Agenda item

To receive a report on supporting the delivery of MMDR South.

Cabinet:

1)    CONFIRMED Melton Borough Council remains fully committed to:

(i)              Supporting the delivery of the Melton Mowbray Distributor Road South (MMDRS) scheme;

(ii)             Honouring its obligations under the Staged Payment Agreement (SPA) with Leicestershire County Council dated November 2021; and

(iii)           Discharging any other obligations arising from documents approved by Cabinet at its Meetings in September, October and December 2021.

2)    CONFIRMED it remains committed to securing the delivery of the MMDRS in partnership with LCC. To that end, Cabinet:

(i)              Noted the progress made in collaboration with LCC following receipt of their letter at Appendix A.

(ii)             Confirmed it will explore the options and opportunities to further boost the delivery of housing and associated contributions towards the provision of road infrastructure in the short and medium term, and endorses the approach set out in paragraph 6.3 below; and,

(iii)           Confirmed it will explore the potential to secure 3rd party funding for the road should the opportunity arise.

The Leader of the Council and Portfolio Holder for Housing and Landlord Services introduced the report, which set out the background to the Melton Local Plan, the key infrastructure delivery requirements to maintain an up-to-date plan and the necessity for all elements of the Melton Mowbray Distributor Road (MMDR) North, East and South to support this. 

The report also set out the detail of this Council’s existing commitment to Leicestershire County Council (LCC) in respect of the MMDR South (and other infrastructure in Melton) and its importance to the relevance of the Melton Local Plan.

The Leader of the Council started by thanking the Officers and County Hall for all the hard work that has been done to progress this issue and hopes as a result the outturn is good and can be built upon.  Good progress was made in 2021 which led to an agreement with Homes England and LCC for the housing infrastructure. Inflation has though now created a significant funding gap for LCC. Melton Borough Council has always been committed to supporting LCC deliver the MMDR and the new Cabinet remains fully committed to continuing this.

In moving the recommendation, the Leader made a number of additional points:

1)    In their June letter, LCC originally requested this matter be considered by Council, but given no change in our contractual position is proposed and therefore no Council resolution required, the Council confirmed to them that it was more appropriate that Cabinet consider and respond to the matters raised, which the Leader confirmed he was happy that the Cabinet did now.

2)    Whilst the Council is happy to be as flexible as we can and look at any options which help deliver the road, it is worth emphasising that anything MBC does in planning terms will always have to remain within the boundaries of what is possible within the relevant legislation.

3)    On funding bids, the Council will always be happy to work with and support LCC on bids which secure additional investment into Melton, but clearly this doesn’t preclude or prevent MBC from pursuing other funding bids, for any other priorities we may have, which would remain entirely a matter for ourselves.

4)    In relation to 6.3, 2(d), it is worth highlighting that MBC recognise LCC, as the Local Education Authority, has the responsibility to provide the correct mix and number of school places to satisfy current and future education needs of a growing population. LCC are of course entitled to consider how best to meet this statutory requirement in terms of sites and locations of any schools, and MBC will always seek to support LCC as it considers its educational delivery plans, provided existing planning obligations are not prejudiced by any new arrangements.

The meeting went into exempt session at 4:50pm to enable the details with the exempt appendix to be considered and discussed.

After a private discussion the meeting resumed at 5:30pm.

Cabinet:

1)    CONFIRMED Melton Borough Council remains fully committed to:

(i)              Supporting the delivery of the Melton Mowbray Distributor Road South (MMDRS) scheme;

(ii)             Honouring its obligations under the Staged Payment Agreement (SPA) with Leicestershire County Council dated November 2021; and

(iii)           Discharging any other obligations arising from documents approved by Cabinet at its Meetings in September, October and December 2021.

2)    CONFIRMED it remains committed to securing the delivery of the MMDRS in partnership with LCC. To that end, Cabinet:

(i)              Noted the progress made in collaboration with LCC following receipt of their letter at Appendix A.

(ii)             Confirmed it will explore the options and opportunities to further boost the delivery of housing and associated contributions towards the provision of road infrastructure in the short and medium term, and endorses the approach set out in paragraph 6.3 below; and,

(iii)           Confirmed it will explore the potential to secure 3rd party funding for the road should the opportunity arise.

Reasons for Recommendations:

The MMDR schemes are essential to the delivery of the Melton Local Plan, and to the success of the town as set out in the Corporate Strategy and its Priorities. Without the Local Plan the borough would be subject to unplanned speculative development which would undermine local communities’ confidence in the planning system and be likely to undermine the Council’s strategy for sustainable development.

Following the May 2023 Local Elections, and recent correspondence with Leicestershire County Council (see appendix A), the Council’s new administration wishes to publicly reaffirm the Council’s commitment to the terms of the agreements entered into with Leicestershire County Council (LCC) in 2021.

The Council also wishes to set out the basis upon which it will continue to support LCC in delivering the MMDRS, bearing in mind constraints imposed by the legal system within which it must operate.