Transport for London Local Implementation Plan 3. Financial Cost This report seeks the allocation and release of £ 42,533 from s106 funds made available from the redevelopment of Westcombe House, 36-38 Windsor Street approved within the London Borough of Hillingdon and detailed within this report towards measures that will improve bus operation and enhance passenger experience and the public realm. The works will commence upon release of the funds and are due for completion by March 2024. Relevant Select Committee Property, Highways and Transport Select Committee Ward(s) affected Uxbridge Capital Release Report – 02 June 2023 Part 1 - Public RECOMMENDATIONS That the Cabinet Member for Finance and the Cabinet Member for Property, Highways and Transport: 1) a pprove the allocation of £42,533 from the s106 contribution held at PT/226/438A to be used towards measures which will impr ove bus operation and enhance passenger experience and the public realm at Bakers Road, Uxbridge; and 2) a pprove the capital release requesting £4 2,533 towards the scheme, as outlined in Appendix A to this report. Reasons for recommendations In accordance with the Council ’s Constitution, the allocation of Section 106 ( s106) and Section 278 (s278) funds is required to be formally approved by the Cabinet Member for Finance on a case-by-case basis – and any capital release, in conjunction with the relevant Cabinet portfolio holder. This report requests the approval for the s106 funds held at case references detailed in this report to be committed as outlined in this report. Alternative options considered The Cabinet Members may agree to fund the scheme and/or suggest alternative projects to which funds could be allocated within the terms of the relevant legal agreements. If the s106 funds are not allocated to an appropriate scheme, the unspent funds may need to be refunded. Select Committee comments None at this stage. SUPPORTING INFORMATION 1. Planning obligations, or s.106 agreements, are an established mechanism for mitigating planning effects arising from development proposals. The agreements are usually negotiated within the context of planning applications, between local planning authorities and persons with an interest in the piece of land (owners, leaseholders or developers). They are intended to make development acceptable, which would otherwise be unacceptable in planning terms. 2. Any s.106 monies generated from planning agreements must be spent on their intended purpose and that the associated development contributes to the sustainability of the area by addressing the impacts of the development proposals. As a result, expenditure of s.106 funds must relate to a specific development and must be in accordance with the corresponding legal agreements. If a contribution is not used for the intended purpose or not spent within the period allocated in the s.106 agreement, the monies may need to be returned. Capital Release Report – 02 June 2023 Part 1 - Public S106 contribution held at case reference PT/226/438A Details of contribution 3. A contribution of £42,533.64 (including indexation) has been received by the Council in accordance with an obligation contained in a s106 agreement dated 21 November 2017 and relating to the redevelopment of Westcombe House, 36 -38 Windsor Street, Uxbridge (planning reference 13544/APP/2017/3388). The funds were received as the “Public Realm Contribution”, to be used by the Council towards measures that will enhance the public realm and broaden travel choice in Uxbridge Town Centre. These may include but are not limited to works to improve the surroundings along Bakers Yard and the support of the bicycle loan scheme. There is no time limit for spending this contribution. Planning background 4. P rior approval to change the use of Westcombe House, 36-38 from office accommodation to 33 residential units , was agreed by Major Applications Planning Committee on 19 September 2017 (planning ref: 13544/APP/2017/3388) . Approval was subject to the completion of an appropriate s106 agreement to provide a financial contribution towards measures to enhance the public realm, to help mitigate the impact of the development and integrate the site into the local area. A contribution of £40,000 (plus indexation) was subsequently received from the developer. Proposed allocation 5. Works to improve the environment in Bakers Yard were completed in 2019 as part of the Uxbridge Town Centre Major Scheme. A bike hire scheme sponsored by Santander was also implemented as part of the scheme. Officers are therefore requesting that the contribution held at PT/226/438A (£42,533) is now allocated and spent towards a scheme to provide measures that will improve bus operation to enhance passenger experience and improve the public realm in Bakers Road as outlined below. Project Proposal: Bakers Road, Uxbridge public realm improvements works 6. The bus stops along Bakers Road and the adjacent Uxbridge Underground station serve as a major public transport hub, providing travel choice to residents and t hose visiting the Borough. Bakers Road is served by eleven different bus services; these are listed in the table below – typically up to 48 buses pass through Baker s Road each hour. The greater part of Bakers Road is adopted Council highway , though a small section the far souther n end is owned by TfL. 7. A trial was recently conducted