7. Consultation Statement
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SECTION 153 OF THE PLANNING ACT 2008, PARAGRAPH 2 OF REGULATION 6 OF THE INFRASTRUCTURE PLANNING (CHANGES TO, AND REVOCATION OF, DEVELOPMENT CONSENT ORDERS) REGULATIONS 2011 (AS AMENDED) APPLICATION TO MAKE A NON-MATERIAL CHANGE TO THE FOLLOWING DEVELOPMENT CONSENT ORDER: The A14 Cambridge to Huntingdon Improvement Scheme Development Consent Order 2016 (SI 2016 No 547) (as corrected by the A14 Cambridge to Huntingdon Improvement Scheme Development Consent (Correction) Order 2017 (SI 2017/1121)) 7. Consultation Statement February 2019 Application for a Non-Material Change to The A14 Cambridge to Huntingdon Improvement Scheme Development Consent Order 2016 (SI 2016/547) (as corrected by the A14 Cambridge to Huntingdon Improvement Scheme Development Consent (Correction) Order 2017 (SI 2017/1121)) Consultation and publicity statement 1. Introduction 1.1 This statement and its annexes constitute the consultation and publicity statement in connection with the non-material change application submitted by Highways England to the Secretary of State on 18 January 2019 (the ‘Application’). This statement is submitted under regulation 7A of the Infrastructure Planning (Changes to, and Revocation of, Development Consent Orders) Regulations 2011 as amended (the ‘2011 Regulations’). 2. Publicising the Application 2.1 Highways England confirms compliance with regulation 6 of the 2011 Regulations as follows: 2.1.1 Notice of the application (the Application Notice), including the matters prescribed under regulation 6(2) of the 2011 Regulations has been published in the Hunts Post and Cambridge News (being local newspapers published in the vicinity of the scheme) once in each of two consecutive weeks (being 23 and 30 January 2019). A copy of the form of Application Notice is provided as Annex 1 to this Statement. 2.1.2 The Application Notice includes: (a) the name of the applicant (b) a statement that the applicant is seeking a change to the DCO by way of an application to the Secretary of State (c) a summary of the main proposals in the application (d) confirmation of where the application can be inspected free of charge (e) confirmation that a fee will be charged for any copies made of the application documents (f) details of how to respond to the application (g) the deadline for receipt of those comments by the Secretary of State being a date not less than 28 days following the date on which the notice was last published. Page 1 of 56 3. Consultation 3.1 Highways England confirms compliance with the requirements of regulation 7 of the 2011 Regulations as follows: 3.1.1 Letters enclosing a copy of the Application Notice were sent to consultees by first class post on Wednesday 23 January 2019 in accordance with regulation 7(1) of the 2011 Regulations. An example of the letter is provided at Annex 2. 3.1.2 The list of consultees was agreed with the Secretary of State prior to submission of the application in accordance with regulation 7(3) of the 2011 Regulations. A copy of the schedule of consultees is provided at Annex 3. 3.2 Copies of the application documents were placed for viewing free of charge at: • Bar Hill Library: Gladeside, Bar Hill, CB23 8DY • Buckden Library: Millennium Community Hall and Sports Centre, Burberry Road, Buckden, PE19 5UY • Cambridge Central Library: 7 Lion Yard; Cambridge; CB2 3QD • Cambridgeshire & Peterborough Combined Authority: The Incubator 2, First Floor, Alconbury Weald Enterprise Campus, Alconbury Weald, Huntingdon, PE28 4WX • Huntingdon Library: Princes Street, Huntingdon, PE29 3PA • St Ives Library: 4 Library Row Station Rd, St Ives, PE27 5BW 3.3 The documents will be available for viewing at the locations from 23 January 2019 until 28 February 2019. An example of the letter sent to the viewing locations is provided at Annex 4. 3.4 The documents will be checked regularly to ensure that none have been removed and that a full set of application documents remains available until 28 February. 3.5 The application documents were also made available on the planning Inspectorate website from 23 January 2019: https://infrastructure.planninginspectorate.gov.uk/projects/eastern/a14-cambridge- to-huntingdon-improvement-scheme/ with links provided to it from the project’s website and facebook page. 4. Additional engagement and publication 4.1 More than 250,000 people live and work close to the A14 Cambridge to Huntingdon Improvement Scheme. 85,000 journeys are made on the existing A14 between Cambridge and Huntingdon every day. Highways England wanted to make them aware of the motorway classification proposal and so carried out some early engagement activity in late 2018. 