Agenda item

Mr Hunt asked the following question of the Leader or his nominee:

 

“1.    Many people in the north of the county are concerned that a new settlement of approximately 4,700 homes could be without adequate infrastructure or services, thereby impacting significantly on the north of the county.  What reassurance can the Leader offer in response to such concerns and what is the relevant planning process?

 

2.          Is there an adequate local transport strategy to service the East Midlands Freeport and what consideration do such plans have on our decarbonisation commitments?

 

3.          Given that the Passenger Transport Strategy has not been updated and bus services including one Skylink service are threatened, has the authority got a plan for delivering a comprehensive public transport system between the centres of population and employment and the East Midlands Parkway.

 

4.          Can the Leader confirm that the closure and decommissioning of Ratcliffe Power Station is still on track for 2024?

 

5.          Are details of the Freeport secure boundary published and if so where are they accessible.

 

6.          Given that concerns are already breaking out about development regulations within the Outer 45km boundary, could the Leader provide an early report on how planning permits will be determined in conjunction with the Freeport?

 

7.          Is there any evidence that industrial or commercial plans in the county are being held back pending possible transfers into the area of the Freeport offering tax and regulation concessions?”

 

Mr Breckon replied as follows:

 

“1.    This site currently has no planning status; it is being promoted through the ongoing review of the North West Leicestershire Local Plan.  It is for the District Council to determine if the site is potentially suitable as a housing site when it publishes its Regulation 18 Preferred Options Plan later this year.

 

The timescale for completing the review is unclear as the District Council is currently reviewing its Local Development Scheme to take into account, amongst other things, the need to get a better understanding of the implications of the Freeport proposals in respect of infrastructure and other local impacts. This work is ongoing.

 

        The site has been assessed as part of the Strategic Housing and Employment Land Availability Assessment undertaken by the District Council which concluded it was one of a number of potentially available and potentially deliverable sites.

 

        The County Council will continue to work with North West Leicestershire District Council to identify the infrastructure requirements arising from the local plan review.

 

2.     I am aware that the Freeport is in the early stages of discussing joint work with Midlands Connect and the relevant highway authorities to understand the transport impacts of the proposals and ensure connectivity is maximised by all modes of transport. This work will need to fully consider national and local net zero targets.

 

3.     The County Council will work with the Applicants of the Freeport tax sites through the planning process as the applications for each site comes forward to secure appropriate passenger transport provision.

 

4.     Publicly available information in relation to the future of the Power Station refers to decommissioning at various dates. Disclosure of any other information is a matter for Uniper, the owner of the site.

 

5.     The designation of East Midlands Freeport Tax Sites was made by Statutory Instrument made on 1^st March:

https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2022/184/made

 

The Statutory Instrument refers to maps showing the designated tax sites: 

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/maps-of-east-midlands-freeport-tax-sites

 

6.     Appended for Mr Hunt’s information is the relevant section from the Government’s Freeport’s Bidding Prospectus (November 2020). Much of the proposed changes to planning law and guidance is yet to be enacted. A Local Development Order (LDO)^[1] is being prepared to help shape the plans for redevelopment of the East Midlands Freeport tax site at the Ratcliffe-on-Trent Power Station within Rushcliffe BC. This was subject to consultation which closed on 19^th January 2023.

 

7.          The East Midlands Freeport full business case, approved by the Government, is a confidential document but it places a requirement on tax site operators to take appropriate action to mitigate economic displacement from the wider local area, especially other economically disadvantaged areas. The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities has published a Policy paper on its strategy for monitoring and evaluating the effectiveness and impacts of Freeports (at programme level) which includes the overall impact of Freeports on economic growth in the wider Freeport areas and displacement is identified as a key research topic.

 

There is no evidence that industrial or commercial plans in the county are being ‘held back’ but there is no reliable means of assessing this.”