Contact: Peter Murnaghan, ext 6920 email: peter.murnaghan@hants.gov.uk

The Appendix is not for publication as it contains exempt information within Paragraph 3 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972 being information relating to the financial or business affairs of any particular person (including the authority holding that information). Further, it is considered that, in all the circumstances, the public interest in maintaining this exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information. While there may be a public interest in disclosing this information, it is felt that on balance this is outweighed by other factors in favour of maintaining the exemption, namely the confidentiality of pending land purchase and costs.

1. Summary

1.1 This report advises Cabinet of the status of the South Hampshire Rapid Transit (SHRT) project following the decision by the Secretary of State not to provide funding. The report recommends that the County Council formally abandons the scheme, but plans to come forward with a more affordable rapid transit solution for the area.

1.2 In order to protect the former railway alignment for the beneficial use of future options, the report recommends that the County Council completes the purchase of a section of the disused line.

1.3 This report also recommends that a detailed review of all land held by the County Council for the SHRT scheme is carried out with the intention of bringing forward for disposal any properties that will not be required for any successor scheme or other operational purposes

1.4 The report addresses the need to develop and promote mass transit access for Gosport and Fareham in the context of the lack of Government funding for SHRT.

1.5 The report will help improve our quality of place by initiating plans for an alternative mass transit scheme that will provide relief to users of the congested A32 and connect proposed development areas to existing urban areas in South Hampshire.

2. The Current Position

2.1 In November 2005 the Secretary of State for Transport took the decision to withdraw funding for the South Hampshire Rapid Transit scheme between Fareham, Gosport and Portsmouth on the grounds of affordability. This decision was particularly disappointing to the scheme's promoters, Portsmouth City Council and Hampshire County Council, since they had cooperated with earlier requests to make a number of economies so as to reduce the overall cost. The scheme benefits remained of a higher order than almost all other transport schemes that were then being pursued.

2.2 Since the funding announcement, the promoters have sought clarity from central Government on what it considers might be affordable and what might be salvaged from the original scheme. Informal discussions with Government officials suggest that a scheme based on bus, rather than light rail, technology costing in the order of £100 million might be a credible funding level to aim for. However, this would need to be funded through the South East Region Funding Allocation and would be a decision for the South East England Regional Assembly. The allocation for the South East for 2006-2011 is £1,235 million and is fully committed. Members may be aware that bus-based schemes had featured in the development of options for this corridor but offered significantly lower benefits. The light rail scheme was supported through the public enquiry in 1999 and the appropriate powers were secured by the SHRT Order 2001 made under the Transport and Works Act 1992. The powers under the Order apply only to the light rail scheme as promoted through the Inquiry process and could not be utilised with a bus based option.

2.3 The planning powers and the compulsory purchase powers under the Order were of five years' duration and expired on 23 July 2006. Without renewal of these powers the light rail scheme could only proceed through the granting of planning permission and the acquisition of all necessary land by agreement, which in reality means that the scheme is no longer viable. The formal abandonment of the scheme proposal is therefore inevitable. Portsmouth City Council shares this view.

3. The Next Steps

3.1 Cabinet authority is sought to make a formal announcement on behalf of the promoters to abandon the scheme and to authorise officers to write to the following three categories of interested parties:

(i) Landowners who have been served Preliminary Notices under section 3 of the Compulsory Purchase (Vesting Declarations) Act 1981. The County Council should write to advise these landowners that it will not be proceeding to use compulsory purchase powers to acquire their land.

(ii) Landowners with whom the County Council has been in negotiation to buy land by agreement. The County Council should write to advise these landowners that it will not pursue the agreement and/or negotiations to acquire their land.

(iii) Third parties who have entered into legal agreements with the promoters, including for example various harbour users, utility companies and landowners. The County Council should write to all third parties advising them that the promoters will not be proceeding with the scheme under the SHRT Order 2001.