4.2 This early engagement activity supported but was in addition to the duty to consult requirement of regulation 7A of the 2011 Regulations as part of the development consent order amendment application process. Page 2 of 56 4.3 In September 2018 Highways England publicly announced its desire to reclassify the A14 between Girton and the new Ellington junction, and the A1 from Alconbury to Brampton, as motorway. Activities included: a) A briefing for Cambridgeshire County Council, South Cambridgeshire District Council and Huntingdonshire District Council members and officers explaining the proposed changes b) A letter explaining the proposed changes was written to 57 local stakeholders – authorities, businesses, farmers and land owners – with whom the project team has existing relationships and who it was considered may be affected by the reclassification to motorway c) Articles were published on the project’s website, facebook page, and Twitter feed d) A press release was issued e) The scheme’s mobile visitors’ centre went to communities along the route through the autumn. Copies of engagement materials are provided at Annex 5. 4.4 The local media carried the news on TV, radio, in print and online. A summary of coverage is provided at Annex 6. 4.5 The project team took the scheme’s mobile visitors’ centre to venues around the area to give member so the public opportunities to learn about the scheme and the motorway proposal, and to ask questions. 4.6 The mobile visitors’ centre attended six locations between September and December, where more than 700 people visited the centre and spoke to the team. Motorway status was not a topic of conversation. Visitors were interested in other topics including progress, timing of work, traffic management and roadworks. 4.7 The project was invited to and attended two parish council meetings: Hilton Parish Council; Longstanton Parish Council. The topics of discussion are captured in Annex 7: feedback log. 4.8. Feedback 4.8.1 in addition to the aforementioned engagement activity Highways England gathers feedback from all interested parties via its national Customer Contact Centre (call centre and correspondence team), websites and social media channels, and a project-specific email inbox and customer helpline. A total of 23 pieces of feedback were received about the motorway status proposal as a result of Highways England’s early engagement activity and all were logged, reviewed and, where appropriate, answered and acted-on. These are summarised by theme, with responses, at Annex 7. 4.8.2 Meetings were requested by two parish councils and two farming businesses in the area, all asking for more information about how they could be affected by the proposed change to motorway status. The project team also met with Cambridgeshire Constabulary to explain the proposal and, I January 2019, presented an overview of the proposal to the Huntingdon branch of the Page 3 of 56 National Farmers Union. Themes from these meetings are included in the feedback summary provided at Annex 7. 4.9. Summary of pre-application engagement activities 4.9.1 Highways England publicly announced its motorway proposal in September using the media and its own tools to raise awareness with road users across the eastern region and to the authorities, businesses and the 250,000 people who live and work in the vicinity. 4.9.2 Highways England gave opportunities for anyone to submit their views, ask questions and enter into conversations about the motorway proposal and all other aspects of the scheme. Only 23 contacts were received about the motorway proposal. 5. Summary of engagement, publicity and consultation activities 5.1 A widespread public engagement and publicity campaign beginning September 2018 raised awareness of the motorway proposal across the area. 5.2 Highways England confirms compliance with the 2011 Regulations by publicising the application in the Hunts Post and Cambridge News on 23 and 30 January 2019, making copies of the application available for public inspection at six locations along the length of the scheme, and by writing to consultees. The application documents were also made available on the Planning Inspectorate website from 23 January 2019. Highways England 7 February 2019 Page 4 of 56 Annex 1 Application Notice SECTION 153 OF THE PLANNING ACT 2008 PARAGRAPH 2 OF REGULATION 6 OF THE INFRASTRUCTURE PLANNING (CHANGES TO, AND REVOCATION OF, DEVELOPMENT CONSENT ORDERS) REGULATIONS 2011 (AS AMENDED) NOTICE TO MAKE AN APPLICATION FOR A NON-MATERIAL CHANGE TO THE FOLLOWING DEVELOPMENT CONSENT ORDER: The A14 Cambridge to Huntingdon Improvement Scheme Development Consent Order 2016 (SI 2016 No 547) (as corrected by the A14 Cambridge to Huntingdon Improvement Scheme Development Consent (Correction) Order 2017 (SI 2017/1121)) Notice is hereby given that an application has been made by Highways England Company Limited of Bridge House, 1 Walnut Tree Close, Guildford, GU1 4LZ to the Secretary of State for Transport to make a non-material change to the A14 Cambridge to Huntingdon Improvement Scheme Development Consent Order 2016 (as corrected by the A14 Cambridge to Huntingdon Improvement Scheme Development Consent (Correction) Order 2017) (the Order) under the Planning Act 2008 (the Application). The Order grants development consent for the improvement of the A14 between Cambridge and Huntingdon and the A1 between Alconbury and Brampton.