Council leader ‘confident’ as devolution deal gathers pace
PLANNING STAGES ARE UNDER WAY WITH PROMISE OF ADDITIONAL £24M A YEAR
THE leader of Lincolnshire County Council is confident that the devolution deal for Greater Lincolnshire will proceed as planned, with the combined mayoral authority expected to be established from October.
In March, LCC, along North and North East Lincolnshire councils, formally voted in favour of the deal, which promises to bring an additional £24 million per year to Lincolnshire.
It has now advanced to central government, which will either proceed with establishing the combined authority or decide if further consultation is necessary — as the eight-week consultation attracted responses from just 4,000 residents.
The county council expects to hear back from the Secretary of State around late spring or early summer.
Following the LCC Executive meeting last Wednesday, Leader Martin Hill (Conservative) noted that the council is already in the planning stage, expressing confidence that the deal will proceed as expected.
He said: “We have sent our formal letter back to government and I am pretty confident now that we will get approval.”
Councillor Hill continued: “By October, we need to have certain things set up in terms of the organisation ready for the election of the Lincolnshire mayor in May 2025.
“We are pretty confident now that it will happen. What we’re hearing is that it looks pretty positive in terms of it proceeding.”
Before an election can take place, representatives will be selected to sit on the combined authority, with four seats allocated to the seven district councils across Lincolnshire. Another seat will be designated for either the Lincolnshire or the Humberside Police & Crime Commissioner.
With the deal comes an initial £28.4 million in capital funding from central government.
Of this, £8.4 million is earmarked for cleaning up brownfield sites in North and North East Lincolnshire, while the remaining £20 million allocated for projects throughout the rest of Lincolnshire.
The funded projects include completely rebuilding of Old Roman Bank, stretching from Chapel St Leonards to Sandilands in Skegness, enhancements to major commuting and residential roads in and around Lincoln, and flood mitigation measures in Market Rasen and Kirkby on Bain.
THE plan to use RAF Scampton to house asylum seekers has been given the go-ahead after the council ended its planned enforcement action.
West Lindsey District Council said that it had withdrawn its Enforcement Notice at RAF Scampton on April 5 after the Home Office confirmed it had laid a Special Development Order (SDO) in Parliament.
The SDO will grant temporary planning permission for the site to be used for asylum accommodation. Therefore, the council has no planning grounds against which enforcement action can be pursued.
Councillor Trevor Young Leader of West Lindsey District Council said: “The Home Office has laid the SDO in Parliament, the Council has been clear from the outset that the use of an SDO excludes the voice of our communities from being heard.
“We know this is incredibly important for our communities and we are committed to continuing to do all we can to represent their views and to protect the £300million investment plan, which we still believe is the right way forward.”
Sally Grindrod-Smith director of planning, regeneration and communities, said: “The Home Office has laid the SDO in Parliament, therefore, it is no longer expedient for the Council to continue with its current enforcement action.
“There are a significant number of conditions associated with the SDO, which the Home Office has to attend to before the site can go live. We as a council will be monitoring closely these conditions and seeking assurance from the Government of its compliance.”
As previously reported the Home Office had already confirmed it was reducing the number of people to be on site from 2,000 to 800 with a caveat to increase the number of people by 300, if there is a higherthan-expected demand for spaces.
The SDO is expected to be in place
Councillor Trevor Young Leader of West Lindsey District Council
by April 11, 2024 – just days before the Home Office’s current Class Q (emergency planning powers) are due to expire.
Portable cabins sited on the historic runway at the former RAF base in Scampton where concerns have been highlighted about potential risk from unexploded artillery and ground gases
The council has informed the Planning Inspectorate of the withdrawal, and confirmation has now been received that the Planning Inquiry scheduled for April 16 and 17 has been cancelled.
Sally added: “The council continues to work hard to use the tools at our disposal to protect our communities and the long-term plans for investment into former RAF Scampton. This is a rapidly changing position and further updates will be provided in due course.”
Previously during a meeting of Lincolnshire County Council’s Executive, Chief Executive Debbie
Barnes highlighted that the district council’s initial discussions focused on reducing the number of individuals to be accommodated at the site.
Subsequently, Gainsborough MP Sir Edward Leigh received correspondence from MP Tom Pursglove, the minister overseeing RAF Scampton, indicating that the site would house only 800 asylum seekers.
Ms Barnes later mentioned that discussions aimed at reaching a compromise were under way, where Scampton Holdings Ltd could start developing the site while the Home Office uses a portion of it to accommodate migrants for three years, starting with the initial group arriving this summer.
However, the district council could not confirm this, as they haven’t been provided with any specific dates.
Following the meeting, Lincolnshire County Council Leader Martin Hill said: “It would appear that there is a compromise being agreed where I think the government is saying that there won’t be 2,000 coming anymore.
“I don’t think anything is agreed yet, but obviously, there will be a delay because there is still some work to be done on the proposed site.”
Recently, Lee Rowley, the Minister of State for Housing, Planning and Building Safety, sent a letter to WLDC highlighting concerns about potential risks to human health from ground gases and contamination at the former RAF site, which could impact both workers and asylum seekers.
The letter stated: “These risks could mean the site is not suitable for its intended use which could give rise to likely significant effects associated with human health.”
The council has been clear from the outset that the use of an SDO excludes the voice of our communities from being heard.