The Secretaries' of State Statutory Decision on Highway Scheme: Decision Letter

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10 October 2005

Dear Sir/Madam

Highways Act 1980
Detrunking of A595 Between Calder Bridge and Grizebeck, and A5092 Between Grizebeck and Greenodd (Between the A595 and A590)

1. I am directed by the First Secretary of State and the Secretary of State for Transport ("the Secretaries of State") to refer to the concurrent public local inquiries ("the inquiries") held at the St Bees Management Centre, The Whitelaw Building, School House Lane, St Bees, Cumbria on five sitting days between 19 April and 22 April 2005 and 25 May 2005 before Mr Neil Taylor BSc, CEng, MICE, MIHT, an independent Inspector appointed by the Secretaries of State, and assisted by Mr Chris Young, MICE, to hear objections to, and representations about, the following draft Orders:-

  • The A595 Trunk Road (Calderbridge to A5092 at Grizebeck)(Detrunking) Order 200 and,
  • The A5092 Trunk Road (between A595 and A590)(Detrunking) Order 200.

2. The draft Orders in paragraph 1, when made, would de-trunk the A595 between Calder Bridge and Grizebeck and the A5092 between Grizebeck and Greenodd - between the A595 and A590, transferring responsibility from the Secretary of State for Transport to Cumbria County Council, who would become the highway authority for them. The reference to "Calderbridge" in the A595 detrunking Order should correctly have referred to "Calder Bridge". The Secretaries of State are satisfied that this has not led to any misunderstanding, and the Orders will be amended accordingly.

The Inspector's Report

3. A copy of the Inspector's report is enclosed. In this letter references to paragraph numbers in the Inspector's report are indicated by the abbreviation "IR". The Inspector recommended at IR 8.1 that the published Orders be made as published in draft.

The Decision Of The Secretaries Of State

4. To aid the understanding of this letter, the Secretary of State for Transport is responsible, and answerable to Parliament, for the policy set out in the Transport White Paper, "A New Deal for Transport: Better for Everyone" ("the White Paper"), published in July 1998, and its implementation in respect of trunk roads. A decision on the published draft Orders, that have been the subject of a local inquiry, is under the Highways Act 1980 required to be taken by the Secretaries of State jointly. The making of the Orders, following their decision, is the responsibility of the Secretary of State for Transport.

5. The Secretaries of State have considered carefully the Inspector's report including all the submissions and representations, and have taken into account the following material points in reaching their decision.

Legal and Procedural Submissions

6. The Secretaries of State have considered carefully the legal submissions from Cumbria County Council (IR 3.3 to 3.7), Copeland Borough Council (IR 3.8), and the Highways Agency (IR 3.9 to 3.14), together with the Inspector's conclusions on these submissions (IR 3.15), on the interpretation of the wording in section 10(2) of the Highways Act 1980. It is agreed that this is a matter of law, and therefore an authoritative interpretation of these provisions is a function only the Courts can perform. However, the Secretaries of State accept the conclusions reached by the Inspector at IR 3.15 on this matter, and are satisfied that adequate opportunity was given to all parties to raise their concerns about how detrunking this route would affect the requirements of local and national planning, and of agriculture. These views have been taken into account by the Secretary of State for Transport in exercising his duty under section 10(2) and by the Secretaries of State in reaching a decision on the draft detrunking Orders.

7. On the concerns raised by Whicham Parish Council recorded at IR 3.2 about the narrow remit of the Inspector, the Secretaries of State are satisfied that the inquiry was conducted in accordance with The Highways (Inquiries Procedures) Rules 1994, and take the view that sufficient opportunity was given to allow appropriate debate of issues fundamental to the decision process and therefore concur with the Inspector's conclusions at IR 3.17.

The Secretary of State for Transport's policy on detrunking

8. For the avoidance of any doubt, the reference to the review of the trunk road network carried out by the Highways Agency in 1995, and to the creation of the five categories referred to at IR 4.2, related to an internal review that was carried out under the policies of the previous Government. The current Government's policy on detrunking arises from the public consultation in July 1997 and is contained in the White Paper.

