Meeting documents

Councillor N Blake

Leader of the Council

To consider the attached report.

Contact Officer:  Tracey Aldworth (01296) 585003

(a)          Decision(s)

That Council be recommended to:-

(1)  Approve the arrangements for the new Central Area Growth Board Joint Committee as set out in the Cabinet report.

(2)  Agree the new governance structure and to become a full member of the Central Area Growth Board and to adopt the Terms of Reference attached to the Cabinet report (subject to (4) below).

(3)  Commit to a contribution of £5K per annum of on-going revenue to support the work of the Growth Board.

(4)  Adopt the proposals for a Joint Committee and delegate to the Chief Executive, after consultation with the Leader of the Council, authority to make any necessary amendments to the Terms of Reference.

(b)          Reason(s) for Decision(s)

To enable the Council to participate fully in the proposed cross authority working arrangements.

(c)        Alternative Options Considered

To do nothing.  However, the Council would not have a voice in regional discussions.

(d)       Relevant Scrutiny Committee

Environment and Living.  However this requires a decision of full Council and is not therefore subject to call-in.

(e)        Conflicts of Interest / Dispensation(s)

            None.

The National Infrastructure Commission’s (NIC) interim report on the Cambridge-MK -Oxford growth corridor identified that one factor holding the area back from achieving its full potential as the UK’s "silicon valley" was the lack of joined-up planning for housing, jobs and infrastructure across traditional local authority boundaries.  It had been felt that current governance mechanisms were not sufficient to deliver the step change in strategic leadership and collaboration needed, and that a fundamental shift in the scale at which local authorities collaborated was required.

The NIC had encouraged authorities within the central section of the arc to strengthen structures for collaborative governance and collective decision making and had referenced the need to establish a Growth Board.  The final report of the NIC had contained several recommendations concerning which AVDC had responded.  A copy of the response was appended to the Cabinet report on options for the corridor, (referred to elsewhere in these Minutes).

Within the Cambridge-MK-Oxford corridor, formalised stronger regional working arrangements had been established at either end through the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority and the Oxfordshire Growth Board.  Establishing a Growth Board for the central area would enable AVDC and its partner authorities to meet the challenge of councils working together closely in the future.

AVDC had been actively engaging since last summer on closer regional working with the 17 local authorities within the South East Midlands and Buckinghamshire Thames Valley LEP footprints that were locally defined as being within the Cambridge-MK-Oxford corridor.  All the authorities across this geography had agreed to form the Central Area Growth Board (CAGB), with the exception of Buckinghamshire County Council.  The partners had agreed in principle that the Board would co-ordinate cross boundary working within the central area.

The CAGB would be constituted as a Joint Committee under Sections 101(5) and 102 of the Local Government Act 1972 and Section 9EB of the Local Government Act 2000 and pursuant, where applicable to the Local Authorities (Arrangements for the Discharge of Functions) (England) Regulations 2012.

The establishment of a Growth Board in the centre of the Cambridge-MK-Oxford corridor would also allow the central area to be an active participant in the cross corridor working arrangements currently being established. The CAGB would provide strategic leadership to enable the area to plan for and realise an economic transformation across the central area and would act as a single co-ordinating voice for the region in discussions with Central Government.  The Growth Board’s key function would be to focus on growth related matters with four key outcomes:-

·         Accelerate the delivery of planned growth across the area, where this was enabled by investment in infrastructure and services.

·         Provide the strategic leadership that would enable existing mechanisms and processes to plan for and realise an economic transformation across the area.

·         Secure long term benefits and opportunities for local communities.

·         Attract increased private sector investment.

It would also seek to:-

·         Establish common planning areas to produce an integrated and holistic approach to strategic planning for employment, housing and infrastructure that built upon Local Plans.

·         Accelerate and increase the delivery of planned growth across the area, where this was enabled by investment in infrastructure and services.

·         Work together to influence the route planning options in order to realise the opportunity for the area including an "expressway" (road and rail) and other associated linkages that might be delivered.

·         Approve and monitor the implementation of a central area programme of works, including those flowing from any Place deals, Strategic Economic Plans and Transport Strategies and other relevant infrastructure programmes.

·         Contribute to and be an active member of the Cambridge-MK-Oxford Corridor cross corridor governance arrangements.

The proposed terms of Reference set out the governance structure and the roles and responsibilities of Board members.  A full list of those members and terms of reference had been appended to the Cabinet report.

No powers were being ceded from member authorities to the Growth Board.  If members of the Growth Board agreed to vest powers into it, this would be agreed by individual councils via their normal decision making processes.  Hence AVDC would only cede powers to the Growth Board if it and all other member authorities chose to.  MK Council would be the accountable body for the CAGB and would provide the Section 151 officer role to the Board.

In the visioning document "Helping the Cambridge, Milton Keynes and Oxford Corridor Reach Its Potential", published at the time of the autumn budget, Government had announced its ambition to work with the central area on housing and growth deals throughout 2018.  Whilst any potential housing and growth deals would not necessarily cover the whole geography of the central area, the Growth Board would have an important role to play in co-ordinating these at the sub-regional level.

Collaborating and proactively planning for growth through the forum of a Growth Board would allow regional partners to shape the future growth of their areas, rather than have growth thrust upon them.  By joining the CAGB, AVDC would be committing itself to an on-going annual contribution of £5K to support the Board’s work.  Further contributions might be sought for specific pieces of work.  In the years  in which AVDC was the host authority (those during which it chaired the Growth Board), committee management services would be provided by this Council.

RESOLVED –

That Council be recommended to:-

(1)  Approve the arrangements for the new Central Area Growth Board Joint Committee as set out in the Cabinet report.

(2)  Agree (subject to (4) below) the new governance structure and become a full member of the Central Area Growth Board and adopt the Terms of Reference as appended to the Cabinet report.

(3)  Commit to a contribution of £5K per annum of on-going revenue to support the work of the Board.

(4)  Adopt the proposals for the Joint Committee and delegate any amendments to the Terms of Reference that might be necessary to the Chief Executive after consultation with the Leader of the Council.