Decision details

Proposed decision:

The Cabinet to agree to the progression and delivery of the Thanet Parkway Railway Station project, which will entail, among other processes, the following key activities;

a)         undertaking detailed design; and subject to planning approval;

b)         completing acquisition of the land; and

c)         entering into contracts as necessary for construction.

And;

agree to delegate authority to the Corporate Director of Growth, Environment & Transport, in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Highways and Transportation, to take appropriate actions necessary to implement this decision, including but not limited to, deciding the preferred procurement route and entering in relevant contracts or other legal agreements.

Background

A previous Key Decision was taken by the Cabinet Member for Environment and Transport on 1 August 2014 (14/00056) which approved the delivery of Thanet Parkway Station in the location to the west of Cliffsend, involving:

a)    Commencing land acquisition work;

b)    Undertaking public consultations to support the project development process; and

c)    Undertaking project development work to enable the submission of a planning application and design work for the scheme.

The feasibility design for the scheme received Approval in Principle (equivalent to Network Rail’s ‘Governance in Railway Investment Projects Stage 3’ [GRIP 3] status) in August 2017. Following that milestone, the scheme was progressed through outline design (GRIP 4) and planning application was submitted in May 2018.

Comments received during the planning process regarding the visual impact of the scheme led to changes in the scheme design. As a result, the design work and planning application documents have been amended and are being readied for a resubmission of the planning application in November 2019.

Negotiations for land acquisition have been ongoing with the intention to enter into a contract following this decision approval.

A decision is required to proceed with the delivery of the scheme in order to meet the project delivery programme.

Options - it is a legal requirement (2012 Executive Arrangements regulations) to outline other options considered

A full options analysis has been carried out as part of the scheme business case (Appendix 1). Below is a summary of the options considered as alternatives to delivering Thanet Parkway.

How the proposed decision meets the objectives of ‘Increasing Opportunities, Improving Outcomes: Kent County Council’s Strategic Statement (2015-2020)’

Since 2010, Thanet Parkway has been a key strategic transport priority for Kent County Council, with the ambition to deliver the station first mentioned in Growth without Gridlock (December 2010), the third Local Transport Plan (2011-2016), the Rail Action Plan for Kent (April 2011) and most recently in Local Transport Plan 4: Delivering Growth without Gridlock (2016 – 2031) (LTP4). The delivery of the station continues to be of significant importance to the County Council and is a strategic priority in LTP4 because of its ability to improve rail connectivity between East Kent, other Kent towns and London; to improve the attractiveness of the area to employers and thereby address the historic economic disadvantage of East Kent.

The delivery of the station will help meet the overarching objective of LTP4:

To deliver safe and effective transport, ensuring that all Kent’s communities and businesses benefit, the environment is enhanced, and economic growth is supported.

At its meeting on 27 January 2020, the Cabinet agreed to the progression and delivery of the Thanet Parkway Railway Station project (up to a total KCC contribution of £17.81m), subject to necessary increases to the capital budget allocation in the 2020/21 County Council budget), which will include the following key activities;

a)    undertaking detailed design; and subject to planning approval;

b)    completing acquisition of the land; and

c)    entering into contracts as necessary for construction.

And;

Agreed to delegate authority to the Corporate Director of Growth, Environment & Transport, in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Highways and Transport, to take appropriate actions necessary to implement this decision, including but not limited to, deciding the preferred procurement route and entering into relevant contracts (of which KCC’s contribution is to the maximum value of £17.81m) or other legal agreements.