9. The Secretary of State for Transport accepts the statement recorded at IR 4.1 about the background to setting up of the trunk road network, and that under the current provisions in section 10(2) of the Highways Act he has a statutory duty to keep under review the national system of routes for through traffic in England and Wales - although for Wales this function is now devolved to the Welsh Assembly

10. The trunk road network has been reviewed and amended a number of times over the past years, and the last comprehensive review was carried out in 1998 as part of the development of the present Government's integrated transport policy, which was set out in the White Paper. This followed the publication in July 1997 of the consultation paper "What role for trunk roads in England". The White Paper identified a number of nationally important routes in England that together formed a "core" trunk road network. The remainder of the trunk road network was considered to serve mainly local and regional traffic and was designated as "non-core" although would remain part of the Primary Route Network. The White Paper stated that these non-core roads would be more appropriately managed by local highway authorities, allowing decisions about them to be taken locally facilitating better integration of local transport and land use planning issues. The White Paper also announced the Secretary of State for Transport's intention to consult the Local Authorities over detrunking the non-core routes which has now taken place.

11. The White Paper identified the key functions for nationally important trunk roads and these have been correctly recited at IR 4.6 and IR 7.5. On the basis of these criteria, a core trunk road network for England of nationally important routes was established. After consultation it was confirmed in April 1999 that responsibility for the remaining non-core trunk roads would be transferred to local highway authorities.

12. "A New Deal for Trunk Roads in England", a daughter document to the White Paper, also published in July 1998, gave details of the Government's Policy specifically in relation to trunk roads no longer on the core network. This explained that it was the Government's clear aim to get decisions on these roads taken at the level at which the relevant factors are best understood. Decisions about improvements to these roads ought to be taken by the local highway authority so that their management could be fully integrated with land use planning and the new local transport plans. This would minimise any distortions which could result from priorities for trunk road and local roads being determined separately. The Secretary of State for Transport decided, as a matter of policy, that the A595 between Calder Bridge and Grizebeck and the A5092 between Grizebeck and Greenodd - between the A595 and A590, did not meet the published criteria for a nationally important trunk road on the core network, and so would be detrunked. The two published Orders at paragraph 1 implement this policy.

13. It is noted at IR 5.2 that Cumbria County Council, as the prospective highway authority if the draft Orders in paragraph 1 were to be made, agreed in principle with the proposal to detrunk the A592/A5092 between Calder Bridge and Greenodd, and that their objection related principally to the uncertainties over long term provision of government funding.

Funding

Routine maintenance

14. The Secretary of State for Transport can confirm that, from the outset of the detrunking programme for non-core routes, there has been no intention to add to the burden on the local economy by transferring the management of these roads to local highway authorities without appropriate funding. A method for calculating the appropriate transfer of funds to the local authority taking over responsibility for these roads has been agreed with the Local Government Association. It is the intention, in due course, that the monies for this purpose be incorporated into the Highway Maintenance Formula Spending Share (HMFSS) used as part of the calculation of the formula grant to local authorities. However, the Government is committed to review the HMFSS, in the light of the detrunking programme, and will continue the system of specific grant payments until such time as the review is complete. The Secretary of State for Transport can assure Cumbria County Council that, in the meantime, the formula to be used for the grant payment, in respect of the lengths of A595 and A5092 proposed for detrunking in the draft Orders, will be on the same terms as previously agreed by the Council in respect of a number of other detrunked routes in their area under the current grant payment system. For these reasons, the Secretary of State for Transport is satisfied that the routine maintenance of these detrunked routes will not result in an increased burden on the local economy and that there will be a transfer of funds commensurate with the additional responsibility, and accordingly, he agrees with the Inspector's conclusions at IR 7.48 and 7.49.

Capital maintenance and Improvements

15. The Secretary of State for Transport has noted that Cumbria County Council has stated (IR 5.18 and 7.50) that it does not object to the funding arrangements for capital maintenance but their concern was about insufficient funds to improve the routes, and that the Local Transport Plan process would not specifically account for this additional responsibility (IR 7.51). On this matter, the Secretary of State accepts the Inspector's conclusions at IR 7.51 to 7.53, and can confirm that under his detrunking policy for non-core routes, decisions on improvement schemes on roads of regional importance will be taken in a regional context, whether they are trunk roads or locally managed roads. This means that the status of the road, whether it is a trunk road, or otherwise, will not be a factor that affects the availability of funds for improvements. The Secretary of State agrees with the conclusions of the Inspector at IR 7.54 that decisions on the allocation of funds will be determined in the context of regional strategies through the local democratic process. The Secretary of State, therefore, accepts, for these reasons, the Inspector's conclusions at IR 7.55 that the improvement of these roads would be better served by being managed by Cumbria County Council through the LTP process. The Secretary of State is, therefore, satisfied that these arrangements are equitable to both local and central Government in achieving their respective aims and objectives for the road network.

