Minutes:
Question
Page 86 of the report mentions an Inspector’s Report of which a copy of the inspector’s report is in Appendix 2. Comments a, b, and c below are quite challenging and do not appear to be satisfactorily answered in the report. I cannot comment on the Inspectors report as I cannot find Appendix 2.
On 17 November 2021, the Inspector made his decision not to confirm the CPO on the grounds that:
a) The sustainability benefits claimed by the Council were not substantiated.
b) The Council had not shown that the demolition of the existing properties is the only or best way to achieve those benefits; or
c) That inclusion of the objector's properties is necessary.
The Inspector concludes that the task of demonstrating a compelling case therefore falls not on the objectors, but firmly on the Acquiring Authority. A copy of the Inspector’s report is in Appendix 2.
My question is how legal or more to the point moral is this Compulsory Purchase Order?
Answer
The Gorse Ride regeneration project is a flagship scheme in the Council’s response to the escalating need for more and better social housing. The provision of well-planned and delivered social housing has never been more important. Data on a national and a local-level shows that homelessness is on the increase, with an escalating demand for temporary accommodation. Not only impacting the Council’s future temporary accommodation budgets but having a major effect on those residents whose lives are disrupted by not having a stable and secure home.
The use of compulsory purchase powers will enable all necessary land interests to be acquired to secure the delivery of the regeneration of Gorse Ride and the consequential benefits to the local community.
The scheme will deliver improvements to housing stock within the Borough through the demolition of 178 poor quality housing units and the creation of 249 new well-designed homes. It will bring vitality to the area and enrich the community for the future. The scheme will provide significant social, economic, and environmental benefits to the local area by creating a new community of which residents can feel proud, new jobs for local people and a significant public realm and landscaping improvements.
A recent analysis of social value generated from those rehoused from the first phase of the Gorse Ride regeneration showed that since moving home, people experienced improvements in, their sense of belonging, their perception of antisocial behaviour in their neighbourhood and their levels of health, as well as now living in homes with improved energy efficiency.
The Council remains committed to acquiring third party property interests voluntarily without the need to exercise the CPO. However, an approval for the Council to proceed with making a new compulsory purchase order is sought as a last resort. The ability to include CPO after all other stages of the negotiation process have been exhausted will enable the regeneration scheme to proceed in accordance with the timeframes shared with residents. Until now the Council has been able to purchase properties successfully through negotiation but to ensure the delivery of the project for the whole community the Council needs to have the right to exercise CPO powers if needed.
In deciding to use this power to make a CPO, the Council has had regard to all other available compulsory purchase powers, including section 17 of the Housing Act 1985, which authorises the acquisition of land for housing purposes. The Council has chosen to utilise its power in section 226 of the 1990 Town and Country Planning Act because it considers that the regeneration of the site will deliver wider regeneration benefits to the community and the locality, than just the provision of housing.