Councillor Stephens introduced the item.

Having considered all of the information including the information at item 15Cabinet:

1. Approved the Business Case attached to the report;

2. Allocated £12,808,832 for the project into the Capital Programme funded by:

·         £8,897,042 ringfenced Department for Transport grant funding allocated specifically for this scheme.

·         £3,911,790 un-ringfenced Integrated Transport Block grant funding that PCC is able to use to fund its transport priorities.

3. Authorised the procurement process set out in the report.

4. Delegated contract award decisions to the Service Director for Strategic Planning and Infrastructure where they do not already have authority to do so.

5. Instructs officers to work with the Cabinet Members for Planning and Infrastructure and Environment and Climate Change, in addition to relevant specialists from PCC’s Net Zero and Environmental Planning teams, to develop a comprehensive Climate Impact Assessment following the first consultation process to be reported to Cabinet prior to the next phase of consultation.

Councillor Stephens (Cabinet Member for Strategic Planning and Transport)introduced the item and highlighted the following points: 

a)    60,000 vehicles a day passed through the A38 ManadonInterchange and it was the busiest junction in the City and was a pinch point on the city’s road network; 
 

                              i.        It was where the A386 connecting the city north to south, met the A38, connecting the city east to west; 
 

                             ii.        The A38 was the only road on the strategic road network managed by National Highways; 
 

                            iii.        It was a three-tier interchange, with the A38 running underneath, a roundabout in the middle and a flyover carrying the A386 across the top; 
 

                            iv.        The junction was at the confluence of the city’s growth areas as set out within the joint local plan (JLP), and without additional capacity at Manadon, future growth would be constrained; 

b)    Derriford Hospital was undergoing a major redevelopment with a £140 million pound investment into its healthcare estate, with plans for future investment; 

c)    The Ministry of Defence (MoD) had announced a£4.4 billion investment at Devonport, demonstrating Plymouth’s importance in defence of the country; 
 

d)    The improvements to this interchange would complement other network improvements such as the Forder Valley Link Road, Derriford Hospital improvements and the Woolwell to the George transport scheme; 

e)    The interchange was part of the adopted statutory planning framework, the JLP identified the northern corridor as one of three priority growth areas to deliver regionally significant number of homes and jobs; 

f)     The scheme would also include extensive walking and cycling provisions, including; 
 

                              i.        A new cycle bridge across the A38; 
 

                             ii.        A continuous 2-way north/south cycle route; 
 

                            iii.        Improved pedestrian bridges; 
 

                            iv.        Enhanced pedestrian links to local areas of green space; 
 

                             v.        New bus priority on Mannamead Road and at Crownhill; 

g)    The impact of reducing congestion on Manadonwould see an overall reduction in carbon emissions long-term;

h)    The government’s large local majors program provided 85% of the funding for the Manadoninterchange; 

i)     The scheme had program entry status, meaning that it was within the Department for Transport’s national program of capital investments that it was committed to; 

j)     The decision for Cabinet was to consider the remainder of the development funding, which was £12.8 million pound, into the capital program to progress the scheme to final business case, as set out in the report; 

k)    Although the decision would provide authorisation to prepare the final business case, it did not provide authorisation to construct the scheme at this stage; 

l)     Delivering the final schemehad an estimated cost of £156.4 million; 

m)  Anticipated start for the scheme was considered to be Winter 2028; 

n)    If Cabinet decided to proceed, the project team would produce a detailed scheme design, progress the submission of a planning application and refine the land and buildings that need to be acquiredto allow construction; 

o)    The decision would not give consent for third-party land purchases, which would be the subject of a separate decision at a later date; 
 

p)    Councillors and officers were keen to get the results back from the recent, extensive public consultation to help guide work on the next phase of the design; 
 

q)    Officers had been having positive discussions with potentially affected households and other stakeholders. 

Councillor Briars-Delve (Cabinet Member for Environment and Climate Change) highlighted the following points aroundthe Climate Impact Assessment (CIA); 

r)    CIAs ensured that all projects that PCC led on considered eight different environmental aspects, bothin terms of net zero but also natural infrastructure also to improving transparency with the public and improving environmental outcomes; 

s)     It was his personal opinion that the CIA was not comprehensive. 

In response to questions, supported by Paul Barnard (Service Director, Strategic Planning and Infrastructure), the following was discussed: 

t)     The usual process with a project of this nature was to make an allowance for any property acquisitions that might be needed, but this was not part of the decision being taken at this time; 

u)    The team always preferred to secure a negotiated solution to property acquisition, using compulsory purchase orders (CPOs) as a last resort;

v)    Frustration that local Councillors for the area had been misrepresenting the impact and scope of the scheme to local residents. 

The Cabinetagreed to: 

1.    Approve the Business Case; 
 

2.    Allocate £12,808,832 for the project into the Capital Programme funded by: £8,897,042 ringfenced Department for Transport grant funding allocated specifically for this scheme. £3,911,790 un-ringfenced Integrated Transport Block grant funding that PCC was able to use to fund its transport priorities; 
 

3.    Authorise the procurement process set out in the report;

4.    Delegate contract award decisions to the Service Director for Strategic Planning and Infrastructure, where they do not already have authority to do so; 
 

5.    Instruct officers to work with Cabinet members for planning and infrastructure and environment and climate change, in addition to relevant specialists from PCC’s net zero and environmental planning teams, to develop a comprehensive climate impact assessment, following the first consultation process to be reported to Cabinet prior to the next phase of consultation.