Consideration of the requirements of Local and National Planning, including the requirements of Agriculture

16. For the purpose of exercising his duty under section 10(2) of the Highways Act, the Secretary of State for Transport has noted the submissions made on Planning and other policy considerations, and has accepted the Inspector's conclusions on the requirements of agriculture at IR 7.22, the Regional Planning Guidance at IR 7.25, the Cumbria's Local Transport Plan at IR 7.27, the Cumbria and Lake District Joint Structure Plan at IR 7.29, the Copeland Local Plan at IR 7.30, the South Lakeland Local Plan at IR 7.32, and the Inspector's findings and conclusions on other policies and issues at IR 7.35 to 7.43. The Secretary of State is, therefore, satisfied that the proposal to detrunk this route would not conflict or compromise the policies referred to in these submissions.

Other considerations

17. On the issue raised by Copeland Borough Council that the detrunking would conflict with national detrunking policy, because the Order route connects two main centres of economic activity, namely Barrow in Furness and the nuclear plant at Sellafield, and the peripheral region of Furness with that of West Cumbria, and centres such as Millom and Eskmeals (IR 5.42 and 5.43), the Secretary of State for Transport accepts the Inspector's conclusion (IR 7.7 to 7.12) that there no special circumstances to justify retaining trunk road status for these routes on these grounds and that its removal would not conflict with national policy. On Cumbria County Council's point (IR 5.1) that Sellafield and Drigg are special cases which justify having access from the trunk road network, the Secretary of State accepts the Inspector's conclusion at IR 7.13 to 7.20 that there is no special case for retention of the trunk road network south of Calder Bridge.

18. The Secretary of State for Transport is therefore satisfied that the proposals contained in the draft Orders do not conflict with the requirements of local and national policies, including the requirements of agriculture, and has, therefore, complied with the requirements in section 10(2).

Decision on published Orders

19. The Secretaries of State have carefully considered all the objections, representations and expressions of support, together with the Inspector's report and have taken into account the matters raised above. They have also considered the requirements of local and national planning, including the requirements of agriculture.

20. The Secretaries of State are satisfied that the proposals in the published draft Orders accord with the aims and objectives of the Government's Transport White Paper "A New Deal for Transport: Better for Everyone", and its daughter document "A New Deal for Trunk Roads in England", and are fully in accordance with the policies of the Secretary of State for Transport on detrunking. The Secretaries of State agree with the Inspector's conclusions at IR 7.56 to 7.58 that the proposals in the draft Orders comply with national and regional policies, and would not conflict with local policies or would have a material effect on agriculture, local economy, including tourism, and accordingly accept his recommendations at IR 8.1 to make the published draft Orders.

Orders to be Made

21. In the light of the above, the Secretary of State for Transport will shortly make the draft Orders listed in paragraph 1, in accordance with the Inspector's recommendations.

22. Public Notice will be given when the Orders are made. Any person who wishes to question their validity, or of any particular provision contained in them, on the grounds that the Secretary of State for Transport has exceeded his powers or has not complied with the relevant statutory requirements in making the Schemes and Orders may, under the provisions of Schedule 2 to the Highways Act 1980, do so by application to the High Court. Such application must be made within six weeks of publication of the notice that the Orders have been made.

Availability of Inspector's Report

23. Copies of this letter and the Inspector's report have been sent to those who objected and to any other person, who having appeared at the inquiries, has asked to be notified of the decision. Any person who is entitled to be supplied with a copy of the Inspector's report may apply to the Secretary of State for Transport within six weeks of receipt of this letter to inspect any document appended to the report. Any such application should be made to Peter Barnes (tel. 0161 952 4238) at this office. You should state the date and time (within normal office hours) when it is proposed to make the inspection. At least three days notice should be given if possible.

Yours faithfully,

Jo Lappin

Director