4. Future Actions

4.1 Despite abandonment of the scheme, the transport and access problems for Gosport Peninsula, of course, remain. Until such time as a replacement facility comes into operation it is prudent to continue to safeguard the former railway line between Fareham and Gosport as a transport corridor. It is vitally important that this traffic-free route is not lost to piecemeal development. The County Council was at an advanced stage of negotiation with Network Rail to purchase the remaining section of the railway formation between Fareham and Holbrook and has indicated a willingness to complete the sale. Funding for this acquisition is available from existing developers' contributions. It is strongly advised that the County Council completes the purchase of this section of former railway to maintain a realistic prospect of a traffic-free link in the emerging scheme.

4.2 It is also important to maintain a safeguarding for a bus/rail interchange in the forecourt of Fareham Station.

4.3 It is intended that planning proceeds on a new transit system for South East Hampshire including a link to serve the Gosport Peninsula and Portsmouth, as well as, in time, the proposed North of Fareham Strategic Development Area. Through the existing Solent Transport partnership, the bus and ferry operators will be engaged in scoping a new transit link to address existing congestion problems and to meet the challenges of development forecast in the South East Plan. This process will need to involve a wide-ranging investigation of the problems in the area in order to arrive at an affordable system of mass transit that can address the range of access problems identified.

4.4 In the meantime, measures to tackle the problems on the A32 between Fareham and Gosport, which had not been addressed while the SHRT proposal was under consideration, should now proceed. A number of local improvements that will benefit traffic flow and bus reliability are being developed with funding from the Local Transport Plan and developer contributions previously earmarked for SHRT.

4.5 Government support for a new scheme will be essential at an early stage and there would be merit in seeking to limit the rate of housing development on the Gosport Peninsula until the transit link is operational. This would need to be handled sensitively by the Borough Councils, however, as there are a number of mixed use applications in the planning pipeline that would help to regenerate the area and offer employment and leisure opportunities. These could help to ease the increasing degree of out-commuting from Gosport that causes so much congestion on the A32. This should be pursued through Gosport Borough Council's Local Development Framework.

4.6 Since the Preliminary Notices were registered as local land charges and will continue to appear on searches made by prospective purchasers of land affected by the SHRT scheme, following the formal abandonment, notices should be lodged with the Local Land Charges departments in Fareham, Gosport and Portsmouth to the effect that the scheme is not now to proceed. However, the safeguarding of the transport corridor between Fareham and Gosport, together with land at Fareham rail station for the bus/rail interchange should be drawn to the attention of all such interested parties at the same time and the two Councils should be asked to protect the route in their Local Development Documents.

4.7 There are numerous properties held for the SHRT scheme, some bought by agreement, others upon operation of the County Council's off-line Blight policies. It is proposed that a detailed review of all landholdings held for the SHRT scheme is undertaken as soon as possible. At such time as it is clear that these properties are not required for any successor scheme or for alternative operational purposes, it is recommended that they are brought forward for disposal on detailed terms and conditions to be settled by the Director of Property, Business and Regulatory Services (Head of Estates).

5. Impact Assessments

5.1 Assessment of the Race Relations (Amendment) Act has been considered in the development of this scheme which is not expected to compromise equalities in terms of race and gender, but to improve access for all.

Recommendations

1. That the promoters of the South Hampshire Rapid Transit formally abandon the scheme following the Secretary of State's decision not to provide funding.

2. That the former railway alignment and connecting route between Fareham and Gosport be safeguarded for use as a transport corridor.

3. That the proposed bus and rail interchange at Fareham Station continues to be safeguarded.

4. That the County Council completes the purchase of the former railway line between Fareham and Holbrook to protect it for its future use as a public transport link, and that the detailed terms and conditions for its purchase are settled by the Director of Property, Business and Regulatory Services (Head of Estates).

5. That work proceeds on developing options for an affordable transit system for South East Hampshire, including Fareham, Gosport and Portsmouth.

6. That a detailed review of all land held by the County Council for the South Hampshire Rapid Transit scheme is conducted, and that such properties as will not be required for any successor scheme or other County Council operational purpose are declared surplus, and brought forward for disposal on detailed terms and conditions to be settled by the Director of Property, Business and Regulatory Services (Head of Estates).

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