Meeting documents

7 THE ISSUE

7.1 In the interest of public safety, it is proposed to build a footbridge over the By Brook at Bathford parallel to the A363 road bridge, and widen a section of substandard footway north west of this point. Land take is required for both schemes. Negotiations to acquire this land have been taking place for several years. Whilst agreement has been reached with the landowner to the south-east of the bridge, it has not been possible, to date, to reach agreement with the landowner to the north west , for reasons outlined in the report. This report therefore seeks authority to make a Compulsory Purchase Order to acquire the land in question.

8 RECOMMENDATION

8.1 The Council Executive is asked to authorise the Head of Property and Legal Services to make a Compulsory Purchase Order for the compulsory acquisition of the area of land situated to the North West of the By Brook, Bathford adjoining the A363 Bradford Road which area of land is approximately 172.24 square metres and comprising an area of open land outlined in red on drawing no.CG9054/19 pursuant to section 239 and 240 of the Highways Act 1980 for the purpose of:

(a) the improvement of the public highway known as the A363 Bradford road

(b) the construction of a highway being a footbridge over the By Brook, from a point approximately 14 metres north of the centre of Bathford Bridge in a south easterly direction for a distance of approximately 18 metres and

(c) the use of the land in connection with the construction and improvement of highways as aforesaid.

9 FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS

9.1 The land to be purchased has been valued at approximately £4000. The landowner to the south east has agreed to donate the land required on that side of the brook freely in the interest of public safety.

9.2 Design and construction of the bridge/footway will cost in the region of £135,000. This and the cost of any Inquiry and the compensation payable will be found from the 2004/5 Traffic and Safety Capital Budget.

9.3 The cost of making a CPO is referred to in Appendix 2.

9.4 The Council will also be statutorily liable to pay compensation to the landowner. Such compensation represents the value of the land to the owner which will include the open market value of the land compensation for disturbance and other losses not directly based on the value of the land and compensation for severance . Unless agreement can be reached on the amount payable, the matter will fall to the Lands Tribunal for determination.

10 THE REPORT

10.1 B&NES and Bathford Parish Council have been working together for several years to achieve a safer pedestrian route over the bridge which crosses the By Brook. At its meeting of 25^th July 2000 the Resources Co-ordination Committee authorised the acquisition of land on both sides of the By Brook to facilitate the construction of a footbridge parallel to the A363 road bridge, and the widening of the footway for approximately 50m to the north west of the bridge.

Although agreement was reached with the landowners to the south east of the By Brook, negotiations with the landowner to the north-west became protracted and eventually broke down when it became clear that his agreement required the fulfilment of certain Planning conditions not acceptable to this Authority.

10.2 At its meeting of 2^nd October 2002 the Council Executive authorised Officers to undertake the necessary preparatory work for the making of a CPO, and to report to the Executive once this work was complete. (This report contains fuller details of the history of/rationale for the scheme, and the negotiations up to that time). Authorisation for instigating the CPO process was sought so that this process could be undertaken in parallel with the continuing negotiations with the landowner, in case the negotiations were not successful In the event, the negotiations finally collapsed when the landowner suggested a remuneration for loss of the land higher than that calculated by the Authority's valuers.

10.3 A second draft of the CPO document is currently being considered by the Secretary of State and when it receives informal approval, with Executive authority, it will then be possible to make the Compulsory Purchase Order. The Order will then be advertised and the Secretary of State will consider any objection made when deciding whether to confirm the Order. A public Inquiry will have to be held if there are objections.

10.4 Note: on the advice of the Secretary of State, ALL the land shown outlined in red on drawing no. CG9054/19 will be the subject of the CPO, however the areas labelled 2, 3 and 4 are acquired for working space in connection with the improvement/construction of the highway and will be offered to the landowner once all works including accommodation works are complete.

11 RATIONALE/OPTIONS

11.1 The power available to the Council to make a CPO to acquire land for the purpose of highway improvement is contained in section 239 and section 240 of the Highways Act 1980. This Act empowers local highway authorities, such as this Council, to acquire land for the creation of highways. Such powers may be exercised compulsorily or by agreement. Where it is necessary to acquire land compulsorily, the procedure is governed by the Acquisition of Land Act 1981.

11.2 In deciding whether to make a CPO, the Council needs to balance the costs involved including the payment of compensation and the cost of making a CPO on the one hand and the benefits in terms of highway safety in the event of this scheme going ahead. Critically, consideration needs to be given to what would be the effects in terms of highway safety if the scheme did not go ahead. There has to be a compelling case in the public interest to justify the making of the order. An order is unlikely to be confirmed unless there is clear evidence that the public benefit will outweigh the private loss.

11.3 The existing bridge across the By Brook has a single narrow footway (ranging from 0.57-0.65m wide across the bridge) with a length of narrow footway on the northern approach to the southeast of the bridge. The A363 currently carries approximately 9,000 vehicles in the 12 hour period 7am - 7pm. As a consequence, negotiating the above footways can be intimidating for pedestrians especially those with pushchairs. The footway on the bridge is not wide enough to support a double buggy, which must be pushed with one set of wheels in the carriageway. The Council's Education Department has classified the route as hazardous for school children and is consequently obliged to provide transport for school pupils travelling from Bathford to St Marks School, even though the school is within the 3 mile walking distance normally required to justify entitled transport. In view of this situation, it is deemed necessary to provide a safe pedestrian facility access for the public.

11.4 Due to its status as an ancient monument widening of the existing bridge to accommodate a widened footpath is not possible. Consequently a parallel footbridge 2.0m wide has been identified as the preferred option. In order to construct the footbridge it is necessary to acquire the additional land shown edged red on plan CG9054/19.

11.5 As no agreement on the value of the land in question can be reached between the landowner and this Authority, the only available option is to acquire the land compulsorily.

12 HUMAN RIGHTS

6.1 The Council is required to consider whether its actions would infringe the human rights of anyone affected by the making of the order. In this case, the order would interfere with the landowners human rights under Article 1 of the First Protocol (Protection of Property) but it is considered that such interference is justified and proportionate in the wider public interest in view of the public benefit to be achieved by improving highway safety.

7. CONSULTATION

6.1 Consultation has been carried out on a regular basis with the local Parish Council and Local Members.