Agenda item

RECOMMENDATION:

It is recommended that the committee scrutinise and comment on the proposals within the attached cabinet report, ref CAB3349 which is to be considered by cabinet at its meeting on the 19 July 2022.

Councillor Tod, Leader and Cabinet Member for Asset Management introduced the report, ref SC072 and CAB3349 which set out proposals for the Update on Station Approach project, (available here). 

The committee was recommended to scrutinise and comment on the proposals within the attached cabinet report, ref CAB3349 which was to be considered by the cabinet at its meeting on 19 July 2022.

The committee proceeded to ask questions and debate the report. In summary, the following matters were raised:

·       whether an opportunity existed for the initial consultation period to be extended past the holiday season

·       would the drop-in sessions also take place at weekends and evenings to ensure wider accessibility?

·       clarifying the timescales concerning the Northern Park and Ride

·       concern over capacity within the council to manage several regeneration projects concurrently

·       clarifying the council's aspiration for the percentage of affordable homes delivered as part of this project

·       ensuring the appropriate separation of functions within the council, ie between the council as a developer and local planning authority

·       establishing the Reference group and the desire to avoid the use of Non-Disclosure Agreements

·       clarifying at which point Phase 1 ends

·       understanding the background and expertise of the public affairs agency (Meeting Place Communications)

·       could the phasing titles be added to the appendix?

·       the nature of the short-term agreement with Network Rail and their financial contribution to Phase 1

·       plans for the engagement with the City of Winchester Trust

·       the status of the master plan within a planning context and whether it would be possible to create a type of Supplementary Planning Document from it?

·       the status of the area of land next to the records office

·       whether other potential sites nearby exist that could be brought into the partnership

·       did a mechanism exist for looking at all of the council's regeneration projects to ensure the right balance of facilities for the whole city?

·       would the Jones Lang LaSalle report be available to members?

·       the importance of engaging with the wider district

·       the use of social media to promote all engagement sessions including committee meetings

·       could rail passengers be handed a newsletter as they leave or enter the station?

·       consider distributing the newsletter to a wider audience

·       consider including specific outputs or deliverables with the associated milestones as part of the milestone table

·       encourage the project team to seek to use the local expertise of residents in how they use the site and how they move around the site.

·       vital to engage with those who are difficult to engage with and communities on the edge of the city that would be impacted by these proposals

·       consider both physical and virtual walkabout events

·       important to consider the knock-on effects and reassure residents that the wider considerations are being assessed

·       ensure people don't feel that this was being “done to them”

·       would Network Rail be undertaking their own consultation?

These points were responded to by Councillor Tod, the Strategic Director and the Project Manager accordingly and were noted by the cabinet members present at the meeting.

RESOLVED:

The committee agreed to the following comments and recommended that the cabinet:

·       include the names of phases in appendix 2 to clarify the timelines

·       review how the accessibility of the interactive maps could be improved when viewed on older or different forms of technology

·       consider the strategic areas across the district that could be used for the distribution of the paper copy survey

·       enable the distribution of the newsletter online and via social media

·       consider whether the newsletter distribution be wider than a radius of ¼ of a mile of the site

·       include specific outputs or deliverables with the associated milestones as part of the milestone table

·       provide further clarity for residents around the reasons for consultation at each stage to ensure understanding of the process

·       consider providing “walkabout” sessions for residents as part of the consultation programme and consider virtual “walkabouts” for those unable to access in person

·       consider how to optimise engagement across the wider district

review the red line in para 11.7 to ensure accuracy (with specific reference to the queries concerning land by the Records Office).