by TfL to determine if improvements to road safety, passenger experience and bus operations could be made by rationalising the way bus stops are organised. Some of these changes included moving bus drop off locations and standing arrangements outside of Baker s Road. This trial proved to be so successful that these changes have now been made permanent. In response to the success of these trials the bus shelters along Bakers Road have been repainted and new road markings provided, these improvements were funded in full by TfL. Capital Release Report – 02 June 2023 Part 1 - Public Table One. Bus services using Bakers Road Table 1: Summary of Bus Services Bus No. Route Typical hourly frequency A10 Uxbridge – Stockley Park – Heathrow 2-3/hr U1 West Drayton – Hillingdon Hospital – Brunel University – Uxbridge – Ickenham – Ruislip 3-4/hr U2 Brunel University – Hillingdon Hospital – Hillingdon Station – Uxbridge 3-5/hr U3 Heathrow – Harmondsworth – West Drayton – Hillingdon Hospital – Uxbridge 2-5/hr U4 Hayes – Botwell Lane – Hillingdon Hospital – Uxbridge 3-5/hr U5 Hayes – Stockley Park – Stockley Estate – West Drayton – Hillingdon Hospital – Cowley – Uxbridge 3-6/hr U7 Hayes Sainsbury's – Charville Lane Estate – Hayes End – Hillingdon Hospital – Uxbridge 2-3/hr U9 Harefield – South Harefield – Harvil Road – Swakeleys Road – Uxbridge 3/hr U10 Heathfield Rise – Ruislip – West Ruislip – Ickenham – Swakeleys – Uxbridge 1/hr 331 Ruislip – Northwood – Harefield – Denham – Uxbridge 3-4/hr 427 Uxbridge – Hayes End – Southall 9/hr TOTAL: 34-48/hr 8. Capital release is sought to for the following works. It is proposed to build- out the footway at the rear of Superdrug. Currently, buses are unable to pull up alongside the kerb which presents a risk to passengers as they board and alight the bus. This is because the kerb is too far back for buses manoeuvring to pull up close enough to pick up passengers. This is cause for concern as it means that passengers must step into a live carriageway to board a bus which presents a risk to their road safety, this is especially a concern for disabled and elderly passengers. Building out the footway would allow bus drivers to deploy the boarding ramp provided for disabled people, it would also provide more waiting area for passengers reducing the risk of them spilling onto the highway. 9. At the far end of Bakers Road is roundabout with a ‘ Keep Left’ sign. This sign confuses some motorists resulting in them driving into the bus garage. It is proposed to replace this sign with appropriate roundabout signage. Other improvements include the replacement of damaged pedestrian railings, upgrading all the street lighting and repaint ing all road markings. It is considered that all the above measures will improve bus operation and enhance passenger experience and the public realm. 10. The Council’s term contractor, O’Hara, would undertake all the works proposed. T he breakdown of the scheme costs is provided in Table 2. Capital Release Report – 02 June 2023 Part 1 - Public Table 2: Breakdown of scheme costs Scheme Element Contribution Civil Works to Highway £35,430 Project Engineering Fees (10%) £3,550 SUB TOTAL £38,980 Contingency £3,553 TOTAL £42,533 Financial Implications (S106 2023/24 Budget £43 k; Previously Released Nil, Capital Release Requested £ 43k) - Appendix A The report is seeking the allocation and release of £43 k form the s106 contribution held at PT/226/438A relating to the development at Westcombe House, 36-38 Windsor Street, Uxbridge towards the public realm improvements along Bakers Road, Uxbridge. The cost of the public realm improvements and associated works is based on scheduled rates within the Council’s highways term contract and includes engineer fees and contingency of 10% each. The total cost of the scheme is £43k, the release of this funding will enable the project to progress. The proposals meet the conditions stipulated by the developer in the s106 agreement on the intended use of the s106 contributions. RESIDENT BENEFIT & CONSULTATION The benefit or impact upon residents, service users and communities The recommendations will enable external funds to be spent to maximum effect to provide viable improvements for the benefit of local communities. Consultation carried out or required Consultations will be carried out as part of individual project development. CORPORATE CONSIDERATIONS Corporate Finance Corporate Finance concurs with the financial implications above, noting that the public realm improvements and associated works along Bakers Road, detailed above in the main report, will be funded from developer contributions in accordance with the planning obligation agreements. Legal Legal Services has considered the contents of the Section 106 agreement referred to in the report and concludes that the recommendation presented is consistent with the terms of the agreement. Capital Release Report – 02 June 2023 Part 1 - Public Infrastructure / Asset Management The Property and Estates team confirm that the above proposals do not impede with any plans or strategies from an asset management view. Capital Release Protocol The release of all capital funds, and certain revenue funds, held by the Council is to be made by a formal democratic decision. No expenditure can be placed or committed by officers until this formal approval is given by Democratic Services. Release of funds