In accordance with Chichester District Council’s scheme for public question time the Council will receive any questions which have been submitted by members of the public in writing by noon two working days before the meeting. Each questioner will be given up to three minutes to ask their question. The total time allocated for public question time is 15 minutes subject to the Chair’s discretion to extend that period.
Minutes:
The Chair explained that a member of the public, a local resident submitted a long and technical question which they indicated they would prefer to be addressed by a written response. The question and its response have therefore been included in the minutes for this meeting but at the request of the questioner and with the approval of the Chair the question was not read out.
The question and answer were as follows:
Question from James Rank:
Dear Chair
The public have been told 'the Chichester Local Plan is unlikely to meet the full housing targets set by the Government due to a lack of external funding for infrastructure improvements’, specifically 'improvements to the A27 Chichester Bypass, including the Stockbridge Link Road.’
In 2018 The Government consulted on the creation of the Major Roads Network with a view to a specific new funding stream dedicated to improvements on MRN roads.(1).
The objectives of this funding were to ‘reduce congestion’, support economic growth’, 'support the Strategic Road Network’ and ’support housing delivery’ (2).
For roads to qualify for MRN funding certain criteria needed to be met. The A286 South of Chichester was included in the DfT MRN Consultation (3) and recommended for inclusion in funding which would include major road enhancements such as 'structural renewals' and 'missing links'.
Given the SLR appears to already meet the criteria for MRN funding, given the recommended DfT funding contribution for MRN projects of £20m-£50m would appear to equal the shortfall in funding identified by CDC for infrastructure improvements, and given the Planning Inspector needs to see that this Council has investigated every single option (4) then my questions are (a) can The Leader confirm whether an application for MRN funding has been made to the DfT (5) and if not, what were the reasons? and (b) would the Council consider working with WSCC and the MP to ensure the A286 South of Chichester is included at the 5-yearly review of qualifying MRN roads and a future application for funding made?
(1) https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/major-road-network-and-large-local-majors-programmes-investment-planning/major-road-network-and-large-local-majors-programmes-investment-planning-guidance
(2) https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/765665/creation-of-the-major-road-network-government-response.pdf
(3) https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/670527/major-road-network-consultation.pdf
(4) https://www.chichester.gov.uk/article/35707/Funding-gap-for-infrastructure-improvements-means-that-the-Chichester-Local-Plan-is-unlikely-to-meet-Governments-housing-targets
(5) https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/major-road-network-and-large-local-majors-programmes-investment-planning
Thank you for considering this question.
James Rank
Answer from Cllr Taylor:
Thank you for your question. Given your reference to MRN funding, West Sussex County Council which is responsible for the A286 has assisted in this response. The Major Road Network (MRN) was created by the Department for Transport (DfT) to facilitate upgrades to the most strategically important local roads to support the strategic role of the National Strategic Road Network (i.e. motorways and trunk roads). The A286 is not a strategic road and passes through a number of rural communities so the County Council’s strategy is to manage this as a local road and facilitate more use of active travel (i.e. walking and cycling) and buses, rather than to upgrade it to facilitate an increase in general traffic. In its response to the DfT consultation on creation of the MRN, the County Council requested that the A286 was not included because traffic flow and the proportion of Heavy Goods Vehicles on the A286 did not meet the DfT’s criteria for roads on the MRN and that remains the case today.
If the volume and composition of traffic on A286 were to change in the future (or DfT change the criteria), then it may be possible to request that the A286 is added to the MRN at a future review which would potentially make the Stockbridge Link Road eligible for MRN funding (as it would be designated A286). However, it should be noted that in order to apply for MRN funding, improvements to the A286 would need to be prioritised above other priorities across the County. There are already more aspirations for improvements on the MRN than the County Council is likely to be able to deliver, at least in the next 5-10 years, so a funding application cannot be guaranteed. Furthermore, at the present time it is also unclear what level of funding may be available for the DfT’s MRN programme in the future as this is currently subject to the outcome of the Government’s Spending Review.
In conclusion, in respect of your first question, WSCC as local highway authority has not, for the reasons outlined, made an MRN funding application for the A286 and/or Stockbridge Link Road and in answer to your 2nd question, the potential for a future funding application to be justified, appears at this stage to be unlikely but will be kept under future review. In light of this, MRN funding is not considered to be a source of funding that is available to support delivery of the Stockbridge Link Road.