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Advice to Andrew Whybrow

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Enquiry

From
Andrew Whybrow
Date advice given
29 November 2016
Enquiry type
Email

I am a resident of Church Road, XXX XXX, who is currently suffering the access for residents and traffic issues surrounding the Barrey Road junction/A2070 now that the Ashford Business Park new tenants are attracting steady business from both the local and outside area.

To be honest the traffic is becoming so severe that I fear that a fatality is imminent.

I am writing in order to gain some clarification on the responsibility of the lack of proposal to the Barrey Road/A2070 junction when planning the J10a M20 proposal.

For clarification can you kindly confirm:

  1. Are there any plans to modify the Barrey Road/A2070 junction within the Junc 10a M20 proposal? (I cannot see any modification on the latest amendment)

  2. Was there ever any modification plans in place that have been amended due to a cost cutting exercise? If so who was responsible for this decision and what body did they represent?

  3. Can you furnish me with the key names of the person(s) from ABC/KCC who are involved in the key decision making processes?

I fear that residents and local businesses are not being given fair and accurate information and are informed by local Cllr's that HA are responsible for the absence of modification to the Barrey Road/A2070 junction yet I suspect that this may not be the case and that the decision making processes lay with Ashford Borough and Kent County Councils who have made a cost cutting exercise.

Once the residents and local businesses are aware of who is responsible for lack of modification or amendments to remove modifications, we will know who to lobby, rather than having a scattergun approach.

Advice given

From our records, I have been unable to identify you as an Interested Party for the purposes of this Examination.

The period within which members of the public could register to become an Interested Party expired on 3 October 2016. You may still make representations to the Examination, but they will be accepted (or otherwise) at the discretion of the Examining Authority (the Inspector appointed to examine the application). For assistance understanding the decision-making process under the Planning Act 2008, there is a suite of non-technical advice notes available on our website, here: https://infrastructure.planninginspectorate.gov.uk/legislation-and-advice/advice-notes/

Notwithstanding this, I will respond to the points about which you seek clarification:

  1. Are there any plans to modify the Barrey Road/A2070 junction within the Junc 10a M20 proposal? (I cannot see any modification on the latest amendment)

The latest plans setting out the development proposed by Highways England are available on our website, here: https://infrastructure.planninginspectorate.gov.uk/projects/South%20East/M20-Junction-10A/ Click the 'Documents' tab and search for 'Works Plans'. You may also consider contacting Highways England directly to discuss the detailed design of the scheme. The relevant team is available at m20j10ascheme@highways.gsi.gov.uk or on 03004701297.

  1. Was there ever any modification plans in place that have been amended due to a cost cutting exercise? If so who was responsible for this decision and what body did they represent?

The application is made by Highways England (HE), and HE is therefore wholly responsible for the design of the proposed development. Information about the design evolution of the proposed development can be found the application documentation, available to view as per my above response. In this respect, the 'Consultation Report' may be of particular interest to you, so search for this.

  1. Can you furnish me with the key names of the person(s) from ABC/KCC who are involved in the key decision making processes?

Under the Planning Act 2008, local authorities have a bespoke role. ABC and KCC were consulted by HE as the scheme was developed at the Pre-application stage of the process, and also made representations to the Planning Inspectorate about the adequacy of HE's Pre-application consultation. In the Examination, local authorities are Interested Parties and may make representations to the Examining Authority about the merits of the application. They do not have a decision-making role. For the avoidance of doubt, the Planning Inspectorate operates under a delegated function from the SoS for Communities and Local Government - it examines applications for development consent. The Inspectorate then makes a recommendation to the relevant SoS (in this case, the SoS for Transport), who takes the final decision.

Based on the information that we have on record, I understand that Mark Davies is the relevant contact at ABC and Katie Stewart at KCC.