must be for identified projects only and strictly not for the general release of funds for projects to be identified at a later date. No block releases of capital or funding will be allowed, except if authorised by the Leader of the Council in advance to Corporate Finance. The release of funds will only be made if previous Council, Cabinet or Cabinet Member agreement has been given to the project and only if there is an approved budget. BACKGROUND PAPERS Planning Obligations Supplementary Planning Document 2014. Capital Release Report – 02 June 2023 Part 1 - Public APPENDIX A - CAPITAL RELEASE REQUESTS FOR APPROVAL S106 Capital Release 202 3/24: Uxbridge Bakers Road Improvement works. (Release No 2) Location Project / Expenditure Title Information Funds Release Sought £000’s Approve Hold More Information Required Uxbridge Bakers Road Uxbridge Bakers Road Improvement works 43 Total seeking release 43 Previously released 0 Budget 43 Remaining budget 0 Capital Release Report – 02 June 2023 Part 1 - Public APPENDIX B – PROPOSED WORKS
View Decision / Minutes Text
Executive Decision Notice – 21 June 2023 Page 1
This notice is a public document also available to view on the Council's website www.hillingdon.gov.uk
OFFICIAL EXECUTIVE DECISION NOTICE
PUBLISHED BY DEMOCRATIC SERVICES
Notice is hereby given that the following decision(s) have been made today by
Cabinet Members at the London Borough of Hillingdon:
Title of decision
NEW ALLOCATION OF S.106 CONTRIBUTIONS & CAPITAL
RELEASE 2023/24: Bakers Road, Uxbridge – Improvement
Works
Release No 2
Reference No. 827
Date of decision Wednesday 21 June 2023
Call-in expiry date Wednesday 28 June 2023
Relevant Select
Committee
Property, Highways and Transport Select Committee
Relevant Wards Uxbridge
Decision made
Cabinet Members
making the decision
Councillor Jonathan Bianco – Cabinet Member for Property,
Highways and Transport
Councillor Martin Goddard - Cabinet Member for Finance
Decision Approved
That the Cabinet Member for Finance and the Cabinet
Member for Property, Highways and Transport:
1) Approved the allocation of £ 42,533 from the s 106
contribution held at PT/226/438A to be used towards
measures which will impr ove bus operation and
enhance passenger experience and the public realm
at Bakers Road, Uxbridge; and
2) Approved the capital release requesting £4 2,533
towards the scheme, as outlined in Appendix A to
this report.
Reason for decision In accordance with the Council’s Constitution, the allocation of
Section 106 (s106) and Section 278 (s278) funds is required to
be formally approved by the Cabinet Member for Finance on a
case-by-case basis –
and any capital release, in conjunction
with the relevant Cabinet portfolio holder. This report requests
the approval for the s106 funds held at case references detailed
in this report to be committed as outlined in this report.
Executive Decision Notice – 21 June 2023 Page 2
This notice is a public document also available to view on the Council's website www.hillingdon.gov.uk
Alternative options
considered and
rejected
The Cabinet Member s could have agreed to fund the scheme
and/or suggest alterna tive projects to which funds could be
allocated within the terms of the relevant legal agreements. If
the s106 funds were not allocated to an appropriate scheme, the
unspent funds may have needed to be refunded.
Classification Public
Link to associated
report
Link to report
Relevant Officer
contact & Directorate
Nicola Wyatt – Place Directorate
Any interest declared
by the Cabinet
Member(s) /
dispensation granted
N/A
Implementation of decision & scrutiny call-in
[Internal Use only]
When can this
decision be
implemented by
officers?
Officers can implement Cabinet Member decision in this notice
only from the expiry of the scrutiny call-in period which is:
5pm on Wednesday 28 June 2023
However, this is subject to the decision not being called in by
Councillors on the relevant Select Committee. Upon receipt of a
valid call-in request, Democratic Services will immediately advise
the relevant officer(s) and the decision must then be put on hold.
Councillor scrutiny
call-in of this
decision
Councillors on the relevant Select Committee shown in this notice
may request to call -in this decision. The request must be before
the expiry of the scrutiny call-in period above.
Councillors should use the Scrutiny Call -in App (link below) on
their devices to initiate any call-in request. Further advice can be
sought from Democratic Services if required:
Scrutiny Call-In - Power Apps (secure)
Further information These decisions, w here applicable, have been taken under The
Local Authorities (Executive Arrangements) (Meetings and
Access to Information) (England) Regulations 2012.
This is the formal notice by the Council of the above executive
decision, including links to the reports where applicable.
If you would like more information on this decision, please contact
Democratic Services on 01895 250636 or email:
democratic@hillingdon.gov.uk.
Circulation of this decision notice is to a variety of people including
Members of the Council, Corporate Directors, Officers, Group
Secretariats and the Public. Copies are also placed on the
Council’s website.
Executive Decision Notice – 21 June 2023 Page 3
This notice is a public document also available to view on the Council's website www.hillingdon.gov.uk
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