Issue - meetings

The report seeks authority to make and publish a Compulsory Purchase Order (CPO) for the Somer Valley Enterprise Zone Scheme and subsequently to secure the confirmation and implementation of that CPO.  The report also seeks authority to negotiate the withdrawal of any objections to the CPO and the acquisition of land and rights by agreement.

Cllr Paul Roper, Cabinet Member for Economic and Cultural Sustainable Development, introduced the item, moved the officer recommendation and made the following statement:

“The Somer Valley Enterprise Zone (SVEZ) is a key component for the delivery of our Economic Strategy for our authority. This is an ambitious and complex project. What we are doing is delivering an exemplar, net zero, green business park creating around 1,300 jobs of the type that we aspire to. That is good quality, secure, well paid, fulfilling and local employment. We are convinced that this will provide a much needed and significant economic boost to the local area and the authority as a whole.

I would like to remind cabinet of one of the key points I made back in February this year when we adopted the Local Development Order to enable the delivery of this scheme. The communities of Midsomer Norton, Paulton and Radstock used to be almost completely self-sufficient in terms of local employment, but the loss of key employers over the last few decades has completely reversed that, with most employment opportunities now being outside the area. And the land that was once used for employment now contains housing and this compounds the problem of insufficient local employment opportunities.

To try and reverse the damage caused by the decline of local employment, the land in question was allocated as a potential site for industrial development in 2007, but the market failed to deliver it. So, this administration has set about the enabling and delivery of the scheme. That is no small undertaking, and I am proud of the ambition that this authority has in this regard.

To deliver this scheme requires the acquisition of at least 47 separate parcels of land from 40 landowners. It is hoped that most, if not all, the land purchases can be carried out on the basis of willing buyer and seller, and negotiations continue to try and secure land on this basis.

What we cannot allow to happen is for the scheme to fail because any one of the multiple land interests cannot be acquired on a voluntary basis. It is therefore deemed necessary to have the powers to compel and these powers are enshrined in a Compulsory Purchase Order. In short, this will enable delivery of the scheme. On 1st Feb this year cabinet approved an in-principle decision to pursue a Compulsory Purchase Order (CPO) process and this paper before us this evening enables officers to progress to the detailed phase of the CPO process.

I am acutely aware of the sensitivities of this and the implications it has on the landowners affected. I am aware of the continued resistance by some to the creation of this employment site. What we do believe however, is that the benefits to the local communities associated with the creation of the SVEZ do justify the use of this land. Indeed, for the CPO to be successful, we must pass certain prescribed tests for viability. We are of the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 28