Officer Decisions (archive)

Delivery of the Peamore roundabout is not currently being progressed by the landowner and a decision is required as to whether this is removed from the South West Exeter Housing Infrastructure Fund programme

Approved  – Decision taken in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Climate, Environment and Transport (on 5/4/23) to remove the scheme from the SW Exeter HIF programme

The original HIF bid included the delivery of a roundabout at Peamore to serve employment development.  Early on in the HIF project it was identified by the developer/landowner that they wished to deliver the roundabout themselves, as they considered they could deliver it earlier than DCC.  This decision was supported by DCC and the funding which had been identified for the roundabout was reallocated to the contingency.  The milestones for the scheme remained and DCC monitored progress with the scheme.  The developer progressed the design for the roundabout, which was reviewed by WSP on behalf of DCC, and progressed to tender, with a preferred contractor identified and road space booked.  Since then, a decision has been made by the developer not to progress the delivery of the roundabout at this time.

Noting the increased costs that are being identified and the pressures on the programme, it is recommended that the scheme is removed from the HIF project and funding remains in contingency for use in relation to other schemes.  The potential to not deliver within the funding availability period presents a risk to DCC, with no alternative funding source available if the scheme is not completed within the timeframe and HIF funding cannot be drawn down.  Whilst delivery would allow for funding recovery, it is not considered that this outweighs the risk of not being able to deliver within the funding availability period.  A decision not to progress with the scheme may delay the delivery of the employment scheme in the future, but the identified intention of the developer to deliver the roundabout without HIF funding suggests that the scheme is not unviable.  Furthermore, it does not impact the delivery of housing, which is the primary intention of HIF.

The alternative option is to progress with the delivery of the roundabout.  This presents risk to the county council.  There is a likelihood that scheme costs will have increased since the original bid and if this cannot be met with contingency, would need to be met by DCC.  In addition, the time left within the programme is significantly reduced as the intention was for the developer to deliver the scheme themselves, further increasing the risk to the authority.

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