Issue - meetings

Joseph Ratcliffe (Transport Strategy Manager), Tom Marchant (Head of Strategic Planning and Policy) and Stewart Fowler (Principal Transport Planner) were in attendance for this item.

1.    Mr Payne (Cabinet Member for Highways and Transport) introduced the report that set out the progress to date on the proposed Thanet Parkway Railway Station and explained that Kent County Council (KCC) would commit up to £17.81m to complete the funding package for the scheme (£34.51m) which would secure a significant contribution (£14m) of Local Growth Fund (LGF) money from the South East Local Enterprise Partnership (SELEP) and it would enable the scheme to be delivered. Following completion of the outline design and submission of a revised planning application, the next stage of the project was to undertake detailed design, and subject to planning determination, to progress onto the delivery stage of the scheme. A decision to progress with the delivery of the scheme was required to ensure no further delay to the project programme and to allow for the spend of LGF money by the end of the Growth Deal Period (March 2021). The final decision to progress with the project would be taken to Cabinet on 2 December 2019.

2.    Mrs Stewart (Director of Environment, Planning and Enforcement) informed the Committee that   an Executive decision was required in order to deliver the project in the anticipated timescale. and avoid the risk of losing the £14m SELEP funding. Mrs Stewart advised Members that if this deadline was missed it was it was unlikely that   the £14m investment would be available at a future date.

3.    Mr Ratcliffe advised Members that the Thanet Parkway Railway Station had undergone a number of design iterations and two planning applications had been submitted. The first planning application submitted in 2018 had been withdrawn due to significant design changes to the scheme and a new Planning Application was submitted in the week commencing 11 November 2019. The newest application was in the process of validation as part of the Planning Applications Group remit; any emerging planning issues would then fall to the Planning Applications Group and Planning Applications Committee to determine.

4.    Mr Ratcliffe informed The Committee that the Business Case had been through a vigorous assessment process by SELEP’s Independent Technical Evaluator. As a result of that process, officers had produced a revised Business Case which contained the new cost estimate; the details of which were reflected within the Committee report. Mr Ratcliffe confirmed that the revised Business Case and associated costs of the project were due to go through a final validation process, however, the feedback received from KCC’s Consultancy Team was that Thanet Parkway Railway Station represented very high value for money.

5.    The Chairman welcomed Mrs Binks and Mr Messenger to address the Committee in their capacity as the local Members for Thanet.

6.    Mrs Binks (Member for Broadstairs) raised the following points: -

(a)  Schools were the primary cause of traffic concerns in Thanet

(b)  Thanet had seven stations already in existence that  ...  view the full minutes text for item 227