Agenda item

HS2 Consultation Response

Decision:

*RESOLVED –

1. That the draft response to the current consultation on the route of HS2 be approved, and that the Development and Growth Manager, in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Economic Growth, be delegated authority to approve the final response.

2. That the proposed approach to working with partners to prepare a growth strategy for HS2 in Chesterfield in order to maximise the benefits of HS2 for the borough, be approved.

3. That authority be delegated to the Development and Growth Manager, in consultation with the Deputy Leader, to sign the Memorandum of Understanding with HS2 Ltd.

4. That the decision made by Full Council on 23 February, 2017, to allocate £100,000 from the Service Improvement Reserve to increase officer capacity to lead on delivery of the growth strategy for Chesterfield, be noted.

REASONS FOR DECISIONS

To maximise the benefits to Chesterfield of HS2.

To increase officer capacity over the next two years in order to enable Chesterfield Borough Council to work closely with partners and to lead delivery of the growth strategy for Chesterfield.

Minutes:

The Executive Director, Michael Rich and the Development and Growth Manager submitted a report requesting Cabinet considered the implications for the council of its ongoing engagement on the HS2 project. The report also requested Cabinet considered the council’s proposed response to the current consultation on the proposed route of HS2 through Chesterfield Borough.

On 15 November, 2016 the Government had published a revised route for Phase 2b of HS2 and had opened a consultation on the revised plans. The report noted that the implications of the revised route for Chesterfield and the wider area were largely positive and that the benefits of having Chesterfield station served by high speed rail services, as well as having a maintenance depot at Staveley had the potential to deliver substantial economic benefits for the borough and the wider area. The revised route did however have some negative impacts both for the borough and neighbouring districts, which the report noted would require further investigation on how these could be managed and mitigated.

The Government had requested that responses to the consultation on the revised route were received by 9 March 2017.The council’s full response to the consultation was attached as an appendix to the officers’ report. The response had been prepared in consultation with partners including Derbyshire County Council, East Midlands Councils and key landowners affected by the development of the proposed Staveley Depot. The response confirmed the ambition of Chesterfield Borough Council to maximise the opportunities for the borough that HS2 would bring and also included details of the main implications of the revised route for the borough. These included the lessened impact on residential areas at Woodthorpe and Netherthorpe and the significant reduction in journey times between Chesterfield, Birmingham and London and the consequent economic benefits that this could bring.

The report also provided information on how the council was working with, and planned to work with partners on the development and promotion of plans and growth strategies to maximise the potential benefits for the area. The Executive Director advised that as all the work that would be required to maximise the benefits of HS2 could not be accommodated within existing resources approval had been given by the Joint Cabinet and Employment and General Committee for the establishment of a new project manager post to support the HS2 proposals for a station and depot in the borough (Joint Cabinet and Employment and General Committee Minute No.33, 2016/17). This post would provide the essential additional capacity to ensure that the strongest case could be made to enable Chesterfield and the surrounding area to gain the maximum benefits from HS2.