Agenda, decisions and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from the Chairman, Councillor Paul Spooner.

Apologies for absence were received from the Chairman, Councillor Paul Spooner.

In accordance with the local Code of Conduct, a councillor is required to disclose at the meeting any disclosable pecuniary interest (DPI) that they may have in respect of any matter for consideration on this agenda.  Any councillor with a DPI must notparticipate in any discussion or vote regarding that matter and they must also withdraw from the meeting immediately before consideration of the matter.

If that DPI has not been registered, the councillor must notify the Monitoring Officer of the details of the DPI within 28 days of the date of the meeting.

No disclosable pecuniary interests were declared.

No disclosable pecuniary interests were declared.

To confirm the minutes of the meeting of the Executive held on 17 July 2018.

The Executive approved the minutes of the meeting held on 17 July 2018.  The Chairman signed the minutes.

The Executive approved the minutes of the meeting held on 17 July 2018.  The Chairman signed the minutes.

Decision:

(1)   That the Executive approves the progression of a new design for the Walnut Bridge, which does not include the Cable Stay element.

(2)   That the Director of Environment, in consultation with the Lead Councillor for Infrastructure and Governance, be authorised to make any further changes that may be required.

Reasons:

·        In recognition of changes to the local area and the planned redevelopment of the station

·        To respond to the technical challenges of a Cable Stay design highlighted during the procurement exercise

·        To ensure the successful delivery of the Project

In accordance with Council Procedure Rule 19 (e), Councillor Matt Furniss asked that his vote to abstain in respect of this matter be recorded.

Alternative options considered and rejected by the Executive:

Option 2: Revert to the Cable Stay design

Details of any conflict of interest declared by the Leader or lead councillors and any dispensation granted:

None

In accordance with Public Speaking Procedure Rule 3, Mr John Rigg addressed the meeting prior to consideration of this matter.

Councillors were reminded that, in July 2016, the Executive had been presented with two specific design options for the Walnut Bridge replacement project: a “Cable Stay” with two mast location options (town side or station side) and a “Living Bridge”. The Executive decided that the Cable Stay design should be progressed.

The Executive considered a report which sought approval to the principle of progressing with an alternative to the ‘Cable Stay bridge with mast on town side’ design, essentially removing the Cable Stay element. It was noted that the report was not asking the Executive to give its specific approval to the detail of the bridge design submitted in the planning application ref. 18/P/01213.

There were two main reasons for the proposed change. First, there was an evolving situation affecting the land surrounding the bridge including a proposal to redevelop the station. These matters provided greater opportunity to introduce an enhanced urban realm over a wider area including better wayfinding between the station and town centre. 

Second, following the Executive decision of July 2016, an OJEU compliant procurement exercise had been progressed incorporating the Cable Stay design. The market response was that the Cable Stay aspect of the design was technically challenging. As a result, the majority of tenderers withdrew from the process leaving an insufficient number to continue with the procurement. The exercise was halted whilst alternative approaches were explored.

At the same time, other matters affecting the immediate area had arisen, one of which related to land ownership in the area where the bridge would land on the Bedford Wharf side.  This resulted in a decision by the Executive in May 2018 to prepare to apply for a Compulsory Purchase Order (CPO) of the land at the front of the Odeon and the plaza area.

In addition, the Solum regeneration development (Ref 14/P/02168) comprising “A mixed use redevelopment comprising 438 residential dwellings” had been approved at appeal on 27 February 2018. This development would provide a new focus for the area and generate increased footfall and cycle use across the Walnut Bridge. An alignment of the station entrance and the bridge would further assist in directing pedestrians and cyclists to the town centre.

These recent developments provided the Council with an opportunity to enhance the wider area through landscaping in association with the bridge replacement.  This would aid wayfinding and enhance the user experience of those travelling to and from the Bedford Wharf plaza.

Officers subsequently asked the Council’s consultants to develop designs that responded to the feedback from the procurement exercise and which took account of the re-development of the station and land issues on Bedford Wharf. The design options produced were for a design which removed the Cable Stay aspect.

The consultants were further asked to prepare and submit a planning application.  This was to provide confidence that the design would be  ...  view the full minutes text for item EX31

Decision:

(1)       That the Council invests the initial sum of £10,000 in Broadband for Surrey Hills Ltd., as described in the report submitted to the Executive.

(2)       That the Council agrees, as a landowner, to provide free wayleaves where B4SH fibre crosses its land, as other landowners have done in support of their communities.

Reason:

This is an opportunity to support a community-led initiative having a mainly social benefit for those parts of the Borough that are currently poorly served by broadband connectivity. Full symmetric fibre broadband will hasten delivery of the Government’s Industrial Strategy as set out in The Future Telecoms Infrastructure Review,create the conditions for the economic transformation of our local rural communities, and facilitate many of the Strategic Priority Objectives set out in the Action and Delivery Plans of the Rural Economic Strategy 2017-2022.

Alternative options considered and rejected by the Executive:

None

Details of any conflict of interest declared by the Leader or lead councillors and any dispensation granted:

None

The Executive noted that on 23 July 2018 the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) published “The Future Telecoms Infrastructure Review” as part of its response for delivery of the Industrial Strategy. The Review detailed the changes needed to give the majority of the population access to 5G (the fifth generation of mobile networks)and to connect 15 million premises to full fibre broadband by 2025.

This full-fibre ambition was anticipated in the Council’s Rural Economic Strategy2017-2022, which predicted that rapid changes in technology – in particular around 5G mobile communications pioneered in Guildford at the University of Surrey – would transform daily life in terms of working, learning, travelling, recreation, shopping, and healthcare.  It was also acknowledged that delivery of the Rural Economic Strategy’s Action Plan Priority Infrastructure for Enterprise was reliant on full-fibre broadband as the enabling technology on which the other rural strategic priorities would depend.

The key feature of full-fibre broadband was the level of connectivity that it provided – that is, the capacity of the fibre itself and the data transmission speeds in both download and upload. The ideal capability was full symmetric fibre – where the down and up speeds matched and provided at least 1Gigabit per second (1Gbps) in each direction.

The Executive considered a report on a proposal to provide the Borough’s rural communities with full symmetric fibre. This would exceed the DCMS ambition to provide “next generation Fibre to the Premises (FTTP)” as defined in The Future Telecoms Infrastructure Review.

It was proposed that the Council should invest an initial sum of £10,000 in Broadband for Surrey Hills Ltd. (B4SH), whichwas an important first step in an evolving local digital strategy with full fibre as the enabling technology for a range of applications, including Guildford town centre WiFi and LoRa (Long-Range) networks and 5G. All of these supported the ‘Internet of Things’ (IoT).  The report invited the Executive to consider, in due course, a higher investment of up to £50,000 after the initial roll out in the Albury/Chilworth area and following evaluation of the first phase.

As well as working closely with the University of Surrey’s 5G Innovation Centre, neighbouring Boroughs and Districts and Surrey County Council, officers had contacted Network Rail as a potential delivery partner/provider to facilitate broadband access through its lineside ducts and crossing points along six different rail routes into Guildford.

The Executive was informed that B4SH had been modelled on Broadband for the Rural North (B4RN), which had been very successful.  Key to B4RN’s success had been the negotiation of free wayleaves with landowners.

Incorporation as a Community Benefit Society had already helped B4SH with its own wayleave negotiations, receiving active support from the Duke of Northumberland’s Albury Estate. As joint managers of the public open access parts of the Albury Estate, Surrey County Council and Surrey Wildlife Trust had also been, together with Natural England, helpful parties in the wayleave discussions to date with local landowners.

The Future  ...  view the full minutes text for item EX32